The neighborhood was one of Buffalo's earliest industrial districts and its name is derived from the construction of a small hydraulic canal.

[3] The Larkin Company owned the building until 1967, when it was sold to Graphic Controls.

[5] On September 10, 2009, First Niagara Financial Group relocated its corporate headquarters to the Larkin Terminal Warehouse building.

As of January 2016, the John R. Oishei Foundation's headquarters are located at the Larkin Terminal Warehouse.

It is among the region's most well-known grant makers, providing resources for programs, capital projects and nonprofit executive development and in the last few years alone, it provided multimillion-dollar gifts to the largest health and education projects in Western New York.