Canal St.-Chinatown Station:
From 8th Street, we ventured to the Canal Street Station located
in under Chinatown.
Why is Canal Street called Canal Street? Before it was a street, it was a canal. To drain spring water and sewage into the Hudson River, a canal was constructed in the early 1800's along the path of a natural stream. Unfortunately, poor engineering resulted in the 40' wide, 8' deep ditch becoming an open sewer with little flow. As a result, the canal was covered over in 1819 and on top of the former canal a road, Canal Street, was constructed in 1820.
(And what about Wall Street and Orchard Street? One was the site of a 12' wall to defend the Dutch settlement and the other was the site of an early cherry orchard.)
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| Canal Street Area, with depiction of the canal (original terra cotta and mosaic) |
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| Canal Street Station: Character meaning China |
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| Canal Street Station: Character meaning "village" |
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| Canal Street Station: Interlocking Teapots symbolizing "good life" |
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| Canal Street Station: Pictograms, by artist Bing Lee, representing goods imported from China aboard the ship Empress of China |
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| Canal Street Station: A solitary musician playing the Chinese 2-stringed violin called the ehru. |
Next stop: Part 4--Cortlandt Street and Whitehall Street Stations.
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