From the small town of Franklinville to around the world and back, Norman Maffei found inspiration in everything he experienced. His passion for marine art made him famous beyond Western New York.

The onset of the First World War brought Glenn Curtiss’ quest to send an aircraft across the Atlantic to a temporary halt. But it also brought incredible changes to his small-town aeroplane and motor business.

This year marks the centennial of this important engineering project and aid to navigation. Our photo essay chronicles its construction in the early 20^th century.

Known as the “Painter of the Niagara Frontier,” Amos Sangster is best known for his historic series of etchings, published from 1886 to 1889, which chronicled the complete Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.