Learn English via Listening - Level 4 - The Niagara Park's Commission | Текст песни

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• The Niagara Park's Commission

The Niagara Park's Commission - Level 4

Niagara Falls, Canada, became a major tourist attraction in the mid-1830s. By this time,

roads, canals and railways were able to bring people from urban centers, like New York
and Boston. However, the chance for big profits attracted dishonest businessmen. One
hotel in the 1860s was popularly known as the \"Cave of the Forty Thieves.\"
There were many complaints from tourists about tricks that were used to get their money.
Some businessmen tried to put up fences around the Falls, so that all visitors would
have to pay them to see the Falls. In time, these complaints reached the ears of important
people. In 1873, Lord Dufferin, the Governor-General of Canada, proposed that the
government buy all the land around the Falls. On the American side, New York State
bought 412 acres around the American Rainbow Falls in 1885. In the same year, land was
bought near the Canadian Horseshoe Falls and named Queen Victoria Park. A
commission was formed to obtain control of all land along the Niagara River. This was
made easier because a narrow strip along the river was already government land.
However, the Commission wanted to preserve all the beautiful scenery along the river
and near the Falls for the general public. The first commissioner of the parks was Sir
Casimir Gzowski, a distinguished engineer of Polish birth.
Before the Queen Victoria Park Commission began to buy up land besides the Falls,
tourists had to pay for everything. There were no public washrooms, no drinking
fountains, and no safety barriers around the Falls. As a result, it was not uncommon for
tourists crowding close to the Falls, or hypnotized by the flow of the river, to step too
close and fall in. The commission took care of these problems and also set up parks and
picnic areas. In 1927, the Commission's name was changed to the Niagara Parks
Commission. It now supervises numerous attractions and parks from Niagara-on-the-
Lake on Lake Ontario, down to Fort Erie on Lake Erie. Each section of the 56-kilometer
stretch of Niagara Parks has its own places of interest. These are joined by the Niagara
Parkway, a road that runs the whole length of the river. Sir Winston Churchill called the
parkway, \"The prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world.\"
The Niagara Parks Commission operates restaurants, parks and gardens, rides,
museums and historic houses, golf courses, native sites and gift shops. Near the Falls
are restaurants, parks, greenhouses, the \"Journey Behind the Falls\" and the \"Maid of the
Mist\" boat ride. North of the Falls, at Niagara Gorge, are the Spanish Aero Car Ride and
the Great Gorge Adventure. The Commission also operates a School of Horticulture, with
large gardens. Queenston Heights is a park commemorating one of Canada's heroes,
General Isaac Brock. In nearby Queenston are historic houses connected with two other
important Canadians, Laura Secord and William Lyon MacKenzie. The Commission also
operates two historic forts, dating from the War of 1812 - Fort George and Old Fort Erie.
The Niagara Parks Commission has played a major role in making Niagara Falls and the
Niagara River one of the leading tourist areas in the world. The Commission shows how
governments can work to make visits to natural wonders like Niagara Falls a good
experience for the general public.