The Table Rock Welcome Centre (also known as Table Rock Centre and formerly as Table Rock House) is a retail and observation complex located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada at the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, several hundred feet south of the former rock formation which bears its name. The complex consists of two buildings connected by an indoor pedestrian mall and anchored by "The Grand Hall", a multi-level indoor observation complex, completed in 2008. The north building, originally constructed in 1926, houses a first-floor retail store and the Welcome Centre, Niagara's Fury, a whitewater simulation, plus the ticket offices for the tunnels Journey Behind the Falls attraction. The upper level contains multiple specialty stores, and an additional outdoor observation plaza. The south building, constructed in 1974, has a first-floor fast food snack bar, additional retail space, and a second-floor, semi-formal restaurant overlooking the Horseshoe Falls and the upper Niagara River. Owned and operated by the Niagara Parks Commission, Table Rock Centre provides the best direct path from the Horseshoe Falls observation area to the Falls Incline Railway (courtesy of a new bridge constructed in 2008 spanning the Niagara Parkway), which transports passengers to the Fallsview Tourist Area above the Niagara Escarpment. History Before the Niagara Parks Commission: 1827-1887 The first building on the site was constructed in 1827, when Thomas Barnett established his second museum of novelties, joining his first museum further upriver at the current site of the Victoria Park Restaurant. Barnett was eventually met with stiff competition from Buffalo native Saul Davis, operator of a museum on the New York side, Prospect House, who built his own structure called Table Rock House in 1853, immediately south of Barnett's original structure. Competition for the tourist's attention and dollar were fierce. Davis had built his structure between Barnett's museum and the Table Rock viewing area, and thus was able to intercept any potential customer of Barnett's. Davis' employees were routinely referred to as "henchmen" who would lure visitors into his complex by promising them free access to the Falls, only to renege and charge outrageous fees, while physically challenging any victimized tourist who either refused or were unable to pay these charges. One such incident in June 1870 resulted in a homicide, for which Davis was acquitted and Barnett reprimanded for. Even though victimized by Davis many times, Barnett did not resort to overcharging tourists or being disrespectful