Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor

That's the Weighlock Building across Erie Boulevard, where canal boats were weighed and tolls paid when this busy street was the Erie Canal. Cargo boats entered the stone lock chamber beneath the overhang, gates were closed at each end, the water drained out, and the boat settled onto a massive cradle suspended from balance beams overhead. Cargo weight equaled total weight — minus empty boat weight (recorded at the beginning of each season). Tolls were based on the weight and type of cargo.
Other weighlocks stood at Albany, West Troy (Watervliet), Waterford, Utica, Oswego, and Rochester, but only this Syracuse weighlock survives with its building intact. After canal tolls were abolished in 1882 the building served as engineering offices for the canal system. Today the Weighlock is the Erie Canal Museum and houses a full-size replica canal boat.

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Erie Boulevard Was Once the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
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Onondaga Indians
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