Across Campus: Times Covers Erie

If you haven't seen it, the New York Times featured the College's celebration of the Erie Canal on the front page of the Metro section on Tuesday.

The article, by Winnie Hu, centered on the College's ambitious retrospective of the waterway and the fact that it was the College – not the city of Schenectady – that celebrated the opening of the canal in 1825.

City leaders, fearful that the canal would take business from the city, left it mostly to Union College students to join in the elaborate opening celebration that included a barge parade with prominent officials, cannon salutes and fireworks.

Ultimately, Schenectady's fears were unfounded; the Erie Canal brought an economic boom to communities along the waterway, including Schenectady, one of the busiest stops along the route.

The article went on to list the College's extensive celebration: an exhibit of surveys and engineering drawings, paintings, models; a series of nine lectures and concerts; and trolley tours of local canal sites.