{"id":262336,"date":"2026-08-10T01:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T01:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/262336\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T01:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T01:04:19","slug":"erie-canal-lock-one-could-anchor-albany-waterfront-redevelopment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/262336\/","title":{"rendered":"Erie Canal Lock One Could Anchor Albany Waterfront Redevelopment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The\"The<\/a>Advocates and archeologists seeking to leverage the legacy and impact of the Erie Canal<\/a> to imagine a brighter future for Albany<\/a>, gathered Thursday at the site of Lock 1<\/a> in Albany\u2019s Warehouse District to share initial findings of an exploratory excavation that confirms the lock\u2019s location.<\/p>\n

The initial excavation<\/a> has uncovered the location of the lock walls where they were expected be found based on previous magnetic imaging and historic maps and surveys.<\/p>\n

The Erie Canal, opened in 1825, turned New York into the Empire State and served as the gateway for America\u2019s westward expansion. Albany was its starting point. The lock, buried under debris for 100 years, was initially excavated, in part, in 2002 when the top stones of the lock were located at the site.<\/p>\n

Subsequent testing identified the outline of the lock. This week a team of archeologists and students from the SUNY Polytechnic Institute working with Albany Waterway Inc. began a more in-depth excavation of the site under a permit from New York State.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe historic site offers opportunity to serve as a catalyst for the region\u2019s economic development, tourism and improving the quality of life, said BJ Costello who serves as Chair for Albany Waterway.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimilar lock excavations and redevelopment across the state have stimulated valuable renewal and economic growth opportunities while boosting the importance of the historic and cultural heritage of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is time to reimagine Albany\u2019s Waterfront by refocusing on New York\u2019s role as a place where people embraced a world of new beginnings and possibilities,\u201d said Len Tantillo<\/a>, a founder of Albany Waterway.<\/p>\n

Cities in New York State, including Buffalo<\/a>, Syracuse<\/a> and others have uncovered and redeveloped historic locks. In Buffalo for example, the western terminus of the Erie Canal has been reclaimed and Canalside<\/a> has helped revitalize the city.<\/p>\n

These projects have drawn more than a million visitors annually and resulted in over $200 million in private investment, created 1,000 new jobs and provided millions
in new tax dollars to the city, county and state, Albany Waterway organizers said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hoped that restoring the historic Lock One would celebrate New York\u2019s role in American history and incentivize positive development. It\u2019s estimated that as many as 40 percent of Americans have ancestors who traveled the Erie Canal.<\/p>\n

This included thousands of immigrants<\/a>, civil rights<\/a> and religious<\/a> leaders and suffragists<\/a>, a history all but forgotten which could be honored with this restoration.<\/p>\n

Albany Waterway representatives were joined by key state, regional and local leaders who shared enthusiasm for seizing the unique opportunity and momentum. These included Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy; Albany Mayor Dr. Dorcey Applyrs; Assemblymember John T. McDonald III; State Canal Corporation Director Ben Walsh; Bob Radliff, Executive Director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor; and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Albany Waterway is leading the way in reimagining the waterfront and unearthing the original Lock 1 of the Erie Canal,\u201d said Senator Patricia Fahy (D\u2013Albany).<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween Governor Hochul\u2019s $400 million investment in the Capital City, the funds secured while I was in the State Assembly for the I-787 feasibility study, and the recovery of the original Lock 1 of the Erie Canal, this historic transformation of the Capital Region will unleash the economic development we need to bring more people to the core of the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fahy recently sat down with the Albany Waterway\u2019s BJ Costello and Len Tantillo for a discussion<\/a> about the Lock One plans and how they fit in with the broader $400 million CAP initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Albany Waterway Inc. is a not-for-profit organization focused on reimagining Albany\u2019s waterfront to build on the historic foundation of the Capital City as the starting point of the Erie Canal and serve as a catalyst for the region\u2019s economic development, tourism and improving the quality of life.<\/p>\n

Learn more about their efforts at albanywaterway.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Photo: The Erie Canal Lock One and Albany Basin Historical Marker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Advocates and archeologists seeking to leverage the legacy and impact of the Erie Canal to imagine a brighter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":["post-262336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}