(WNY News Now) In 2025, the Erie Canal will celebrate its 200th anniversary, and the Buffalo History Museum will play a significant part in the opening of the Waterway of Change visitor center, which will bring interactive displays to Canalside.
The Buffalo History Museum was given permission by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation Board of Directors to move from creating content and developing experiences to offering operational and support services for Waterway of Change: A Complex Legacy of the Erie Canal, a new Erie Canal bicentennial visitor experience that will open at Canalside in Buffalo in May 2025. In addition to serving as ECHDC’s operational partner, the Museum will source, supply, and run a gift store while encouraging interest and participation throughout Canalside, from ancient ruins and canal thresholds to the Erie Canal terminus replica.Earlier this year, Governor Kathy Hochul made the Waterway of Change experience public.
When we commemorate the historic 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal’s opening in Buffalo next year, Waterway of Change will be the main attraction at Canalside, said ECHDC Chairperson Joan Kesner. The Buffalo History Museum, which has been telling tales about Buffalo’s crucial role in forming history for more than a century and a half, is the most qualified partner we could ask to run this visitor experience center.
According to Melissa Brown, Executive Director of The Buffalo History Museum, the tale of the Erie Canal is one of inventiveness, tenacity, and change, influenced by innumerable voices and experiences from many generations. By showcasing the various viewpoints that link people to Buffalo’s waterfront history—from the Haudenosaunee’s care of this land to the Canal era’s innovations—Waterway of Change hopes to inspire tourists to view this history as a dynamic force that continues to influence our area and its future.
Currently being built for installation in the Longshed, the 2,900-square-foot Waterway of Change will act as a vibrant meeting place and the beginning of visitors’ Bicentennial Commemoration journey. Beginning with its significance as the Haudenosaunee’s ancestral territory and addressing the effects of their displacement, the display will recount Canalside’s history. Additionally, visitors will see how the region changed from a sleepy village when the Erie Canal opened in 1825 to a thriving port and shipping center in the 19th century. For visitors of all ages and skill levels, Waterway of Change will feature interactive multimedia exhibits that use touch screens, audio, historical artifacts, short films, and dramatic lighting to tell Buffalo’s Erie Canal story in an inclusive manner. Additionally, a number of outdoor interpretative features will be developed near the canals’ towpaths.You can find renderings here.
John R. Koelmels, a Buffalo resident and chairman of the New York Power Authority, stated that the Erie Canal’s construction had a significant influence on New York State’s cultural identity and was essential in turning the city into a center of trade and business. As we all celebrate the Erie Canal’s anniversary, NYPA is pleased to fund Waterway of Change, which will serve as a link for tourists to Buffalo’s waterfront.
The Buffalo History Museum’s One Museum Court building in north Buffalo will serve as the site for staffing and administrative assistance for Waterway of Change. The Museum’s function as an operational partner of ECHDC will propel Canalside’s year-round activation. The Museum intends to develop distinctive guided experiences at the ruins, thresholds, and recreated Canal terminal, as well as outside the new visitor center. All ages and skill levels will be catered for with programming that includes quiet, sensory-friendly hours, tours for school groups of all ages, and adult tour bus experiences. In addition to the main exhibitions, the rich, complex history and relevance of the Erie Canal story will serve as the basis for a range of programs, discussions, and activities for a wide range of groups. These services will captivate tourists and entice residents to come back for more adventures.
To enhance the distinctive Canalside experience, a customized strategy will be developed for the Museum Shop, a long-standing visitor attraction at the north Buffalo location. With branded products for EC2025@Canalside available at Canalside, the north Buffalo location, and the Museum’s online store, the store will serve both locals and visitors. The Museum and ECHDC will split the profits evenly, with ECHDC’s share going into a special fund for the Waterway of Change’s continued improvement beginning in 2025.
The Waterway of Change operational and support services contract has a maximum value of $398,878 and is valid until December 31, 2025.
Visit the newly developed Erie Canal Bicentennial website at www.eriecanalturns200.com to learn more about Waterway of Change and the event.can get updates and posts by following Erie Canal Turns 200 on social media:
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These two acts were also approved by the ECHDC Board:
- Authorized ECHDC to enter into a $890,150 contract with Queen City Bike Ferry, Inc. for Buffalo waterfront ferry operation services with a contract term of April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2030.
- Authorized ECHDC to enter into a contract term amendment to the wayfinding signage consultant agreement with ASI Signage Innovations. The amendment term is through May 31, 2025.
The New York Power Authority provides funding for all of these contracts through relicensing agreements connected to the Niagara Power Project’s operations.
About the Harbor Development Corporation of Erie Canal
Two non-voting, ex-officio directors and seven voting directors make up the nine-member board that oversees the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC). The New York State Governor recommends the seven voting directors, who are then chosen by the New York State Urban Development Corporation, sometimes known as Empire State Development, which is ECHDC’s only shareholder. The Mayor of the City of Buffalo and the Erie County Executive serve as the two ex-officio, non-voting directors.
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, a division of Empire State Development, the state’s main economic development organization, encourages and supports the development of public spaces and infrastructure at Canalside, the Ohio Street corridor, and the Outer Harbor that is drawing critical mass and private investment and improving the waterfront experience for Western New York residents and visitors. Its goal is to rehabilitate Buffalo’s waterfront in Western New York and bring back economic prosperity by using the area’s natural beauty, urban relevance, and pride legacy.