The Forgotten City in the Shadow of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is undoubtedly one of the world's greatest natural wonders. At the height of its popularity in the 1950s, tourists, daredevils, and honeymooners from around the world flocked here to the city of Niagara, New York. Niagara was so popular, it was even the backdrop to a movie by the same name, starring Marilyn Monroe. Today, things are very different. While millions still visit the falls, many bypass the city of Niagara, New York, described frequently as the poster child for urban decay. Most visitors choose to stay right across the water on the Canadian side, which still has a thriving tourist industry. You could even see the high-rise hotels, casinos, and theaters of Niagara Falls, Ontario from the American side. I've always wanted to know more about this place with so much physical beauty, natural beauty, and economic potential, but just hasn't been able to succeed in tourism the way that their Canadian counterpart has. That's Michelle Sue, a Canadian photojournalist. She's passed through American Niagara dozens of times, but until recently, she knew very little about it. Eager to learn more about the crumbling city, Michelle decided to take portraits of the residents who live there. I began speaking with people who hung the American flag outside their homes, asking them why they hung it and what that flag means to them, and it kind of grew into this project that's about the American dream. To outsiders, Niagara is a city where the American dream broke a long time ago. Back in the 1950s and 60s, American industry was booming. Industrial cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Niagara prospered. But when industry found cheaper labor elsewhere, they left those cities, and Niagara became another notch on America's rust belt. The median income is $30,000, which is 40% below the national average, and about a fifth live below the poverty line, so we're talking about a pretty poor place. Despite the bleak outlook of the city and the ever-present reminder of greener pastures in Canada, Michelle was surprised to find that there were still residents who believed in the American dream there. How did you make your American dream here? I'm successful. I have two businesses. I'm an artist. I'm composing music. I can do here with the hard work whatever I want to do, and it will be done. But the concept of the American dream was one that definitely divided the community. Many other residents have given up on the idea. I don't think there's such a thing as an American dream. I think people that come to America have a dream, but you aren't going to get what you get out of what you give. If you don't work for it, it's not going to be given to you. Despite those conflicting opinions, what unites this community, perhaps, is some affinity with that idea that nothing comes for free, that everything is earned through hard work and determination. Inspired by her portraits and discussions with Niagara's residents, Michelle also took pictures of the city's decaying landscape. I'm not the kind of photographer that takes photos of abandoned buildings, but from afar, I saw this factory which had these red leaves kind of crawling over the side, and I thought that really spoke in a symbolic way to a place that really kind of failed in its industrial sector. And so I sought out the beauty in the landscapes and that it felt really kind of described the community, both its struggles with poverty, but also the beauty within the people. It was this connection between people and place that inspired Michelle to present her portraits as diptych images, pairing each of Niagara's stoic residents alongside the eroded industrial beauty of the landscape. I hope my project allows people to see the beauty in those who endure through all of this continued economic struggles. In Russia, a number of secret cities were built in the 1940s for the purpose of making nuclear weaponry. Watch this video to find out what these cities are like today. One of the 44 last remaining closed cities left in Russia. Under communism, it was not even shown on the map, and freedom of movement was heavily restricted. Thanks for watching, and don't forget to subscribe!