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Flashback: Gowanus Canal
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 9, 2010
Modified Jun 10, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jun 9, 2010
Modified Jun 10, 2010
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Sure, the Gowanus Canal may be a pollution-plagued strip of water running through Brooklyn now, but it used to be a busy cargo transportation hub! And before the canal, early settlers farmed on the shorelines of what they called "Gowanes Creek" after Gouwane, sachem of the Canarsee, a local Lenape tribe. Some older facts about the now-Superfunded Canal:
- New York Legislature authorized the construction of the Gowanus Canal in 1849
- The Gowanus Creek had to be dredged to create the Canal, which could not begin until 1867
- United States Army Corps of Engineers Major David Douglas was hired to design the (1.8 mile long) canal, which was complete by 1869
- By 1910, one local described the water as “almost solid” with sewage (the next year a flushing tunnel was created)
- As the South Brooklyn region grew, waste water sanitation became an issue, and at one point all the sewage from buildings drained downhill into the Gowanus
- Industrial pollutants, storm run-off and sewage filled the Canal, which locals at the time dubbed "Lavender Lake" because of its unnatural color
- Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was the first site where chemical fertilizers were manufactured
- The body of water was dredged daily to keep waters navigable, a system that was abandoned in 1955 due to the cost
- The Canal now has gonohorrea
This timeline in NYMag tracks the pollution piling up in the water, and you can take a more in-depth look at the Canal at Forgotten-NY, where there are more current photos of the area (including a look at the pumping station that was eventually built).
UPDATE: The Brooklyn Public Library asked we take down their photos, so check out the rest here.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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