Design
A Waterfront Revival, No Water Required
The Canal District of Worcester, Massachusetts, is flourishing. Now all it needs is a canal.
In the 20 years after the Blackstone Canal opened in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1828, the town quadrupled in size. The goods produced in Worcester’s factories—textiles and machinery, wire and cast iron—could now be shipped to port in Rhode Island within two days. Worcester grew into a capital of the Industrial Revolution and a beacon for immigrants looking for opportunity.
The canal itself was not in use for long. It closed in 1848, made obsolete by railroads, and by the 20th century the portion that passed through Worcester had been paved over, relegated to use as a sewer.