A water-filled boat elevator used to lower barges from the C&O Canal down to the Potomac River. It was one of just two projects that were selected as the best representations of American engineering at the 1878 Paris Exposition (the other project was the Brooklyn Bridge).

June 11, 2016

Elliot Carter

The Mall, Downtown

What's Left of the Washington City Canal?

June 11, 2016

Elliot Carter

The Mall, Downtown

What's Left of the Washington City Canal?

There was a time when you could see barges floating on the National Mall in the now defunct Washington City Canal. This manmade channel cut across the heart of the city and connected the Anacostia with the Tiber Creek and the C&O canal in Georgetown.