There was a time when barges floated along 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. City planner Pierre L'Enfant hoped that this would facilitate Washington's development as an industrial center. That hope never really materialized, and the Canal eventually turned into an open sewer.

There was also the problem of pedestrians drowning in the canal. The ability to swim was not as widespread in the past, and there was a real risk of falling in at night before the introduction of street lighting.

While destruction of the canal began in the 1870's, there are still some interesting hidden tidbits that have survived.

Lockkeepers House

The out of place building at 17th and Constitution Avenue once housed the lockkeeper. A canal employee lived here rent-free and was on duty 24 hours a day to man the locks, which raised and lowered the water level. Today this building is closed to the public and is used for NPS storage.