Steel Stacks

Bethlehem Steel ceased operations 1995 and left behind a large industrial site including these blast furnaces. Although there was talk of tearing them down to recover the site, it was eventually decided to leave the stacks as a backdrop for a redevelopment effort. It is now a music, arts and festival site for residents and tourists. The project was in part aided by the approval and development of a casino and hotel on part of the property. It appears to have been a successful transformation despite the sometimes detrimental downside that a casino can bring.

International spectacle

All my life I have lived within 65 miles or so of Niagara Fall and have visited there dozens of times since I was little. However, over the last 10 or 20 years... not so much. I had occasion to again visit over the weekend and was surprised how much things have changed. No, the falls still look about the same, but what was different was the crowd that was doing the looking... I heard almost no English and I think the majority of tourists were oriental. Even the rain did not dissuade them.

Which I guess explains why there were so many Indian and Pakistani restaurants within walking distance... of course in addition to the obligatory Hard Rock Cafe.

On the dusky scene below, feel free to click for a larger version.