Get to Know Niagara – Niagara Falls Illumination
Every evening beginning at dusk, the American and Canadian Falls are illuminated in an array of colors. Recently, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board launched an ambitious project to replace Xenon lights with new LED technology, increasing both the display’s brightness and energy efficiency.
Here is a bit of background on the illumination of Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls at night were forever changed more than 100 years ago in 1860 when 200 Bengel Lights were arranged to illuminate the Falls.
From then until the early 1920s the Falls continued to be illuminated for special events. It wasn't until a group of Niagara Falls businessmen lobbied for improvement of the Niagara Falls lights that Falls illumination became more common. The group, known as the 'generators', raised enough money to purchase and install 24 new arc lights. This ultimately led to the creation of the Niagara Falls Illumination Board in 1925, to ensure the management, operation and maintenance of the illumination lights. Since their erection, The Niagara Falls Illumination Board has financed and operated the Falls illumination.
The Niagara Falls nightly illumination has improved greatly over the years, with a notable and very noticeable update as recently as December 2016. A brand new $4-million lighting grid was unveiled that delivers twice the brightness and a wider spectrum of color to the cataracts at roughly a quarter of the energy consumption of the previous method of illumination. The falls are illuminated in color nightly, and colors at times can be adjusted based on National and International occasions.
The Niagara Falls Illumination Schedule, as well as the schedule of special illumination events can be found here.
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