Events

Canal Street Edge: From Bucolic to Frenetic

Sunday, July 30, 11:00 a.m.CANAL STREET EDGE: FROM BUCOLIC TO FRENETIC

By Aaron Naparstek

6:59 PM EDT on July 6, 2006

Sunday, July 30, 11:00 a.m.

CANAL STREET EDGE: FROM BUCOLIC TO FRENETIC

In 1811, the Collect Pond and its drainage canal were paved over, and the notorious Five Points grew up along the eastern end of Canal Street. On the western end stood St. John’s Chapel, in an elegant park, until the upper classes moved north and Commodore Vanderbilt bough the block for his railroad terminal. Transportation infrastructure further changed the area when the Holland Tunnel was completed in 1927. We’ll explore surviving buildings and street patterns from these eras, including the first department store in America and the onetime center of the textile industry in the United States. Leaders: Lynne Funk, architect, and Thor Snilsberg, urbane planner. Meet at 280 Broadway, at Chambers St.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.

Events | Manhattan | Public Space | Urban Design

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