Tourism
Niagara Falls was not accessible to anyone until the 1820s when railroads were built to travel to the falls [1].
Along with railroads, stairs and hotels were built for ease of access for visitors.
Many hotels were built to host the increasing number of tourists. These hotels became a main attraction and draw of the trip as they offered a place for visitors to see and be seen.
An advertisement for the hotel. The bright colors and the announcing how close the hotel was to the falls helped draw people to that hotel, which turned it into another attraction.
Hotels brought easy access for visitors, diversified the experience as there was more than just seeing the falls, and gave tourists something familar while being in nature [2].
After the Civil War, the rail lines and automobiles were cheaper which meant that the middle class had the means and time to visit the falls. Due to the large number of middle class visitors, tourist camps were built for people to stay at for cheap.
In order to encourage visitors, tourbooks were created and distributed.
These could be souvenirs or guides to what there was to see at the falls, and could be taken home. At home they became an item that could be shown off.
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[1] Patrick McGreevy, Imagining Niagara (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press), 7.
[2] William Irwin. The new Niagara: tourism, technology, and the landscape of Niagara Falls, 1776-1917 (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press), 55.