"I have seen the Grand Canyon, Ayer’s Rock and other great natural sights in the world. I don’t think anything holds a candle to the sheer magnificence, beauty and awesome power of Niagara Falls. People in Niagara Falls, which is the city I was born and raised in, unfortunately tend to forget that we have a bona fide world wonder at our doorstep. There isn’t a wall of hotels at the Grand Canyon, Ayer’s Rock or Victoria Falls, nor should there be at Niagara Falls. Please leave the Loretto Academy property alone."

- Edward L. Greenspan Q.C., Canada's most famous criminal defence lawyer and Niagara Falls native

"Niagara Falls belongs to all the people of the world. Its natural beauty must not be destroyed by high-rise development for the financial gain of a few."

- Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Day the Falls Stood Still

"Millions of visitors make the pilgrimage here to behold the magnificent sight of the Horseshoe Falls. It is utterly shocking that the very people who benefit economically would consider, for a millisecond, altering or damaging its natural beauty."

- Diana Olsen, local resident and business owner.

"I am appalled by the design to destroy Loretto Academy. It is destroying a national treasure. The falls are for the people -- not developers."

- Catherine Gildiner, author of Too Close to the Falls and After the Falls

"The magnificent framework of green foliage in which this glorious spectacle of the myriad forms and shows of moving water is set is an essential and indispensable part of its interest and loveliness."

- New York Evening Post commenting on rampant development at Niagara Falls in 1882

"[Niagara Falls] is not a property, but a shrine - a temple erected by the hand of the Almighty for all the children of men...[we] mark out the boundaries of the sanctuary, expel from the interior all ordinary human pursuits and claims, so that visitors and pilgrims from near or far may come hither, and be permitted to behold, to love, to worship, to adore."

- Oration delivered at the opening of New York State Reservation at Niagara Falls in 1885

Stop the Walls Above Niagara Falls

Friends of Niagara Falls is a nonprofit organization working to preserve the environment and natural beauty of the Falls of Niagara. Just now we are focused on stopping the high-rise development approved for the three hectares of green space surrounding Loretto Academy, a stately, 148-year-old convent school that sits atop the bluff at the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls.

Sign our Stop the Walls Above the Falls petition.

The treed grounds of Loretto frame the falls in nature, a much more fitting backdrop to a natural wonder of the world than an unsightly wall of hotels. The high-rises will cast shadows on the parkland surrounding the falls and the falls itself and may increase the number of rain-like days at Niagara Falls, as has been demonstrated for recent high-rise development.

Loretto is the site of the approved high-rise development

Approved high-rise development (57, 42 and 32 stories)

What are the problems?

A wall of hotels is not a suitable backdrop to one of the natural wonders of the world. Today the treed grounds of Loretto frame the Horseshoe Falls in nature.

The tallest of the high-rises, at 57 stories--more than three times the height of the falls--will dwarf Niagara Falls.

The new high-rises will cast shadows on parts of Queen Victoria Park and Goat Island and will interfere with Niagara's trademark rainbow and the spectacle of the setting sun’s light on the Horseshoe Falls.

Loretto Sunset
Sunset over Loretto Academy

The high-rise hotels at Niagara Falls are changing the air flow so that the mist is drawn toward the land, creating more days with rain-like conditions, according to consulting engineers Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc., who has modeled the area. Misty days doubled over the decade when the high-rises went up.

Much of the Loretto property is designated as an environmental conservation area in the City's Official Plan.

With a 30-acre swath of land zoned for high-rises in the tourist district of Niagara Falls, Ontario largely undeveloped, if there is in fact a need for more hotel rooms, there is no reason to build on the Loretto property.

Loretto Academy and the surrounding grounds should be designated and protected under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Loretto Academy

Do tax revenue and jobs justify wreaking havoc on one of the natural wonders of the world?

No, particularly not when those same benefits occur whether the high-rises are built on the Loretto property or elsewhere in the tourist district.

How has a property that has been so important to the natural beauty of Niagara Falls for over 148 years become the site of a high-rise development?

October 17, 2005 - Niagara Falls, Ontario City Council turned down its planning department's recommendation to designate Loretto Academy and its surrounding grounds under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Voting record

For heritage designation: Diodati, Ioannoni, Morocco, Wing
Against heritage designation: Campbell, Kerrio, Pietrangelo, Salci, Volpatti

January 19, 2006 - Romzap Ltd. purchased Loretto Academy and surrounding green space.

June 9, 2009 - Niagara Falls, Ontario City Council approves Romzap Ltd's request to amend the city's Official Plan to add the Loretto property to the area deemed suitable for high-rises and to permit three high-rises to be built on the land.

Voting record

For high-rise development at Loretto: Diodati, Ioannoni, Kerrio, Maves, Pietrangelo, Salci
Against high-rise development at Loretto: Fisher, Wing

What is the current status?

Before giving final approval, the Niagara Falls, Ontario City Council must be satisfied with a series of studies (for example, environmental, archeological and heritage studies) that Romzap is required to complete and pass a Zoning By-law Ammendment.