Old Erie Canal Heritage Park Visitors Center
TYLin designed the new Visitors Center for the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, New York.
The popular heritage park centers around Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 52, originally constructed in 1851, with the north chamber lengthened around 1885.
The 4,500-square-foot Visitors Center serves as the access point for pedestrian trails through a unique complex of historic and well-preserved canal structures and support buildings.
TYLin’s design optimized open interior spaces and a modern design aesthetic. The design clearly identifies the building as a new element while complementing the historic structures and environmentally sensitive, wetland-intensive site.
Project Highlights:
- The design for the Visitors Center includes comfort facilities, a gift shop, and space for interpretive exhibits.
- TYLin designed the surface lot for passenger vehicles and buses to support the Visitors Center, with a pedestrian path to the center that meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
- Utility extensions were carefully designed and detailed, including a connection to the village water main and a pump station and force main for the sanitary sewer.