Niagara Park’s Whirlpool Aero Car Is Commemorated As A Work of ‘Historic Engineering Significance’

By Doug Draper

It may not offer the screaming thrills of a modern-day amusement park ride, but no matter.

Leonardo Torres Quevedo, grandson of his name sake who designed Niagara Park's historic Whirlpool Aero Car, joins Vic Perry, president of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, in commemmorating the time-honoured ride. in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Photo by Doug Draper

Niagara Park’s Whirlpool Aero Car – now just six years shy of its centennial – has a timeless charm that continues attracting more than 100,000 riders a year for a unique, bird’s-eye view of one of the most spectacular rivers the world.

This September 30, one of those riders was the grandson bearing the same name as the legendary Spanish engineer, Leonardo Torres Quevedo, who designed the Aero Car that has remained one of the more popular tourist attractions along the Niagara River since it was built in 1916.

Torres Quevedo’s grandson was joined on the ride from one wall of the Niagara River gorge to another, two hundred feet above the whirlpool rapids, by Vic Perry, president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering.

Earlier in the day, the two men signed an agreement between the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE and its Spanish counterpart, promoting a closer working relationship for the benefit of members of both associations and the engineering profession in general. At the same, the Whirlpool Aero Car (formerly known as the Spanish Aero Car) was named by the CSCE as an “International Historic Civil Engineering Work.”

“This is the first agreement of its kind between our two associations and it will bring civil engineers in both countries closer together to exchange information and ideas,” stated Perry in a Niagara Parks Commission media release.

The Whirlpool Aero Car in action.

The Aero Car – constructed in Canada by a Spanish company – is a 94-year-old example of exchanging engineering know-how between the two nations and is the only work in Canada by Torres Quevedo, whose outstanding engineering achievements included advances in the areas of cable cars, remote control, dirigibles and analogue calculating machines.

Niagara Parks, the Ontario agency responsible for preserving and maintaining parklands and attractions along the province’s side of Niagara Falls and Niagara River corridor, has owned and operated the Aero Car since the very first ride dating back to August 1916.

The Aero Car will continue operating this fall for as long as the weather permits. Rides are $11.75 for adults and $7.65 for children.

(Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to our greater binational Niagara Region.)