The “Original” Erie Canal

The “Original” Erie Canal. The Current Erie Boulevard. , For more than 90 years, today's Erie Boulevard was the path of the Erie Canal. The Erie Canal was transformed into Erie Boulevard between 1924 and 1926., The Erie Canal, a marvel of 19th Century engineering, played a transformational role in shaping the economic and cultural landscape of Schenectady, the State of New York, and the young nation. Once dubbed "Clinton's Ditch, the canal transformed New York City into Americas leading port and helped New York to become the Empire State., Opened in 1825, the Erie Canal became the Gateway to the West, stretching 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo and connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. It reduced the time it took to travel from Albany to Buffalo from two weeks to five days and slashed the cost of transporting goods from Buffalo to New York City from $100 per ton to $10 per ton., Grain, lumber, and coal as well as manufactured goods and passengers were hauled on barges and packet boats pulled along towpaths by mules and horses, in later years supplemented by steam tugboats., Spanning more than 21 miles through Schenectady County, the canal ran west from the Rexford Aqueduct and through Niskayuna, past the early Schenectady Locomotive Works, continuing through the beginnings of Thomas Edison's General Electric plant, and on to the Great Flats of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Junction., [ Inset Photo: ] The Kitty West excursion boat carried passengers on the Erie Canal between Schenectady, Rexford, and Vischer Ferry. This photo was taken past the State Street bridge, prior to 1925.