Transportation
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The Erie Canal did much more than link Albany and Buffalo; it opened America’s midwestern heartland to European immigrants entering New York Harbor. The Weighlock Building, the only one remaining in the world, was built in 1850 to weigh canal boats at the junction of the Erie and Oswego Canals. Locktenders at 83 liftlocks and 7 weighlocks worked around the clock serving canallers, passing on news to travelers, and selling provisions. Their gardens included kitchen produce, apothecary herbs, and flowers. A typical canal-side locktender’s garden was created in 1971 by the Syracuse Garden Club, with support from Pass and Seymour/Legrand Corporation, and its design received national recognition from the Garden Club of America.
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Syracuse, New York · United States
