Niagara Falls Power Company power generation facility photograph album
Creation: 1895-1897Abstract
The Niagara Falls Power Company began in 1890, the power plant harnessed waterpower to deliver electricity to Buffalo, New York. The company's two power stations were closed after more than sixty years of service in 1961. This collection's photographs document the erection of wooden poles for power transmission lines between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. There are also interiors and exteriors of power hosues and transformer buildings.
Dates
- Creation: 1895-1897
Creator
- Niagara Falls Power Company (Organization)
Extent
34 item(s)
Physical Description
34 photographic prints : b&w ; images 5 3/4 x 7 3/4 in., on sheets 11 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.
Historical Note
The story of harnessing the great waterpower of Niagara Falls dates from 1890 when a "power tunnel" was dug to bring the water to a central power station from which it was distributed as electrical energy. Westinghouse built three AC dynamos for Power Station No. 1 located 1.5 miles above Niagara Falls. In 1895 the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company started building Power Station No. 2. The obvious success of utilizing Niagara's waterpower began when electricity was first delivered to Buffalo an impressive twenty-two miles away on November 16, 1898. These two power stations were closed after more than sixty years of service in 1961.
Scope and Content
Half of the photographs document the erection of wooden poles for power transmission lines between Niagara Falls and Buffalo. There are some photographs showing the power houses and transformer building which was designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White; these include exteriors as well as interiors. The latter includes 3 phase rotary AC generators made by General Electric and air blast transformers. There are some photos of the Niagara River Rapids, and two views of the interurban trolley line that was powered by the Niagara Falls Power Company.
Location
Box 1
Existence and Location of Copies
View this collection online in the Hagley Digital Archives.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Description
Preservation note
The album is now unbound and without covers.
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Niagara Falls Power Company power generation facility photograph album
- Author:
- Laurie Rizzo
- Date:
- 2013
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
