Lachine Canal

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Lachine Canal
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Diagram showing the canal pass through Montreal's boroughs
Original Owner Company of the Proprietors of the Lachine Canal
Principal Engineer Thomas Burnett
Construction Began July 17, 1821
Date of first use 1825
Date Completed August 24, 1824
Date Extended 1843-1848, 1873-1885
Date Closed 1970
Date Restored 2002
Start Point Old Port of Montreal
End Point Lachine Lock
Locks 5

(originally 7 [1])
Maximum Height above sea level 65 ft (20 m)
Navigation Authority Parks Canada
Tugboat Daniel McAllister, with grain elevators behind, Lachine Canal.
The Lachine Canal in 1920
Close up view of locks
A bridge over the Lachine Canal, in sight of downtown Montreal
Lachine Canal tango7174.jpg

The Lachine Canal (Canal de Lachine in French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine , Lasalle and Sud-Ouest.

The canal gets its name from the French word for China (La Chine). The European explorers dreamt of finding a route from New France to the Western Sea and there on to China[2] and hence auspiciously the region where the canal was build was named Lachine.

Contents

[edit] History

The canal is situated on land originally granted by the King of France to the Sulpician Order. Beginning in 1689, attempts were made by the French Colonial government and several other groups to build a canal that would allow ships to bypass the treacherous Lachine Rapids. After more than 130 years of failure, a consortium that included the young Scottish immigrant John Redpath was successful. John Richardson was Chairman of the Committee of Management of the canal project and its chief engineer was Thomas Brunett. The contractors were Thomas McKay and John Redpath, plus the firms of Thomas Phillips & Andrew White and Abner Bagg & Oliver Wait. [3]

Work on the canal commenced on July 17, 1821 under Chief Engineer Thomas Burnett and Construction Engineer John Richardson. The original canal was 14 km. long and had seven locks, each 30 m long, 6m wide and 1.5 m deep. The Lachine Canal which was inaugurated in 1824 and opened to navigation in 1825.

The new canal officially opened in 1825, helping turn Montreal into a major port and eventually attracting industry to its banks when the Society of Sulpician Order decided to sell lots.

However, while the Lachine canal proved an enormous boon for Montreal and the province of Quebec, time would show that for Canada's Maritime Provinces, it was the first major nail in that region's economic coffin.

The first enlargements took place between 1843 and 1848, under the supervision of Alfred Barrett. Five new locks, each 61 m long, 13.5 m wide and 2.7 m deep replaced the original seven locks. A second enlargement of the canal took place between 1873 and 1885 at which time the locks were lengthened to 82 m and deepened to 4.3 m.

The canal continued to operate successfully until around 1950, but now, surrounded by the industrial developments which it helped to create, it could not be expanded further to cope with the continuing increase in vessel size. The canal became obsolete in the second half of the 20th century, being replaced by the St. Lawrence Seaway, which opened in 1959. The canal was finally closed to shipping in 1970. The opening of the Seaway and the decline of shipping on the canal led to the devastation of the neighbourhoods that lined the canal in Montreal's Sud-ouest borough due to shifting patterns of industrial development and shipping.

[edit] Locks

Since 1848, the canal has had 5 locks: Lachine, Côte-Saint-Paul, Saint-Gabriel and 2 locks at Old Port of Montreal. But initially it had seven locks:

  • Lachine (1 lock),
  • Côte-Saint-Paul (2 lock in 1825, 1 since 1848)
  • Saint-Gabriel (1 lock)
  • Old Port of Montreal (3 locks in 1825, 2 since 1848).

[edit] Lachine Canal National Historic Site

The canal has been designated as a National Historic Site, officially named the Lachine Canal National Historic Site. The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site is located near the western end of the canal.

[edit] Lachine Visitor Services Centre

The Lachine Visitor Services Centre is located at the entrance to the canal on Lake Saint-Louis in Lachine, Quebec. The centre features exhibits about the building and widening of the canal, and offers information about the canal and guided tours. There is also a gift shop, lookout terraces, and an outdoor interpretation trail. The centre is open seasonally.

[edit] Development

Over the last two decades, the canal has seen a large increase in residential and commercial development. In what was originally a very heavy industrial neighbourhood, Pointe Saint-Charles and Saint-Henri have become very up and coming districts. House values have sky rocketed and many real estate developers have turned the century old industrial factories and warehouses, like that of Dominion Textiles (5524 Saint-Patrick, now Complexe Dompark) & Simmons Bedding Company (4710 St-Ambroise, now Complexe Canal Lachine) into prestigious loft buildings. Complexe Dompark recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and now houses more than 90 multimedia, fashion, publishing, and service industry-based companies in custom designed lofts. The area around the Atwater Market has become one of Montreal's most desirable residential areas for condo owners. Much of this is thanks to the continued effort to clean up the Canal.

[edit] Recreation

In 2002, it was reopened as a pleasure boating area, despite environmental concerns due to heavy industrial contamination of its bottom, and the banks of the canal were redeveloped. An environmental reclamation project continues to clean up old oil spills. The banks of the canal offer bicycling and roller blading. Parks Canada offers guided tours of the canal by foot, bicycle, and boat during the summer months.

[edit] Crossings

From east to west:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Parks Canada
  2. ^ Page 9 The Lachine Canal - By Yvon Desloges, Gelly, Alain Desloges, Yvon, Gelly, Alain, 1958-, Alain Gelly. Retrieved 31 December, 2008 http://books.google.ca/books?id=l2W_Ju_7xjgC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=lachine+canal+china&source=bl&ots=Ep1pbr06P-&sig=SmWUMtfAGEXPq16ruvkpDj3xBpA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA9,M1
  3. ^ "ASSIGNMENT # 4: LACHINE CANAL TO SAINT-HENRI" (PDF). Urban Revitalization in Montreal: Field Trip Manual. Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg. 2005-05-09. http://ius.uwinnipeg.ca/WIRA/PDF/fieldtrip-manual.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-06. 

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 45°28′0″N 73°35′36″W / 45.466667°N 73.59333°W / 45.466667; -73.59333

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