Ok, so I've been pretty giddy about this building ever since I noticed it last week while visiting Niagara Falls with Teri. Of course, being just South of the falls, I'd seen it many times before while growing up but never really thought much about it or its given purpose. I certainly never considered it to be a building that one could just go and have a look at inside.
So yeah, last week I noticed that this lovely old hydroelectric building seemed abandoned (since 73 as it turns out) and that there might be a way inside. I returned this past Monday (sans Teri) and sure enough, I was able to get into the place.
I can't say enough about the inside, but it's as nice as it looks from the outside and is very, very wet-- as though it has its own little weather system. Oh, and the ever important access to the roof was there to offer a different (and maybe rarely seen) view of the falls. Ooooh.
The most impressive aspect though was the amount of effort that the designers put into making the whole place look downright classy. Some areas had marble walls and finely detailed mosaic floors. Incredible, especially considering it's a public works facility. I can't think of a better example of form working with function. It's a shame that it's all just kind of rotting away while they figure out what to do with it.
Anyway, about this shot.. it was taken from a catwalk up on the top floor overlooking five of the station's eleven generators. A thirty second exposure and my flashlight still wasn't enough to light up that sign on the wall. It came out near black so I'm pretty amazed that I was able to pull that detail back out using Photoshop. I had to use a selective mask to do it, which makes me feel a bit dirty and unethical, but I think this one needed the words to help make it work. If only it still lit up like it would've when the place was still in operation!
