The electrical revolution that lit up – and changed – America started in Buffalo Niagara, with the harnessing of Niagara Falls. Be sure to see this dynamic exhibit that celebrates a major chapter in American history.

The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society will celebrate the taming of Niagara Falls to create electric power and its revolutionary impact on the area through a comprehensive new exhibition opening on May 3rd.

Wheels of Power: Electrifying Western New York will showcase the revolutionary efforts in the 1890s to harness the awesome power of Niagara Falls, as well as the efforts made to preserve the natural beauty of one of the United States’ most cherished natural wonders. The exhibition will also examine the incredible impact that electricity had on everyday life in turn-of-the-century Buffalo.

Wheels of Power will open May 3, 2003, and will be on view through May 30, 2004.

Using photographs, media, artifacts, paintings, and prints, Wheels of Power will illustrate the remarkable ingenuity of Nikola Tesla, the eccentric genius who drove the development of alternating current; the foresight of Buffalo’s citizenry in financing electrification efforts; and Frederick Law Olmsted’s unique vision for preserving the land, river, and falls for posterity.

The exhibition will also examine the revolutionary impact of electricity on daily life in Buffalo, one of the nation’s first cities to become electrified and perhaps the most thoroughly electrified city in the world in the late 1890s. While some Buffalonians reacted to the new technology with fear, most eagerly embraced the profound advantages of a new, electrical world.

The exhibition will trace the transitions in the preservation movement from the creation of the Niagara Reservation in 1885 (the first state park in the country) to the rise to prominence of the New York Power Authority in the 1950s under Robert Moses. Wheels of Power will conclude with current debates such as the international conflict over the amount of water flowing over the Falls, protection of the Niagara Reservation from commercial interests and concrete roadways, and the costs of power generation and distribution.

A series of public lectures, an original play, and family programming will complement the exhibition. The exhibition will occupy three spaces in the Historical Society: the Erie County Room on the lower level, the central State Court on the main level, and a gallery on the second floor.

Both the Museum Building and the Resource Center are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

For more information on the Historical Society and its programs, call 716-873-9644 or visit www.bechs.org.