The canal below your feet was constructed as part of the NYS Barge Canal. Started in 1905 and completed in 1918, it widened older canal sections and built new waterways to accommodate larger barges. This was a new section that bypassed the original Erie Canal which went through downtown Rochester.This section intersects directly with the Genesee River to the west - a river prone to dramatic flooding before the Mt. Morris dam was built in 1952, just south of Rochester.
The giant structures in front of you are guard locks. In the event of river flooding, the gates can be dropped down, closing off the canal
and protecting it.
Today, the guard locks also enable the canal to be drained for repairs
at the end of boating season without the river flowing in. Depending on when you are standing here, the gates may be open (in the "up" position) or closed.
So-what canal is this? Today we no longer refer to it as the Barge Canal. The historic name of the Erie Canal is now employed for
the entire system of this
artificially constructed
waterway used for transportation and boating pleasure

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The Genesee Expressway
The Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge
The Canalway Trail
Camp Hillhouse
Curtis Point
Clara Barton Red Cross Trail
Bausch & Lomb Riverside Park
Indian Town
World War II, a War Memorial
Welcome to Genesee Valley Park

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