Niagara Nights

by Kathleen Walls

If it's been a decade or more since you visited Niagara Falls, you may not be expecting any night life on the American side. Well you would be oh so wrong! Niagara nights are lit up in more ways than one.

The Falls from the Rainbow Bridge

If you are a night owl visiting America's honeymoon capital, and want good food and beverages, excitement and lots of fun it's all just a short walk from the falls.

It might be night but it's anything but dark in Niagara Falls. Fireworks explode overhead, Colored lights play on the sparkling water of American Falls. The Falls were first illuminated in 1860 with Bengal Lights, a type of flare used before electricity, in honor of a visit by the Prince of Wales. That was an exciting time. The Great Blondin walked a tightrope across the Great Gorge. The excitement still reigns in Niagara, Today, 21 Xenon lights are used to illuminate the Falls. Each spotlight has a brilliance of 250,000,000 candlepower.

Nearby the night life contributes to the illumination. One of the first big name nightspots to grace the American side was Hard Rock Niagara. In case you just recently arrived on this planet, here's a recap of the club's origins.

Janis Joplin's caddy graces the entrance to Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock began with two young Americans living in London in the 1970's. They conceived the idea of a restaurant/nightclub serving equal portions of home cooked American food and Rock and Roll. Hard Rock's memorabilia collection is a legend of music history. It began at the original Hard Rock Cafe in London when Eric Clapton asked if he could hang his guitar on the wall to mark his favorite bar stool as "his spot." Of course, the staff accommodated him. Then, one week later, a package from The Who's Pete Townshend arrived at the cafe with his guitar and a note bearing the message, "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete."

Each cafe is a museum honoring great names in music history. Some of the unique memorabilia you will find at Hard Rock Niagara are:

Janis Joplin
1959 caddy is perched over the entrance.
Jimi Hendrix
1967 tobacco sunburst Fender Stratocaster. This right-hand guitar strung lefty was featured in Guitar World magazine February 1987, the year it entered Hard Rock Cafe's collection.
Goo Goo Dolls
Local boy Robby Takac's Epiphone bass guitar. This is one of three Goo Goo Dolls guitars in Niagara's collection.
Elvis Presley
Black Harley Davidson cap with photo of the King wearing the hat. Very rare piece and one of Elvis' favorites from the 1950's

The Seneca Casino Lights up the night

The Hard Rock Cafe isn't the only purveyor of night time fun and food. For the more adventuresome, and those with deeper pockets, The Seneca Niagara Casino is Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week ! It opened in 2002 as the result of an $80 million transformation of the Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center. The casino features 82,000 square feet of gaming space with 2,595 slot machines and 91 table games. The casino also has a buffet, Thunder Falls Buffet, pub, a high end steak & seafood restaurant, an Italian dining experience, La Cascata, and a plush dining and dancing Las Vegas style club, Hush. They also boast three entertainment venues, The Bears Den, Seneca Events Center and Club 101. Past shows have included names like Brooks and Dunn, Jefferson Starship and Bill Cosby.

Even if you aren't a gambler, the decor is so fabulous, it's worth a peek.

Besides Hard Rock Cafe and the Seneca Niagara Casino there are oodles of small clubs and bistros, Niagara's night life IS a good life and it can be your life when you visit America's most spectacular falls.

http://www.niagara-usa.com/

http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes/Cafes.aspx?Lc=NIAG

http://www.senecaniagaracasino.com/