Old Fort Niagara Visitor Center Open

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held for $5 Million Facility to Promote History and Tourism

The new $5 million visitor and interpretive center at the Old Fort Niagara State Historic Site in Youngstown, New York opened today. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the completion of the multi-phase project - a new visitor and education center created through the adaptive reuse of a former U.S. Army commissary building. The Governor also announced a $128,980 Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) award toward the new center to the Old Fort Niagara Association (OFNA), which operates the site.

“Today’s ribbon cutting marks another successful step in strengthening the visitor experience in the Niagara region and promoting the unique role the Fort has played in history,” Governor Pataki said. “In celebration of this special day, the announcement of the EPF award continues our longstanding commitment to preserving and improving this property and safeguarding the Fort’s military heritage that helped shaped our nation.”

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Bernadette Castro joined State and local officials at the day’s event hosted by the Old Fort Niagara Association. The new facility will provide expanded services and amenities to patrons including state-of-the-art reception facilities, an orientation theater/classroom, interpretive exhibit space and a museum shop. The centerpiece of the visitor facility and exhibits is the conserved 1812 garrison flag measuring 24’ by 28’ that flew over the Fort before its capture by the British.

The EPF grant to the Old Fort Niagara Association will help restore the Fort including completion of the Fort’s earthwork fortifications, new pedestrian walkways, improved landscaping and restoration of the French Castle’s windows. Today’s award is in addition to the $3.1 million previously committed by the State for the Visitor Center project including $1 million in the Governor’s Budget this year and support from the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the New York Power Authority, Senator George Maziarz, and Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte. The Old Fort Niagara Association has also raised $2.8 million in private gifts and $675,000 in federal funding. The next phase of work at the site will include additional landscaping work and renovations to the exhibits inside the Old Fort.

Representing more than 300 years of military history, Old Fort Niagara is a National Historic Landmark and at 22 acres is one of the largest and most complex in the State historic system. Attracting more than 100,000 visitors each year, the site features the 1726 French Castle, the oldest surviving structure in the Great Lakes region and one of the most comprehensive collections of historic military architecture in North America.

Bernadette Castro, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said, “Today’s ribbon cutting is a milestone for this popular State historic site and heritage tourism in the region. The new Visitor Center is an innovative adaptive re-use of a former Army building that will now welcome patrons and offer exciting and educational programming. Together with Governor Pataki’s continued investment in this property and our successful partnership with the Old Fort Niagara Association, the rich military history of the Fort will be preserved for generations ahead.”

Senator George Maziarz said, "Old Fort Niagara is the landmark historical attraction in our region, and the new visitor center will welcome thousands and thousands of visitors who come to learn about our unique past. The precious 1812 garrison flag, and all the other artifacts and information that tell the fort's story, have found a proper home in the new facility. Today's ribbon cutting begins a new chapter in the long history of Old Fort Niagara."

Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte said, “The new Visitor Center has been a long-time dream of the Old Fort Niagara Association and Bob Emerson. I was pleased that I was able to help them achieve their goal by supporting the project with state funding. The visitor center will enhance the experience at the fort and promote tourism in Niagara County. We must build on our strengths to keep moving forward – Old Fort Niagara is a national treasure and a great asset to our community.”

Robert Emerson, Executive Director of the Old Fort Niagara Association, said, “The Visitor Center is the result of a synergistic partnership between the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the community. Without the enthusiastic support of Governor Pataki, the western New York legislative delegation, Parks officials and hundreds of generous donors, this great new heritage resource could not have come to fruition.”

In 1927, local citizens formed the Old Fort Niagara Association to preserve the historic structure of the Fort and make them open to the public. When the Army withdrew from the Fort in 1963, it ceded the property to the State. The property was later placed in the authority of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation where it is now operated by OFNA as an educational institution.

The historic Fort is the northern terminus for the Niagara River Greenway, the proposed plan for interconnected parks, river access points and waterfront trails along the Niagara River from Lake Erie at Buffalo to Lake Ontario at the site of the Fort.