‘Waterway of Change’ Experience to Highlight Erie Canal Bicentennial Next Year

A shot of music collective Odd Future performing at Canalside in Summer 2013 in Buffalo, New York.Photo byPhoto by J.M. Lesinski

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently celebrated plans for the “Waterway of Change: A Complex Legacy of the Erie Canal,” a new bicentennial visitors’ experience about the Erie Canal, to be deployed at Canalside in Buffalo, New York. 

“Waterway of Change will share the remarkable story of the Erie Canal and the area now known as Canalside with visitors,” Hochul stated of the experience. “As the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal approaches in 2025, this visitors experience will draw more people to Buffalo’s waterfront and help them connect to its history in a new and participative way.”

Expected to be completed just in time for 2025’s Erie Canal Bicentennial, the current replica Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief in the Longshed part of Canalside will be moved out in order to accommodate construction and the installation of Waterway of Change. 

“As a true ‘Waterway of Change,’ the Erie Canal was the key factor in the growth of Buffalo, Erie County, New York State and the American frontier,” commented Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz of the experience. “It served as a superhighway for commerce and culture, opening the interior of North America for westward expansion, and also brought new Americans right here to Erie County. This new experience at the Longshed Building will be an immersive and educational one, giving visitors a real life look at how the Erie Canal changed Western New York and spurred the advance of the United States. I commend and thank Governor Hochul for adding this attraction to Canalside for the Canal’s bicentennial commemoration.”

The reimagined Longshed aims to create a visitor’s experience to act as both a local gathering space and beginning point for the Bicentennial Commemoration journey. 

“Erie County will become the epicenter of New York next year when the Erie Canal celebrates its 200th anniversary, and the vision for a new, multimodal visitor experience at Canalside will bolster our waterfront’s entertainment sector before an influx of visitors travel here to learn more about the history of the canal — one of our state’s greatest technological achievements,” New York State Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera remarked of the experience. “The new exhibit, ‘Waterway of Change: A Complex Legacy of the Erie Canal,’ will not only serve as a gathering space and starting point for visitors as they start their Bicentennial Commemoration journey, it will also capture in detail the history of Canalside, the integral and often overlooked role that the Haudenosaunee played, and how the canal’s success as a shipping hub forever changed the fate of the City of Buffalo. I want to thank Governor Hochul and the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation for their ongoing commitment to ensuring the vitality of Canalside as one of our region’s premier attractions.”

Plans also include interactive multimedia exhibits, a series of short films, and historical artifacts on display, as well as a series of outdoor interpretive exhibits along the towpaths of the canals. 

“On the eve of the Erie Canal's 200-year anniversary milestone, we are thrilled to be working with Governor Hochul and our agency partners to bring to life Waterway of Change at Canalside in Buffalo,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton of the experience. “The Erie Canal holds a special significance in New York’s history, and this new interactive exhibit will tell the story of the canal and New York’s Queen City to visitors from near and far. Throughout the next two years and culminating with the 2025 World Canals Conference in Buffalo, the Canal Corporation is eager to celebrate the Erie Canal’s Bicentennial as we prepare for the next century of operations and opportunities along the entire New York State Canal System.”

The visitor experience is currently being developed by Local Projects, a media design firm based in New York City, in close coordination with the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC), as well as Buffalo’s Hadley Exhibits and the Buffalo History Museum. 

“Waterway of Change will be the premier attraction at Canalside when we mark the historic 200th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal in Buffalo next year,” ECHDC Chairperson Joan Kesner noted of the experience. “We’ll be hosting visitors from around the globe, as well as our neighbors across Western New York, at this visitor experience and we are excited to share the first renderings of this beautiful and educational space in the Longshed. ECHDC also will be offering fun, thoughtful, and hands-on programming located on the lawns, ruins, and towpath areas. We have lots more in the works, enjoyment for all ages, all abilities—history buff or not, you may just want to make all of Summer 2025 a Canalside staycation!”