NYFalls.com Talk

While Amsterdam contains many abandoned factories, and some quite extensive, I thought this one peculiar because it's built across the Chuctanunda Creek. The Chucatnunda Creek features a number of small waterfalls and cascades, and also numerous factory buildings along its banks. I think it a good example of how water power brought the first mills to the creek (and to Amsterdam) and the larger successor mills built in the same area even though they ran on electricity and not water power.

I think the portion of the building that projects over the creek, just behind the block addition, was a generating plant. Looking in the large square opening I could see what looked like a generator, plus several industrial air-frame circuit breakers and dozens of meters. Aside from the smashed windows the structure seemed to be in pretty good shape as none of the building had started to sag or collapse - yet.

At the other end of the building a concrete bridge spanned the creek. Note the curious structure on the right, sitting in the middle of the creek.

Here's a closer view. I haven't figured out what purpose this might serve, but it looks like someone built it to withstand tremendous forces. Perhaps the entire flow of the creek was routed through it for some reason, or it supported a crane (doubt that). In the background you can see how the creek flows directly under the building, past the piers that support what I called the generating plant.

Looking upstream with a bit better view of where the creek flows under the building.

A view of the Chuctanunda from the concrete bridge, looking downstream. The creek seems oblivious to the factory as the trees crowd the banks again. I searched for what this factory might have made, or who built it, or why it was built over the creek instead of immediately next to it like all the other factories were. If you're curious, you can plug in 42.950515 -74.178373 into Bing maps bird's eye view. You'll see the rail road tracks that run behind the building. Zoom out a bit and you'll see a small waterfall, a couple of cascades, and a dam on the creek just above the factory.

Very cool post.
I did some research, but couldn't find this on any maps prior to the 1920s.
The Art-Deco styling on the building suggests post 1930s-40s

On the satellite imagery, you can see the ruins of a larger mill complex (near the pond) that also straddled the creek.

I haven't seen a structure like that one you highlight. But it may be part of a funnel system. As mills needed more power to turn larger , heavier wheels, they needed to concentrate the flow of creeks and rivers over a short, fast flow tunnel. It may have been attached to a wheel-house or generator.