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American Falls and Steel Arch Bridge, Niagara Falls, NY, 1917

Subjects
Bridges & DamsRivers & Streams
Card type
Lithograph
Date
c. 1917 (White Border)
Front of American Falls and Steel Arch Bridge, Niagara Falls, NY, 1917, Miss M. Winters, MO, USA, c. 1917 lithograph postcard
Front
Back of American Falls and Steel Arch Bridge, Niagara Falls, NY, 1917, Miss M. Winters, MO, USA, c. 1917 lithograph postcard
Back

About this postcard

Viewed from Luna Island, the American Falls pour over a broad rock ledge while the steel arch bridge spans the Niagara Gorge downstream. The falls divide around Luna Island into Centre Fall and American Fall, dropping 159 feet across a combined width of about 1,100 feet. Small figures stand on the rocky shore at lower right, giving scale to the water and gorge. The bridge, known as the Falls View or Honeymoon Bridge, was completed in 1898 and carried road and trolley traffic between Niagara Falls, New York, and Ontario until an ice jam destroyed it in 1938. Luna Island, the small island between the American and Bridal Veil falls, was a popular vantage point for early tourists and photographers.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pencil

Dear Friend, [illegible] received your [illegible] card [illegible] France [illegible] being [illegible] your [illegible] S.P.

American Falls and Steel Arch Bridge from Luna Island, Niagara Falls. AMERICAN FALLS FROM LUNA ISL AND AND STEEL ARCH BRIDGE, NIAGARA FALLS, N. Y. American Falls properly comprises two precipitating floods, for the stream as it approaches the fearful brink divided by Luna Island and goes tum- bling with increased velocity over the ledge at Centre Fall, on one side, and American Fall on the other. At the point shown, the sheer descent is one hundred and fifty-nine feet, and the width is eleven hundred feet. The amount of water thus precipitated is computed to be two million five hundred thous- and gallons per second.
PostmarkedNiagara Falls, NY, July 26, 1917
Stamp
Addressed to
Miss M. Winters

Jude Anderson, MO

Postcard record

Postmarked, Niagara Falls, NY
ConditionGood
Place addressedMiss M. Winters, Jude, Anderson, MO
Place mentionedLuna Island, Niagara Falls, NY
Stamp1c George Washington, green, issued 1909
Stamp1c George Washington, green, perforated on all sides
NotesWhite border; heavy soiling and staining along the margins and some surface wear; divided-back era color lithograph. Postmark: NIAGARA FALLS N.Y. JUL 26 -17 FALLS STATION (machine cancel, 1¢ green Washington stamp). Divided-back era card with printed descriptive text; heavy toning/soiling, worn corners, torn stamp corner, faint pencil message written sideways along the left edge.

Cite this card

American Falls and Steel Arch Bridge, Niagara Falls, NY, 1917, postcard, c. 1917. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/american-falls-and-steel-arch-bridge-niagara-falls-ny-1917. Accessed November 2, 2026.