Canal Street is a major east–west street of over 1 mile (1.6 km) in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States, running from East Broadway between Essex and Jefferson Streets in the east, to West Street between Watts and Spring Streets in the west. It runs through the neighborhood of Chinatown, and forms the southern boundaries of SoHo and Little Italy as well as the northern boundary of Tribeca. The street acts as a major connector between Jersey City, New Jersey, via the Holland Tunnel (I-78), and Brooklyn in New York City via the Manhattan Bridge. It is a two-way street for most of its length, with two unidirectional stretches between Forsyth Street and the Manhattan Bridge.
Stores and vendors dot Canal Street, hawking merchandise
By 1800, Collect Pond, one of New York City's few natural sources of fresh water, had become completely polluted with sewage and run-off from the tanneries, breweries, and other workshops and factories around it.[1] Run-off from the pond, including one "sluggish stream" which traveled part of the route of the future Canal Street, fed nearby swamps and marshes which prevented the city from continuing its northward growth. To deal with this, the city's Common Council ordered that the swamps be drained and, in 1803, that the pond itself be filled in. A drain was built continuing the path of the "sluggish stream" to the Hudson River, which redirected the underground springs which watered the swamps. The pond was successfully drained by 1813 or 1815.[2]
The Citizens Savings Bank building at 58 Bowery on the corner of Canal Street in Chinatown, currently an HSBC bank branch and also a New York City LandmarkThe former Loew's Canal Street Theatre at 31 Canal Street, a New York City Landmark
The area was developed, but the springs remained and caused the "dry" land to be boggy and uneven. The Common Council then authorized a canal, in the form of a 40-foot wide, 8-foot deep ditch, which would continue carrying off the excess water.[3] Because it was not efficient, and did not have sufficient flow, it, too, became an open sewer. The city covered it over in 1819, but as it had no air traps, the covered canal became a stinking covered sewer.[2][4] Canal Street was completed in 1820, following the path of the covered canal and named for it.[5][4] The historic townhouses and newer tenements that had been built along Canal Street quickly fell into disrepair, and the eastern stretch of Canal Street came within the ambit of the notorious Five Points slum as property values and living conditions plummeted.
Early in the 20th century, the jewelry trade centered on the corner of Canal Street and Bowery, but moved mid century to the modern Diamond District on 47th Street. In the 1920s, the Citizens Savings Bank built a notable domed headquarters at the intersection's southwest corner[6] which remains a local landmark. The portion of Canal Street around Sixth Avenue was New York's principal market for electronics parts for a quarter-century after the closing of Radio Row to make way for the building of the World Trade Center.
Reputation as hawkers' havenedit
Canal Street is a bustling commercial district, crowded with comparatively low-rent open storefronts, and street vendors to the west; banks and jewelry shops to the east. For a generation after World War II, the former segment hosted many stores selling exotic high-tech components to would-be inventors and engineers.[7] Canal Street is also the main Chinese jewelry business district of Chinatown.[8] Tourists as well as locals pack its sidewalks every day to frequent the open-air stalls and bare-bones stores selling items such as perfume, purses, hardware, and industrial plastics at low prices. Many of these goods are grey market imports and many notoriously counterfeit, with fake trademarkedbrand names on electronics, clothing and personal accessories (including the fake Rolex watches that have become a Manhattan cliché). Bootleg CDs and DVDs were common, and were offered for sale on Canal Street—often before they were even officially released in stores or the theater—in makeshift stands and suitcases or simply laid out on bedsheets.[9]
Widespread sale of these counterfeit goods persists along Canal Street and in its hidden back rooms despite frequent police raids.[10][11] In addition, legislation was proposed in 2013 to try to make purchasing counterfeit items a crime; this would let the city's economy earn back at least $1 billion annually in taxes.[9]
9/11 attackedit
After the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, Canal Street was the northern-most boundary of the area initially closed to everyone but residents and emergency personnel. When the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund was established, Canal Street was again the northern cut-off for the World Trade Center Exposure Zone.[12]
Transportationedit
Canal Street is served by the New York City Subway at seven stations, west to east:
^Sante, Luc (2003). Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York (1st Farrar, Straus Giroux pbk. ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux. pp. 5–6. ISBN0374528993. OCLC 53464289.
^Kadinsky, Sergey (2016). Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs. New York, NY: Countryman Press. pp. 9–13. ISBN978-1-58157-566-8.
^ abMoscow, Henry (1978). The Street Book: An Encyclopedia of Manhattan's Street Names and Their Origins. New York: Hagstrom Company. ISBN978-0-8232-1275-0., p.33
^"New Bank Building; Citizens Savings Bank to Erect Monumental Structure on Bowery". The New York Times. July 2, 1922.
^Giovannini, Joseph (October 29, 1987). "Shopping Canal St., New York's Attic". The New York Times.
^Zhou, Min (1995). Chinatown: The Socioeconomic Potential of an Urban Enclave. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 106. ISBN9781439904176. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
^ abDobnik, Verena; McKernan, Bethan (June 13, 2013). "Chinatown's Counterfeit-Goods Economy Targeted In New York City Council Bill". Huffington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
^Hauser, Christine (February 27, 2008). "City Agents Shut Down 32 Vendors of Fake Items". The New York Times.
^Kalman, Alex; Sinreich, Lola (January 16, 2010). "Op Ed: New York's Street of Schemes". The New York Times.
^"NYC Map Of Exposure Zone" September 11th Victim Compensation Fund website
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canal Street (Manhattan).
Canal Street Map (from A Journey Through Chinatown)
Canal Street Storefronts – photographs of buildings and stores along Canal Street.
– Kogeto's Dotspot immersive, panoramic video of a walking tour captured on an iPhone.
Canal Street: A New York Songline – a virtual walking tour.
April 07, 2024
canal, street, manhattan, canal, street, major, east, west, street, over, mile, lower, manhattan, york, city, united, states, running, from, east, broadway, between, essex, jefferson, streets, east, west, street, between, watts, spring, streets, west, runs, th. Canal Street is a major east west street of over 1 mile 1 6 km in Lower Manhattan New York City United States running from East Broadway between Essex and Jefferson Streets in the east to West Street between Watts and Spring Streets in the west It runs through the neighborhood of Chinatown and forms the southern boundaries of SoHo and Little Italy as well as the northern boundary of Tribeca The street acts as a major connector between Jersey City New Jersey via the Holland Tunnel I 78 and Brooklyn in New York City via the Manhattan Bridge It is a two way street for most of its length with two unidirectional stretches between Forsyth Street and the Manhattan Bridge Stores and vendors dot Canal Street hawking merchandise Contents 1 History 1 1 Reputation as hawkers haven 1 2 9 11 attack 2 Transportation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp Broadway crossing the canal in 1811By 1800 Collect Pond one of New York City s few natural sources of fresh water had become completely polluted with sewage and run off from the tanneries breweries and other workshops and factories around it 1 Run off from the pond including one sluggish stream which traveled part of the route of the future Canal Street fed nearby swamps and marshes which prevented the city from continuing its northward growth To deal with this the city s Common Council ordered that the swamps be drained and in 1803 that the pond itself be filled in A drain was built continuing the path of the sluggish stream to the Hudson River which redirected the underground springs which watered the swamps The pond was successfully drained by 1813 or 1815 2 nbsp The Citizens Savings Bank building at 58 Bowery on the corner of Canal Street in Chinatown currently an HSBC bank branch and also a New York City Landmark nbsp The former Loew s Canal Street Theatre at 31 Canal Street a New York City LandmarkThe area was developed but the springs remained and caused the dry land to be boggy and uneven The Common Council then authorized a canal in the form of a 40 foot wide 8 foot deep ditch which would continue carrying off the excess water 3 Because it was not efficient and did not have sufficient flow it too became an open sewer The city covered it over in 1819 but as it had no air traps the covered canal became a stinking covered sewer 2 4 Canal Street was completed in 1820 following the path of the covered canal and named for it 5 4 The historic townhouses and newer tenements that had been built along Canal Street quickly fell into disrepair and the eastern stretch of Canal Street came within the ambit of the notorious Five Points slum as property values and living conditions plummeted Early in the 20th century the jewelry trade centered on the corner of Canal Street and Bowery but moved mid century to the modern Diamond District on 47th Street In the 1920s the Citizens Savings Bank built a notable domed headquarters at the intersection s southwest corner 6 which remains a local landmark The portion of Canal Street around Sixth Avenue was New York s principal market for electronics parts for a quarter century after the closing of Radio Row to make way for the building of the World Trade Center Reputation as hawkers haven edit Canal Street is a bustling commercial district crowded with comparatively low rent open storefronts and street vendors to the west banks and jewelry shops to the east For a generation after World War II the former segment hosted many stores selling exotic high tech components to would be inventors and engineers 7 Canal Street is also the main Chinese jewelry business district of Chinatown 8 Tourists as well as locals pack its sidewalks every day to frequent the open air stalls and bare bones stores selling items such as perfume purses hardware and industrial plastics at low prices Many of these goods are grey market imports and many notoriously counterfeit with fake trademarked brand names on electronics clothing and personal accessories including the fake Rolex watches that have become a Manhattan cliche Bootleg CDs and DVDs were common and were offered for sale on Canal Street often before they were even officially released in stores or the theater in makeshift stands and suitcases or simply laid out on bedsheets 9 Widespread sale of these counterfeit goods persists along Canal Street and in its hidden back rooms despite frequent police raids 10 11 In addition legislation was proposed in 2013 to try to make purchasing counterfeit items a crime this would let the city s economy earn back at least 1 billion annually in taxes 9 9 11 attack edit After the 9 11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 Canal Street was the northern most boundary of the area initially closed to everyone but residents and emergency personnel When the 9 11 Victims Compensation Fund was established Canal Street was again the northern cut off for the World Trade Center Exposure Zone 12 Transportation editCanal Street is served by the New York City Subway at seven stations west to east Canal Street IRT Broadway Seventh Avenue Line at Varick Street served by the 1 and 2 trains Canal Street IND Eighth Avenue Line at Sixth Avenue served by the A C and E trains Canal Street BMT Broadway Manhattan Bridge and Nassau Street Lines and IRT Lexington Avenue Line at Broadway Lafayette Street and Centre Street served by the 4 6 lt 6 gt J N Q R W and Z trains at four separate sets of platforms East Broadway IND Sixth Avenue Line at East Broadway served by the F and lt F gt trainsCanal Street is also served by the New York City Bus system though no routes actually run on Canal Street Routes intersecting with the street include M20 at Hudson Street northbound and at Varick Street southbound M55 at Sixth Avenue northbound and Broadway southbound M103 at Bowery M15 at Allen Street and M9 at East Broadway See also edit nbsp New York City portalReferences editNotes Sante Luc 2003 Low Life Lures and Snares of Old New York 1st Farrar Straus Giroux pbk ed New York Farrar Straus Giroux pp 5 6 ISBN 0374528993 OCLC 53464289 a b Burrows Edwin G and Wallace Mike 1999 Gotham A History of New York City to 1898 New York Oxford University Press pp 359 360 ISBN 0 195 11634 8 Kadinsky Sergey 2016 Hidden Waters of New York City A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes Ponds Creeks and Streams in the Five Boroughs New York NY Countryman Press pp 9 13 ISBN 978 1 58157 566 8 a b Moscow Henry 1978 The Street Book An Encyclopedia of Manhattan s Street Names and Their Origins New York Hagstrom Company ISBN 978 0 8232 1275 0 p 33 Yakas Benjamin Canal Street in Jackson Kenneth T ed 2010 The Encyclopedia of New York City 2nd ed New Haven Yale University Press p 201 ISBN 978 0 300 11465 2 New Bank Building Citizens Savings Bank to Erect Monumental Structure on Bowery The New York Times July 2 1922 Giovannini Joseph October 29 1987 Shopping Canal St New York s Attic The New York Times Zhou Min 1995 Chinatown The Socioeconomic Potential of an Urban Enclave Philadelphia Temple University Press p 106 ISBN 9781439904176 Retrieved July 19 2013 a b Dobnik Verena McKernan Bethan June 13 2013 Chinatown s Counterfeit Goods Economy Targeted In New York City Council Bill Huffington Post Associated Press Retrieved August 7 2015 Hauser Christine February 27 2008 City Agents Shut Down 32 Vendors of Fake Items The New York Times Kalman Alex Sinreich Lola January 16 2010 Op Ed New York s Street of Schemes The New York Times NYC Map Of Exposure Zone September 11th Victim Compensation Fund websiteExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canal Street Manhattan KML file edit help Template Attached KML Canal Street Manhattan KML is from Wikidata Canal Street Map from A Journey Through Chinatown Canal Street Storefronts photographs of buildings and stores along Canal Street Canal Street Panoramic Video Tour Kogeto s Dotspot immersive panoramic video of a walking tour captured on an iPhone Canal Street A New York Songline a virtual walking tour Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Canal Street Manhattan amp oldid 1179858514, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
