You are looking across a restoration of the Commercial Slip, originally the western terminus of the Erie Canal. In its heyday, this area was one of the world's great transportation centers, teeming with canal, lake, and rail traffic, a busy port that brought people and goods together from all over the world. Here are some of the landmarks that illustrate this important heritage. Commercial Slip. This waterway marked the western terminus of the Erie Canal, and was the gateway to the upper Great Lakes from 1825 through 1918. 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. Towpaths and walkways reminiscent of Commercial Slip's past have been combined with new piers and landscaping. Whipple Truss Bridge. The Whipple Bowstring Arch bridge recalls the span that stood near this site in the mid-19th century. Patented by the engineer Squire Whipple in 1841, the bowstring arch design was widely used throughout New York's canal system. Lloyd Street. Stabilized ruins, remnants of cobblestone paving, and the scupted four-story facade on the opposite side of the slip stand as witnesses to the industry and activity that once defined this vibrant district. Central Wharf. The wide boardwalk along the Buffalo River was once crowded with steam and sailing ships and with the shops and offices that served as the canal district's business center. Naval and Military Museum. The Museum is located on the site of the former Coit-McCutcheon Block, which marked the outer end of the Commercial Slip during the canal era. The building's unique design recalls the scale and materials of historic structures that once stood here. Floating History. The Military and Naval Park includes three WWII-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. Commercial Slip, view looking from the Buffalo River toward downtown, ca. 1870. Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society. The U.S.S. The Sullivans DDG 68 poster, 1997. Courtesy of Lockheed Martin, original painting by Tom Freeman.
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