Downtown North Tonawanda

Sponsored by Lumber City Development Corporation

• Location: New York
• Travel Type: Walking
• Tour Duration: 1 hour
• Language:

About This Tour
The rich history of North Tonawanda is rooted in a 19th-century engineering marvel: the Erie Canal. From the beginning, the city’s prime location along the banks of the canal, just where it meets the Niagara River, made it an ideal shipping port. Lumber companies transported their timber, felled in the dense forests of the Midwest, from the city’s docks to the expanding towns and villages in the east. By 1890, North Tonawanda was the busiest lumber port in the world. That’s how it became known as “Lumber City.”

North Tonawanda’s location on the Erie Canal made it a logical choice for a railroad hub. During the town’s heyday in the late 19th century, more than 90 trains passed through it on any given day. The booming town became home to many thriving businesses, producing everything from merry-go-rounds at the Herschell Spillman company (the source of North Tonawanda’s other nickname, “Home of the Carousel”) to typewriters at Remington Rand and some of North America’s finest silk garments at the Van Raalte Company.

Today, the newly revitalized downtown blends buildings from the 1880s with buildings from the 1960s. Each architectural element you encounter along the tour tells a story about the lives and times of residents from both yesterday and today.

On this tour, you will discover:
●     Who lived in the region before European settlers arrived
●     How the lumber industry and railroad transformed the town
●     Why North Tonawanda seceded from the neighboring city of Tonawanda
●     How North Tonawanda once had more taverns per capita than New York City
●     Where Teddy Roosevelt gave a memorable speech the year before becoming the U.S. president
●     How theatergoers enjoyed silent movies accompanied by organ music in the 1920s and ’30s
●     What national currency bills printed in a North Tonawanda bank are still in circulation today
●     How the local Elks Lodge still thrives, even after a devastating fire

Tour Highlights Include the:
●     Visitors Center of the Tonawandas
●     Erie Canal mural
●     Historic bascule bridge
●     Charles Fleishmann Park
●     Riviera Theatre
●     And much more!

Tour Sponsor
This tour is brought to you by the Lumber City Development Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing downtown North Tonawanda and its local economy.

Find More Tours Near You
If you are interested in more audio tours along the Erie Canal, check out Lockport on the Erie Canal and Cycling the Erie Canal. (You can listen to most TravelStorys tours both on-site and remotely!) To find more tours wherever your travels take you, visit TravelStorys.com. Every place has a story.