Recently I was at Niagara Falls State park and I stopped at a placard I have driven by hundreds of…read moretimes. You may have as well. This is what is said: "First House Built By Judge Porter In 1808. Many Notable Visitors And Friendly Indians Were Received Within Its Walls." Its standing in a open lot, so the house is long gone. Judge Augustus Porter was a chief land surveyor for the Connecticut Land Company in the late 1790's. He is thought to be one of the first white settlers to the area (still occupied by various Indian tribes at the time). He bought this land near Niagara Falls, and built a sawmill (using the water power) and some other things. He was also a politician at the time, and was the State Assembly man for the Genesee and Ontario District at some point. He and his brother understood the value of the Falls as a tourist attraction and were able to make that happen. They built a bridge to Goat Island, got a ferry to cross the river, and planned gardens for people to come and enjoy. He was a busy man, and had a general store in the area, and then was a judge (the first for Niagara County) and postmaster (the first for Niagara Falls). A man of many talents. This was the site of the first home he built in the area. He had 5 children. Worth a quick stop along the road.

Graycliff is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's residential designs and is often regarded as the bridge…read morebetween his Prairie houses of the early 1900s and later masterpieces, such as Fallingwater (I look forward to visiting one day). Designed by Wright for Isabelle and Darwin D. Martin (and unlike the Martin house, which you should also visit), the estate sits on an 8.5-acre bluff overlooking Lake Erie. It's about 25 miles southwest of Buffalo, New York. And I did not realize this important tidbit: the gardens and landscape designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, who worked with Wright. The property was built between 1926 and 1931 as the summer home for the Martin family. Also, Graycliff is a New York State Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Importnat note: the Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House and Graycliff Conservancy are two separate nonprofits -- I did not know that before my visit. The two even have distinct missions. But they each have the common goal to preserve and share the history of the Martin family and Wright's work. I highly recommend visiting both sites. And be sure to check the schedule and tour times. Outside of the welcome center, gift shop and adjacent garden, you must sign up for a paid tour to see the rest of the buildings on site. In the central house, Wright effectively dissolved the traditional boundary between indoors and outdoors. There is local limestone, ochre stucco and cedar shingles and, if you keep a watchful eye, you will see Wright's designs at work: triangles, circles, hearts, diamond-shapes and other shapes are embedded and featured throughout the grounds and in the architecture. Graycliff was also personally significant for Wright. During the mid-1920s his career and finances were in turmoil. The Martins, longtime friends as well as clients, commissioned Graycliff at a moment when relatively few of Wright's designs were being built. Over time, many architectural historians view the project as helping sustain his practice during one of the most difficult periods of his life. And last interesting tidbit: The Martin family owned the property until after Isabelle and Darwin died. It was sold in 1951 to the Piarist Fathers, an order of Roman Catholic Priests from Hungary. They lived in and used Graycliff until 1997 (even built buildings and structures), when the property was sold. Graycliff was actual set to be demolished for condominiums -- can you imagine?! A few tips for your visit: -If you are driving a larger vehicle (large trucks, RV's, camper vans, vehicles pulling trailers, call in advance. The team will work to accommodate your vehicle. Do not miss the brand new visitor center. It has interactive educational features, an informative video and an excellent gift shop, with snacks on site. -Parking is out front at no cost. -A portion of all tours is outside, rain or shine. -Wear comfortable clothing and comfortable walking shoes. -Apparently, stiletto heels are not allowed in the main house to protect the restored floor. -Only service animals are allowed on the grounds.

I did a tour of Graycliff as part of the All Day All Wright tour a while ago anat that time it was…read moreinteresting but also a bit disappointing both because the renovations were ongoing and we arrived late due to traffic so the tour was cut short. Seeing online that Graycliff had just opened a new visitor center and was in full swing I decided to make a one day trip to see it again. Located about a half hour southwest of Buffalo and about an hour northeast of Erie, Graycliff sit right on the Lake Erie shore. There is a small sign at the end of the long drive that leads you to the new visitor center. The center is set up just outside the area that Wright designed. The center is very modern but it does have elements that are inspired by Wright, the horizontal lines of the building, the glass that allows you to see through the building is similar to Graycliff. Inside there is a very nice gift shop, some interesting exhibits and an unusual unisex bathroom. I had signed up for the extended tour and we had a nice group who all had some experience with Wright before, including one guy who had done extensive work in building the new visitor center. The tour starts in the visitor center with a very well made video giving some of the history of Wright, the Martins and Graycliff. After that we went through the Picking Garden which was very attractive and smelled wonderful. We then learned about the layout of the outside, including that the driveway was oriented to track the movement of the sun on the summer solstice. We were also informed about the history of the site, the local materials being used and the history of the house after the Martins had to give it up. We also were told about the water features and how the house was oriented to allow views through the house to see the lake. Although this was the 3rd project Darwin Martin had hired Wright for (the Darwin Martin House and the Larkin Company Adminstration Building were the others) here the client was Mrs. Martin and this was to be a summer house so the overall design is a bit unique. The timing of the project was also crucial as Wright had finished his Prairie Style and the Usonian style was not yet developed. Wright had also gone through a number of personal issues and public scandals so this commission was helpful in bridging a difficult period. Once inside Graycliff you realize that there are many common Wright elements, the use of natural materials, the importance of the hearth as the heart of the house and how he had opened up the common areas with a flow. Graycliff is unique in how it is oriented to the lake with huge windows on both sides. We also got to see the second floor and the second floor of the smaller second house that initially was the garage and chauffeur's quarters and later used by Martin's daughter's family. I have to compliment our docent Brian who did a great job of guiding us through the house and property while supplying information, pointing out details and just being very entertaining. Wright was a complex person, while a genius and visionary he also had personal issues and could be difficult to work with, Brian gave a nice balanced view of Wright, his relationship to the Martins and how Graycliff came to be, plus its history and restoration. On my previous visit I had enjoyed Graycliff, but also found it a bit disappointing, this visit reflects the great job that has been done on finishing the restoration and furnishing the property to best effect. While not as flashy as some of the better know Wright designs, Graycliff is well worth a visit for its historical significance to Wright and to see how he was in transition and developing new and different ideas. A great visit and I am so glad I took the time for a second visit.

I wouldn't pull off the freeway to see him, but I ran the riverfront 5K last weekend because i was…read morepromised a Muddy photo op and he didn't disappoint! (he is HUGE!) if you're going to put up a giant Muddy, make it worth it! (and he is, lol!)

What is the purpose of making something like a giant statue of a mudcat? To make your town…read morememorable and distinct from the other small towns around it. Mission accomplished. Don't hate on Muddy... he never hurt anyone and he give the town that flair it needs to be remembered.

an early day off and a concert in Guelph lead me to come to this bridge, as i did my research in…read moreadvanced and i wanted to come to a park and get some photography in. this was a really smart move to come to this bridge and park. i was able to find parking in the area no problem, and i couldn't get over how in the middle of the day on a Friday, this bridge and the surrounding park was absolutely silent. in doing my research that i found out that this is one of only two covered bridges in our wonderful province, it wasn't on my bucket list to come here for this reason, but its off my list. a wonderful bridge to come and just disconnect from everything, seriously quiet here, even with all of the animals just flying around or swimming. this bridge is in good shape but has alot of graffiti as well. would come back if in the area.

Yaaay! I have officially visited the only two covered bridges in Ontario, Canada…read more Built in June 1992 as a foot/bicycle path along the river, it is also part of a12.5-mile network of six trails which includes the Royal Recreational Trail. The bridge is 144 ft long and crosses over the Speed River from the Guelph Lawn Bowling Club parking area into York Road Park. 400 volunteers help build this bridge making it the second covered bridge in the province of Ontario. There are miles and miles of greenways and trails here making Guelph a true walker/runner/bikers dream. During my visit the students from nearby University of Guelph seemed to be put the trails to great use. Ithiel Town (born in Connecticut) patented his Town Lattice truss design in 1820 and to this day it is still considered one of the most durable and longest lasting of all covered bridge truss systems. Not to mention the lattice design allows the bridge to have more natural light than any other truss design. FINAL THOUGHTS As a person who loves covered bridges, I was happy to see several new bridges using this proven truss design on my long road trip from Atlanta to Canada. If you happen to be in the area, or have never seen a covered bridge in person, let me assure you this design was quite popular in the 1800's and many of those old bridges are still standing throughout the United States. Great backdrop for special occasion photography. Enjoy!

This is the childhood home of Lucille Ball that had been restored to what it may have looked like…read morewhen Lucy grew up there. She had resided here with her mother and grandparents along with her brother Fred. The area is known as Celoron and not far from that home is the Lucille Ball memorial park. Lucy used to work at that park when it was a small amusement park by the lake. The house is painted in a bright blue but what stands out is the polka dot garage door and the lopsided barbecue in the back. The barbecue was probably inspired from one of the last "I love Lucy" episodes. Note-the residence is a private dwelling and people live here. For this reason, you are asked to be respectul of the property. More information can be found on their website which also happens to be attached to the front entry door. Definitely worth a quick photo opportunity.

The love and care that has been put into restoring Lucy's childhood home is indescribable. One…read moreneeds to really experience it first hand to truly appreciate it. And to know that all the money earned is then donated back to the community is a true testament to the type of people the owners are.

Great place to come with your family. Admission fees are $15 for car & driver and $5 for each…read morepassenger. I recommend getting the $115 annual Hamilton conservation pass which gives your family (a car up-to 6 people) access to this place and 9 other conservation places. So far with the membership, we've been to also Valens Lake and Christie Lake which are my two favourite places for spending a day...lots of green space to have family BBQ outings, lots of activities, biking (Christie only) and walking trails, paddling and swimming. Although this place doesn't have that much activities, it's quite unique with all the historical houses and shops. It would be nicer to visit here when covid is over since the shops were closed.

3.5/5 This place is…read morea gem, and completely hidden from the realms of popular travelled routes such as Highway 8. It is a great place to learn about some of Canada's history, and materials people used to use until technology caught up. Despite the fact we arrived 20 minutes before closure, we still managed to visit many of the historic buildings and learned a lot about 18th/19th century way of living, such as sewing, clothing, and newspaper printing. The fee coming in is $9.50 for adults, but I found the overall visit to be worth it, even if it was only for 30 minutes. Maybe if I managed to visit more buildings I would give it 4 stars.

I have been visiting the Watson-curtze mansion for many years from when I was young till now…read more one great place to learn about loads of local history + they always have something history related when I visit there. I remember when I was younger they had a room with robots dressed as historic figures talking about all the historic battles going on like the war of 1812 I would tell anybody who hasn't been there you have to visit there lots of great history inside there