Question: The man pictured at the right was the late Oscar J. Brown. He was president of the Seneca Federal Savings & Loan Association, a noted attorney, and prominent throughout the nation as an automobile safety leader. Why has the New York State Thruway sign been paired with him?
Last week’s answer: In the early 1900s, when the Barge Canal was dug, the village experienced a major change. Sixty-five buildings had to be either demolished or moved. The photo shows Water Street, with its double width, facing east. Before the canal, it ran from Meadow Street to the cemetery. The current lock chamber was part of that street.
The building in the background was erected as the Quinlan Hotel in 1899.The Quinlan seems to be the most memorable name, but it also was known as the Hoffman, the Van Buren and the Rowell. Its location was where the east side of the Barge Canal Bridge is now. On Oct. 8, 1908, it was moved to the site of the old cheese factory on Marble Street (Alley) and renamed the Empire Hotel. It ended it days as a derelict tenement house and was razed in 1970.
The other building on the left was located on the opposite side of the Syracuse Street where the lock chamber and west side of the bridge is now. It housed the Baker and Tappan Store. It was turned around and moved to the corner of Water and Syracuse on the opposite side of Syracuse Street. Its current occupant is Canal Walk Café.
Contact Editor Sarah Hall at editor@baldwinsvillemessenger.com or leave a message at 434-8889 ext. 310 with your guess by 5 p.m. Friday (please leave the information in the message; we are not generally able to return calls regarding History Mystery responses). If you are the first person to correctly identify an element in the photo, your name and guess will appear in next week’s Messenger, along with another History Mystery feature. History Mystery is a joint project of the Museum at the Shacksboro Schoolhouse and the Baldwinsville Public Library.
