Back in the days before the Thruway was constructed, Maiden Lane use to leave the village and continue out into the muck lands. Now of course, Maiden Lane is a dead end, replaced by Maiden Lane Road. Both these views were taken from Maiden Lane, offering a panoramic view of the west end of the village and the area around Enlarged Lock 52.

The top view looks east along the road to the Erie House, showing the hotel as it was first built. Behind the hotel, we can see the mule barn and the back half of the blacksmith shop. To the right of the hotel, we see the smallwhite ice house. Although you can’t see the canal, the dark building to the right of the ice house is part of Tanner’s Drydock, which was on the south bank of the canal.

As you move from left to right, you can see the embankment of the canal. Directly in the center right of the photo, you can see parts of Lock 52, which is the western end of a level that extended from here back to Lock 51 in Jordan. To the west, the canal will pass through Montezuma, cross the Seneca River by way of the Montezuma Aqueduct, pass over the Cayuga Marshes and end at Lock 53 in Clyde.

The buildings around the lock fill much of the photo. Directly in the center of the photo, the building that looks like it is up on blocks is thought to become part of the Erie House. The building today is in the shape of an “L”, and this building looks a lot like the new wing. Just to the right of that building, we can see the lock tenders shack, which sits on the island between the two chambers. And to the right of that, we see Kern’s Grocery Store.

To the right of the buildings, we see the stone steps and the wooden deck that was part of the late 1800’s lengthening of the lock. We are also offered a rare view of the houses up on the hillside to the west of the village.

The second photo extends the view to the west. It does appear that the one small building up on blocks is a house as there is a outhouse near by. The other structures look like barns.