Maid of the Mist

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The Maid of the Mist is a sightseeing boat tour of Niagara Falls, New York, US. The tour starts and ends on the American side of the falls, crossing briefly into Canada during a portion of the trip.

James V. Glynn is chairman and chief executive officer of Maid of the Mist Corp. He joined Maid of the Mist in 1950 as a ticket seller and purchased the company in 1971.

There have been sightseeing boats at Niagara since 1846. Steam-powered boats were replaced by diesel-powered craft in 1955. All were named Maid of the Mist until 2020, when company president Christopher M. Glynn introduced two new boats powered by lithium-ion battery-powered electric motors; these were named James V. Glynn, after the CEO; and Nikola Tesla, for the engineer who developed a type of alternating current (AC) motor. Tesla's patents were licensed by George Westinghouse, whose company later won the bid to build the first AC power plant at Niagara Falls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The name, Maid of the Mist, could be a reference to the Iroquois myth of Lelawala.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The United States

The original Maid of the Mist was built at a landing near Niagara Falls on the American side of the border.<ref name="Mansfield1899">Template:Cite book</ref> The boat was christened in 1846 as a border-crossing ferry;<ref name= "HopkinsonJohnson2013">Template:Cite book</ref> its first trip was on September 18, 1846.<ref name= "Disturnell1857">Template:Cite book</ref> The two-stage barge-like steamer was designed primarily as a link for a proposed ferry service between New York City and Toronto. It was a Template:Convert-long side-wheeler with an Template:Convert beam which was powered by steam produced from a wood- and coal-fired boiler. It could carry up to 100 passengers.<ref name= "Anderson1954">Template:Cite book</ref>

The ferry did well until 1848, when the opening of a suspension bridge between the US 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.

The present day Maid of the Mist Corporation was formed in 1884 by Captain R. F. Carter and Frank LaBlond,<ref name="(Ont.)1896">Template:Cite book</ref> who invested in a new Maid that would launch in 1885.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BuelBuel2012">Template:Cite book</ref> Captain Carter and Mr. LaBlond hired Alfred H. White from Port Robinson, Ontario, to build the new ship.Template:Citation needed A letter in the archives of the Buffalo Historical Society from Mr. LaBlond to Alfred White says that they are well pleased with the vessel and asks Alfred to add a wale onto the boat.Template:Citation needed

The service is run by Maid of the Mist Corp. of Niagara Falls, New York. Maid of the Mist has been owned by the Glynn family since 1971.<ref name= "unclear_future_nyt">Template:Cite web</ref>

James V. Glynn is chairman and chief executive officer of Maid of the Mist Corp. Glynn joined Maid of the Mist in 1950 as a ticket seller, and purchased the company in 1971. During his tenure, Maid of the Mist expanded operations, achieving ten-fold growth.Template:Citation needed

Canada

Access to the river-level attraction on the Canadian side was provided by the Maid of the Mist Incline Railway, a funicular railway, between 1894 and 1990, to travel between street level and the boat dock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As this service proved increasingly inadequate in transporting the growing passenger base of the 1990s, four high-speed elevators replaced the railway in 1991. On the American side, the dock is reached by four elevators enclosed in the observation tower.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Russel Brothers of Owen Sound, Ontario, made two all-steel Maids for the Niagara Falls Gorge, in 1955 and 1956.<ref name= BoatPage> Template:Cite web</ref> The first one is now based in Parry Sound, Ontario, and runs dinner cruises and day excursions. The second Maid was sold in 1983 to the United Pentecostal Church of Ontario and destined for missionary service in the Amazon. Maid of the Mist II took part in the July 9, 1960, rescue of Roger Woodward, a seven-year-old boy who became the first person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls with nothing but a life jacket. Maid of the Mist II served as a Maid of the Mist until 1983. Subsequently she was relocated to the Amazon River, where she served as a missionary ship for some years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A partial history of Maid of the Mist is featured in the IMAX film Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable passengers

While on his 1860 tour of Canada, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), rode on Maid of the Mist.<ref name="Radforth2004">Template:Cite book</ref>

June 1952: Marilyn Monroe rode the Maid of the Mist while in Niagara Falls to film the movie, Niagara.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mikhail Gorbachev was a passenger in 1983.<ref name="unclear_future_nyt"/>

1991: Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and their two young sons, Princes William and Harry, rode on Maid of the Mist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1996: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was a passenger, escorted by James V. Glynn.

2003: BBC Scotland's popular comedy sitcom Still Game made mention of the Maid of the Mist when lead characters Jack and Victor visited the former's family in Canada, and Victor takes Jack's grandson's aboard off screen.

2003: Maid of the Mist was featured in a scene of the movie Bruce Almighty, where Jim Carrey's character Bruce Nolan, a news anchor, has a mental breakdown after being told over his earpiece that his rival was given a promotion he himself was eyeing.

2009: NBC-TV's popular sit-com The Office filmed scenes on Maid of the Mist. The episode centered on the wedding of the characters Jim and Pam.

2018: ESPN's Monday Night Countdown recorded a segment before a Buffalo Bills game.

2020: NFL great DeMarcus Ware and a crew from NFL Films were onboard James V. Glynn in 2020 ahead of the Buffalo Bills - New England Patriots game.

2022: Maid of the Mist was featured in the 2022 motion picture A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks.

Boats

Original ships

The first series boats to bear the "Maid of the Mist" moniker were steam-powered wooden-hulled ferries. These were in use until an early-season fire destroyed the last of them in 1955.

First Maid of the Mist <ref name="Guillet1933">Template:Cite book</ref>

  • Years of service: 1846–1854
  • Type: double-stack steamboat ferry
  • Engine: one sidewheel steam

Second Maid of the Mist<ref name="maidofthemist.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

  • Years of service: 1854–1860
  • Length: Template:Convert
  • Type: single-stack steamer
  • Engine: paddle boat
File:Maid of the Mist I (U&U).jpg
Maid of the Mist I, published c. 1901
File:Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls, U.S.A, by American Stereoscopic Co., fl. 1896-1906.jpg
Stereoscopic view of Maid of the Mist II, c. 1896–1906

Third Maid of the Mist<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

  • Years of service: 1885–1955
  • Type: steam boat

Fourth Maid of the Mist<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

  • Years of service: 1892–1955
  • Type: white oak steamboat
  • Length: Template:Convert
  • Engine: two-engine steam

Diesel vessels

After a fire destroyed the last of the wooden-hulled steamers, they were replaced by steel-hulled, diesel-powered ferries, launched in 1955 and 1956. About every 20 years or so, new ships were added to the fleet, of increasingly larger capacity; the initial Maid of the Mist held only 101 passengers, while the last of the diesel-powered vessels, Maid of the Mist VII, could hold up to 600. The last of these were retired in 2019, to be replaced by electric-powered vessels that can hold 600 passengers.

Maid of the Mist I<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

Maid of the Mist II<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

  • Years of service: 1956–1983
  • Type: all-steel boat, twin of I
  • Engine: Template:Convert diesel engines
  • Passengers: 101
File:Maid of the Mist 1976.jpg
Maid of the Mist boarding dock, 1976
File:View of Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist IMG 1352.JPG
View of Niagara Falls from Maid of the Mist
File:Maid of the Mist V in front of Horsehoe Falls, Niagara Falls, United States, 2007.jpg
Maid of the Mist V, 2007
File:Maidsofmist.jpg
Maid of Mist IV and Maid of Mist VII

Maid of the Mist III<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

Maid of the Mist IV<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

Maid of the Mist V<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

Maid of the Mist VI<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

Maid of the Mist VII<ref name="maidofthemist.com"/>

Electric vessels

File:James V. Glynn on the James V. Glynn.jpg

Beginning with the 2020 season, the Maid of the Mist launched two all-new electric ships, with a similar size and capacity to the prior diesel-powered ones.

James V. Glynn<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref>

Nikola Tesla<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

See also

References

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