Francis J. Petrie was for many years the City Historian of Niagara Falls, as well as the author of a regular newspaper column in the Niagara Falls Review.
After his death many of his photographs, negatives, slides, and postcards were donated to the Library.
The new Illumination Facilities installed on the Canadian side illuminated both the American & Horseshoe Falls at night, 1925 was the first year of operation ;
A massive ice jam in January 1938 brought down the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. Traffic on the bridge was halted at 4 a.m. on January 27 and a death watch began... ;
American Falls in background ; the four large smokestacks in the extreme background belong to the Aluminum Company of America , formerly known as the Pittsburg Reduction Company ;