Another view of Albany’s Lumber District, once one of the busiest in the world, to show what was there in 1895 and what is there today. At the time, the combination of Erie Canal and rail access made this an extremely important lumber handling center, and of course many other industries were settled in this little area as well. Today, some of the streets are the same, but all evidence of the canal and all its wharfs is gone, as is Patroon Lower Island, no longer an island and only remembered because the bridge that carries I-90 above it is called the Patroon Island Bridge. Click to see it larger.