A Changing Waterfront

Commercial Slip was originally the western terminus of the Erie Canal and the gateway to the upper Great Lakes from 1825 through 1918. In its heyday, this area was one of the world's great transportation centers, teeming with canal, lake, and rail traffic as a busy port that brought people and goods together from all over the world. Buried and used as a storm sewer for most of the 20th century, the channel has been reconstructed using stones salvaged from the historic site, with towpaths and walkways reminiscent of its past combined with new piers and landscaping. Nearby features reflect this heritage: a Whipple Bowstring Arch bridge recalling a mid-19th-century span based on Squire Whipple's 1841 patented design that was widely used on New York's canal system; Lloyd Street's stabilized ruins, cobblestone remnants, and sculpted four-story facade; Central Wharf along the Buffalo River, once crowded with steam and sailing ships and the shops and offices of the canal district's business center; and the Naval and Military Museum on the site of the former Coit-McCutcheon Block, whose design recalls the scale and materials of historic structures that once stood there. The Military and Naval Park also includes three World War II-era ships: the destroyer U.S.S. The Sullivans, the light cruiser U.S.S. Little Rock, and the USS Croaker, a Gato class submarine.

Buffalo, New York · United States