Canal Street (Manhattan)

Canal Street is an important road in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It runs for over a mile from East Broadway in the east to West Street in the west. The street goes through the busy Chinatown neighborhood and marks the southern edge of SoHo and Little Italy. It also forms the northern edge of Tribeca.

The street connects many places. It links Jersey City, New Jersey through the Holland Tunnel to Brooklyn in New York City via the Manhattan Bridge. Cars can travel in both directions for most of the street, but there are a few sections where traffic only goes one way.

Long ago, Canal Street was built over old water systems made to drain marshy areas and ponds, including a place called Collect Pond. Today, it remains a busy and famous part of New York City.

History

By 1800, Collect Pond, a natural source of fresh water in New York City, became dirty from waste and factories. The city drained the pond and built a canal to carry away the water. Canal Street was finished in 1820 and was named after this canal. Over time, the area changed, with new markets growing.

Canal Street became famous for its busy markets and street vendors. It has many shops with low prices, including some without official licenses. After the events of September 11, 2001, Canal Street was near the area that was closed for recovery work.

Transportation

Canal Street has many subway stops, making it easy to get around. Trains stop at seven different places from west to east. You can catch various train lines like the A, C, E, J, N, Q, R, W, and Z at these stops.

The street is also close to many bus routes, even though the buses don’t drive on Canal Street itself. Buses such as the M20, M55, M103, M15/M15 SBS, and M9 stop nearby at different streets intersecting Canal Street.