Early maps of Manhattan show ponds, marshes and streams where we now see pavement. The city covered almost all of it, but the water has a long memory.
Canal Street was a canal
Canal Street gets its name from an actual canal. In the early 1800s, the city dug a channel to drain the Collect Pond, a large freshwater pond that had become polluted. Eventually, the canal itself was filled in and paved over, and the street kept the name. Collect Pond is long gone, but it is a good reminder of how much water this part of the island once held.
The brook under Greenwich Village
Minetta Brook once flowed freely through what is now Greenwich Village. The city built over it, but the stream still runs under the streets. The water occasionally causes trouble in the basements of buildings nearby, and Minetta Street and Minetta Lane carry the name today. If you have ever noticed a street bend at an odd angle in the Village, the old water is one reason.
The Gowanus Canal
In Brooklyn, the Gowanus Canal was built in the 1800s from a natural creek and tidal marsh, to carry cargo. It became one of the most polluted waterways in the country, and the Environmental Protection Agency named it a Superfund site in 2010. Cleanup is ongoing, and the surrounding neighborhood has become a home to restaurants, studios and music venues.
Why it matters now
The streams and marshes that were paved over are one reason some neighborhoods flood during heavy storms. Knowing where the city's lost waters ran helps explain why the same streets keep getting wet.
A short walk
Try tracing Minetta Street and Minetta Lane in the Village, then head south to Canal Street. You will be following the path of water that has been gone for 200 years, and still shapes the city.
