Lake Ontario Sunset
A beautiful sunset as seen from the shore of Lake Ontario in Olcott Beach, New York. Lake Ontario is one of the Great Lakes, connected to Lake Erie via the Welland canal and the ocean via the St Lawrence Seaway. It is the terminus of the Niagara River, and home to a great many shipwrecks,
lighthouses and an important part of shipping and trade. It can be beautiful and serene, like in this photo, or churning and wild as the winds whip along it’s length. It helps drop feet of lake effect snow on places to the east, such as Watertown. If you’d like to add a little nautical beauty to your home, click the image above to see the products that feature our sunset photograph, or follow this link to our Landscape section in our shop: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633123 .
That’s Charlotte New York, not North Carolina!
A quaint lakeside community, Charlotte is located north of Rochester at the terminus of the Genesee River. A beautiful park sits on the bank of the river with piers jutting out into Lake Ontario. Charlotte is home to fantastic brick and Medina stone lighthouse. This beautiful building was saved from destruction by the town’s high school in the 60’s and is now operated by volunteers as a historical museum during the summer. Visitors can climb the lighthouse tower for a fabulous view of the area and lake, as well as view historic photographs in the house itself. The lighthouse was decommissioned long ago, when the piers built to keep sandbars from forming in the mouth of the river actually created a build up of silt and sand that moved the shoreline too far from the light for it to be effective. A small electric pier light now guides ships and recreational vessels safely into the Port of Rochester. If you’re in the Rochester area, be sure to visit Charlotte and it’s historic lighthouse. Admission is free, but donations are always gratefully accepted and help the volunteers to keep up the house, light and surrounding landscape. Click on the photograph of the lighthouse if you would like to purchase prints, mousepads or other products featuring the light. Or, visit our website here for architecture products: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2633153
You can also choose this unique view of the cast iron spiral staircase from the lightouse:
Niagara county-more than Niagara Falls!
This forgotten corner of New York is more than it’s famous falls. This Western county borders Lake Ontario to the north and the Niagara river to the west, although it is usually over shadowed by it’s southern neighbor, Erie. Sadly, rapid development is quickly depleting it’s beautiful farm country, but there are still some fantastic open fields and orchards in the northern portions. These orchards are rooted in the history of the area, and make a spectacular show of white and pink in the spring as they fill the fields with showy blooms. Fortunately there are communities like Somerset that are establishing themselves as “right to farm” communities that will help protect the heritage of this beautiful place. A springtime drive through the northern portion including Youngstown, Wilson, Newfane & Somerset will amaze with it’s fields full of trees in full bloom. Fall brings apple festivals that give a nod to the heritage of this great little corner of New York. If you are traveling to the area in spring, be sure to take a drive through orchard country! Click on the photograph of the orchard in bloom if you are interested in bringing home some of the beauty of the area, or click here for a link to a section in our photography shop dedicated to flowers: http://www.cafepress.com/photographz/2688373
Old Fort Niagara
The above photo was taken from Niagara-On-The-Lake in Ontario, Canada of Old Fort Niagara. The fort is right at the mouth of the Niagara River, where it empties into Lake Ontario.
The fort was originally built in 1726 by France and played an important role in the struggle between Britan and France. It also was a training ground and barracks for troops during both world wars. Today, it is restored and serves as a historic monument and is open to the public year round. But it almost was lost to history in the early 1900’s as time and nature worked to destroy the oldest structures. By 1914, a corner of the seawall and a portion of the French Castle were beginning to collapse. Around 1920 the roof of the storehouse was so damaged the building was unusable. But the surrounding community of Youngstown took an interest in saving the historic landmark.
By 1922 several groups had formed and were working to get it restored. In 1924 the first victory came with the repair of the failing seawall. 1927 marked the true turnaround for the ancient fort, as federal funds were being supplemented with private funds to repair the ailing buildings. A full restoration was completed in 1934.
Today school children and tourists file through the grand gatehouse to view how life was for the earliest inhabitents-and of course, hear the inevidable ghost stories. The most commonly told is the headless ghost of the well, located in the French Castle. As the story goes, there was a fight over a woman between two soilders, to be resolved by dual. The loser was beheaded and his body disposed of in the well. He is said to still roam the roams and halls of the Castle to this day.
If you would like to purchase an item featuring this historic building, please click the photograph above. Also part of the Fort Niagara location is a lighthouse. To view items featuring the Fort Niagara Light, click the photo below.
The Olcott Beach Lighthouse
The above black and white photo was taken recently in Olcott Beach, NY. This is not the original lighthouse, it is a replica that was built in 2003 with funds raised by volunteers. The original structure was built in the 1870’s. It was moved from it’s pier location to a marina in the 1930’s but was eventually razed in 1963.
Olcott Beach is a town in transition. It had been the jewel of the Lake Ontario shoreline for many years, with a huge hotel, carrousel park and many shops. People would travel there for day trips from all over Western New York-it was THE place to be on a hot summer day. Eventually, cars got faster, people found other things to interest them and the town fell out of favor as the place to go with the family.
In 2003, the Carrousel house was restored and an original Herschell Carrousel (manufactured in near by North Tonawanda) was installed. In 2004, four vintage Herschell kiddie rides were added. Rides are .25 and oporated by volunteers. While riding the Carrousel, check out the beautiful 1938 Wurlitzer organ with also may have been made in North Tonawanda (home of one of the large Wurlitzer factories).
Saturday nights on main street are hoppin’ with activity from May-September as the street shuts down for car cruises. On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, Krull Park opens up for a huge car show-usually between 500-800 cars fill the park.
With a lot of hard work and dedication, Olcott is back on it’s way to becoming a local place to be. Plans are currently in the works for a local businessman to renovate some of the buildings on main street to be rented as shops. The people responsible for the Carrousel’s return are looking into building a small ampitheatre that will offer outdoor movies from the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s as well as puppet shows. If you’d like to bring home a piece of Olcott’s historic rebirth, click the photograph or one of the links to my photography shops in the sidebar for items featuring the photograph.
