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Lester Creative’s ‘Hydro-Teslatron’ Amazes Visitors
At New Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort
 

VALENCIA, CA – 21 June 2004 – Visitors to the new Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Ontario, Canada, are greeted at the facility's entrance with a Las Vegas-style spectacular, branded “Hydro-Teslatron” by its designer, Lester Creative, Inc., a Santa Clarita themed entertainment company. The new resort opened to the public on June 10, 2004.
Lester Creative was chosen by Falls Management Company and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission to design and build the $6.5 million attraction for the rotunda of their new development at the edge of Niagara Falls. Hydro-Teslatron is a Jules Verne-esque video and light-animated fountain, an 8-mintue show commemorating the dawning of hydroelectric power.
“This attraction pays tribute to the importance of hydroelectric power and the genius of Yugoslavian inventor Nikola Tesla,” said Lawrence H. Lester, owner of Lester Creative, who conceived of and designed the Hydro-Teslatron. “He long held that the power of the falls could bring electricity to the masses.” The father of alternating current (AC), Tesla worked with Westinghouse to harness that energy in 1896, as Niagara Falls became the first site in North America to generate and distribute AC power.
As the audience looks on, a 45-foot-tall fountain with cascading weirs and funnels turns into a display of electrical energy. The energy is ostensibly generated by the pulsing water turning three simulated six-foot diameter turbines at the base. The water volume gets turned up, and the fountain appears to grow increasingly out of control, as communication between a maintenance worker and his boss are misconstrued (the audience hears voices only, as if the two men were communicating via walkie-talkie).

Soon the light emitting diode (LED) panels are pulsing a fiery orange-red, the water is churning and foaming, and electrical charges apparently shoot through five faux power transmission cables looping from the fountain’s pinnacle across to the ribs of the etched glass dome and down the rotunda walls. Audience members sitting on marble benches around the perimeter get a buzz, to add to the fun.
At least three dozen subcontractors worked on the project under Lester’s direction. They provided acrylic and fiberglass components, LED systems, fiber optics, specialty painting, plumbing, lighting, sound systems, computer controls and more. The attraction incorporates two million feet of fiber optics. More than 760,000 LEDs make up the curved video displays that cover a variety of fountain surfaces. The attraction is a focal point and icon for the new $1 billion casino and entertainment complex.
Lester Creative specializes in highly technical shows and features for theme parks, hotels and other venues. The company assembles top-notch design/development/production teams to produce attractions that are uniquely imaginative, cost-effective, safe and enduring. The firm’s achievements include technical production and quality control for a number of high-profile Las Vegas attractions, including the front entrance of the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino; “Atlantis,” a multimedia, animatronic special effects show in the Forum Shops at Caesars; and the Buccaneer Bay pirate ship battle at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino. Lester is an 11-year veteran of Universal Studios Hollywood, where he produced the Earthquake attraction and worked on the design and development of many other entertainment experiences for theme park visitors.