Beneath Constitution Avenue lies a secret. A forgotten waterway. This is the story of the Washington City Canal. Envisioned by Pierre Charles L’Enfant as a grand canal it was to connect the Anacostia River to the Potomac. This ambitious project aimed to boost commerce bringing goods directly into the city’s heart.
However the canal’s journey was far from smooth. Fundraising lotteries in 1796 proved dismal failures. The initial Washington City Canal Company failed in 1809 with barely a mile completed. A new company was formed but securing funding remained a challenge. Despite this a groundbreaking ceremony was held in 1810 with President James Madison in attendance.
Construction was hampered by the War of 1812. Finally in 1815 the canal opened. Barges carrying a marine band and dignitaries celebrated the event. The reality was far less celebratory. The canal was only three feet deep. Larger boats could not navigate it. Its stone walls built for steamboats that never fit were slightly ridiculous. The tide proved another formidable foe. High tide threatened to breach the canal’s banks. Low tide left long stretches unusable.
The canal’s problems only worsened. Silt accumulated. Citizens discarded waste into the canal. By 1860 it was more sewer than waterway. The canal’s only regular visitors were cows that frequently fell in needing rescue. The city purchased the canal in 1831 hoping to improve it. In 1833 it connected with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. This brought larger barges but the problems persisted. The rise of railroads sealed the canal’s fate.
By the late 1850s the Washington City Canal lay disused. During the Civil War it further deteriorated. Proposals to rehabilitate it or fill it were debated. In 1871 Alexander “Boss” Shepherd directed that the Tiber Creek section be covered over. This work along with other drainage improvements transformed the area. B Street NW later renamed Constitution Avenue now stands where the canal once flowed. The southern portion remained open for years eventually paved over.
Today only remnants remain. The canal’s Lockkeeper’s House built in 1837 near 17th Street and Constitution Avenue is the oldest building on the National Mall. It stands as a testament to this ambitious yet ultimately failed project. A reminder of the Washington City Canal’s rise and fall. A secret buried beneath our feet.