Pennsylvania Canal Tunnel
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Status | abandoned |
| Waterway | (Pennsylvania) Main Line of Public Works |
| Start | Pittsburgh turning basin of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania canal |
| End | Monongahela River at Suke's Run |
| Operation | |
| Constructed | cut and cover |
| Opened | November 10, 1829[1] |
| Closed | 1857 |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Meloy and M'Alvey[2] |
| Length | 810 feet |
The Pennsylvania Canal Tunnel was the Pittsburgh terminus of the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works, a transportation system that involved other early tunnels.[3][4][5]
History
Construction was authorized February 8, 1827,[6] and the tunnel was completed November 10, 1829.[1] The canal crossed the Allegheny River on a covered bridge aqueduct, later replaced by John A. Roebling's first suspension bridge, the Allegheny Aqueduct.,[7] the canal traveled underground through most of downtown Pittsburgh, under Grant's Hill, to end in a lock leading to the Monongahela River.[8][9]
The original plan was to connect with the C&O canal at the Monongahela River, but that canal never reached its expected western end, and the tunnel's main use was to allow overflow from the canal to enter the Monongahela.[10] Only one or two canal boats ever went through the tunnel and lock.[11] The tunnel was made obsolete by the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1852.
The canal tunnel was uncovered during the construction of the U.S. Steel Tower in 1967,[1] and later during the construction of the subway system, which used part of the tunnel on the south side.[citation needed]
Photographs
- Photo by Bob Rathke
- Pennsylvania Digital Library photo
- Photo at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's "The Digs" blog
40°26′29″N 79°59′41″W / 40.44139°N 79.99472°W
External links
- Tunnel information by the American Canal Society
- Grant's Hill Tunnel at philadelphiabuildings.org
References
- ^ a b c Van Atta, Robert B. (21 April 2002). "Past 25 years have seen much progress in preservation of local history". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pittsburgh. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
- ^ Hazard, Samuel (1828). Register of Pennsylvania. Vol. 2. Philadelphia: W.F. Geddes. p. 338. OCLC 1751903. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
- ^ Miller, Ralph. "Tunnel Unearthed, City Past Floats Back." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, December 10, 1967, p. 29 (subscription required).
- ^ "Pennsylvania Canal, Marvel of Its Age, Swelled City's Trade." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 18, 1959, p. 96 (subscription required).
- ^ Fleming, George T. "Slow Canal Travel Marked a Long Step in Pennsylvania's Progress." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 23, 1917, p. 33 (subscription required).
- ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2005) [1827]. A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY ITS PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT (PDF) (April 2005 ed.).
- ^ Feikema, Robert J. (May 16, 1999). "The canal that made Pittsburgh great". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
- ^ Pittsburgh, 1758-2008. Images of America. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. 2008. p. 18.
it continued to the Monongahela River, partly through a short-lived tunnel under Grant's Hill.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Nicklin, Philip Holbrook (1836). A pleasant peregrination through the prettiest parts of Pennsylvania (digitized book). Philadelphia: Grigg and Elliott. p. 106.
- ^ "Two Canals" (PDF). New York Times. 15 October 1904.
- ^ Pennsylvania Supreme Court (1862). "Munn and Barton versus The Mayor, &c, of Pittsburgh". Pennsylvania state reports. Vol. 40. pp. 364–372.
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; January 13, 2008