Canal Option 3
Lock 1 of the Erie Canal
The original lock 1 of the old Erie Canal may still exist. Period maps indicate that it was located along Water Street near the site of the present day Central Warehouse building. If the granite structure was simply buried and relatively undisturbed by highway improvements, restoration may be possible.
The sketch plan, on the opposite page, shows the refurbished lock and the restored original Erie Canal Basin. The canal extended northward from the basin to Cohoes. It was filled in and became a warehouse access road leading to the Niagara Mohawk substation.
If Albany's canal development were to begin in this location, the restoration of the first lock on the old Erie Canal would attract a great deal of attention. As a working waterway, numerous development possibilities to all adjacent sites in the vicinity become apparent. In addition to the residential and commercial prospects, Central Warehouse, could be converted to a multi-use cultural and entertainment complex, with a focus on Albany's historic role in transportation and national commerce.
From this location growth can occur to the south in the direction of Quackenbush Square, or northward along the path of the original Erie Canal.