|
The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls, New York, USA. (The actual boats used are also named ''Maid of the Mist'', followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.) The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls, also known as the Canadian Falls. The tour is available starting from the American side of the river, returning to the U.S. landing. The operation is operated by Maid of the Mist Corp. of Niagara Falls, New York. Maid of the Mist has been owned by the Glynn family of Lewiston, New York, since 1971. ==History== The first ''Maid of the Mist'' was launched in 1846 as a ferry service between the Canadian and American sides, pre-dating by two years the construction of the first Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge at the site. The ferry service lost business when the bridge opened, and by 1854 it had become a tourist attraction instead, served by a new and more luxurious boat. The original Maid of the Mist was built at a landing near Niagara Falls on the American side of the border. The boat was christened in 1846, but interestingly, not for sightseeing. The two-stage barge-likesteamer was designed primarily as a link for a proposed ferry service between New York City and York (Toronto, Canada). It was a 72 foot long side-wheeler with an 18 foot beam which was powered by steam produced from a wood and coal fired boiler. It was designed to carry a stagecoach and four horses without unhitching the horses. The ferry did well until 1848, when the opening of a suspension bridge between the United States and Canada cut into the ferry traffic. It was then that the owners decided to make the journey a sightseeing trip, plotting a journey closer to the Falls. Economic conditions deteriorated in 1860 and adversely affected the tourist trade. With the prospect of the Civil War in the U.S., Maid of the Mist owner W.O. Buchanan decided to see the craft at auction. A Montreal firm agreed to purchase the boat, but on one condition: the boat had to be delivered to its new owner 12 miles downriver, through two treacherous rapids, into Lake Ontario for its true up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. On June 6, 1861, beginning at 3 p.m., Maid of theMist Captain Joel R. Robinson, engineer James Jones and mechanic James McIntyre left the moorings on the U.S. side of the river. Captain Robinson safely steered the little vessel downstream, under the suspension bridge, through route on the Canadian side of the rapids and whirlpool, past the lower raids at Foster's Flats and into the quiet waters of the lower Niagara River to Queenston. Miraculously, the journey was executed without mishap. The present day Maid of the Mist Corporation was formed in 1884 by Captain R. F. Carter and Frank LaBlond, both residents of old Clifton (Niagara Falls, Canada) who invested in a new Maid that would launch on June 13, 1885. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maid of the Mist」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|