Clouds reflect in the water of the Gowanus Canal looking north with the Twin Towers peeking above the shoreline. The wall reflected in the water has no graffiti in 1989 and downtown Brooklyn has not risen to its new heights.

World Trade Center peeks over the top of a warehouse along the Gowanus Canal at sunset in 1991. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

A Barge approaches the Hamilton Avenue bridge on the Gowanus Canal with the Ninth Street subway station behind in 1991. One of five bridges over the waterway, the 1.7 mile long canal is currently in an EPA Superfund cleanup plan that is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

NO SMOKING in bright red letters adorn the bulkhead at Bayside Fuel Oil Depot Corp. on the Gowanus Canal in 1997, one of several industrial businesses that once lined the canal and used the waterway to transport goods. The site, just north of the Union Street bridge on the west side of the canal between Union, Degraw, and Bond streets, is part of the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program. With both the old St Agnes school building and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the distance in 1997, the site was dismantled and excavated in 2015.

An abandoned crane sits on the bank of the Gowanus Canal. More than a dozen contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and copper, were found at high levels beneath the waters. The contamination is so severe that the EPA is not ready to say whether the Gowanus would ever be “swimmable and fishable.”

LOST IN BROOKLYN The red pier was located at the end of Hoyt Street in the Gowanus Canal. It had a stark beauty that came from the streaked red paint, filled with rust. To me, it was a graphic symbol of how the canal had been abandoned as a commercial waterway. No boats ever tied up at its sides, and the fact that it had no roof meant that nothing was stored inside. It was another structure that just vanished.

IS Brandtsen pier collapsed into Gownaus Bay at the end of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977

The Red Hook Grain Terminal is just outside the Gowanus Canal in Gowanus Bay. In an attempt to revitalize the Gowanus Canal and to coincide with the new canal system, plans were set in motion to build a grain terminal in Red Hook along the Gowanus Canal, which had become an infrequently used waterway. The Red Hook Grain Terminal was built in 1922, as part of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal)

A can floats in the water of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, creating an awkward shadow. Sewage flowed into the canal as early as 1858, and by the 1880’s the waterway had gained the moniker “Lavendar Lake” for its odorous qualities. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Graffitti covered doorway near Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, in 1996. Graffiti was found nearly everywhere in the canal's vicinity.

A snow covered tire sits on the shore of the Gowanus Canal across from the Dynamo building also called the BatCave. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Powerhouse, is now being restored by architects Herzog & de Meuron, with the backing of a nonprofit and developer Joshua Rechnitz. Also known as The Batcave, this monumental structure dates back to at least 1902, and is not yet landmarked. It was also one of the most polluted pieces of property along the shoreline. The Powerhouse Workshop will be a contemporary industrial fabrication center established to serve the working needs of artists. Affordable and accessible space for industry and production is increasingly scarce in New York City. Fabrication shops in wood, metal, ceramics, textiles and printmaking will provide sophisticated production capabilities and support risk-taking and exploration for artists In Powerhouse’s new Gowanus home.

Ice floats in the Fourth Street Basin of the Gowanus Canal during a harsh January freeze in 2000. The current cost of the overall EPA Superfund cleanup plan is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Snow on a pylon in the Gowanus Canal looking toward the Carroll Street bridge from Union Street. the 1.7 mile long canal is currently in an EPA Superfund cleanup plan that is estimated to be over $1.5 billion, and the entire project won’t be completed until mid-2023. The Gowanus Canal is located in one of the densest population centers in America.

Carroll Street Bridge in the snow over the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. In 1889, the Carroll Street Retractable Bridge opened and today is one of only four retractable bridge’s remaining in the world. Built at a cost of $36,742.58, the beloved bridge supports a 17 foot wide roadway and two 4.5 foot sidewalks that are pulled onto the shore on tracks via a cable and pulley system. Landmarked in 1987, the bridge was built to allow horse and wagons to cross the increasingly busy waterway, and still features a sign stating “Any Person Driving over this Bridge Faster than a Walk will be Subject to a Penalty of Five Dollars For Each Offence.”

The Carroll Street Bridge stands open over the Gowanus Canal with very little around it except empty warehouses in 1996. In the distance at right are the Twin Towers and the steeple of St Agnes.

The Carroll Street Bridge stands open over the Gowanus Canal with very little around it except empty warehouses in 1996. In the distance at right are the Twin Towers and the steeple of St Agnes. In 1889, the Carroll Street Retractable Bridge opened and today is one of only four retractable bridge’s remaining in the world. Built at a cost of $36,742.58, the beloved bridge supports a 17 foot wide roadway and two 4.5 foot sidewalks that are pulled onto the shore on tracks via a cable and pulley system. Landmarked in 1987, the bridge was built to allow horse and wagons to cross the increasingly busy waterway, and still features a sign stating “Any Person Driving over this Bridge Faster than a Walk will be Subject to a Penalty of Five Dollars For Each Offence.”

In 1889, the Carroll Street Retractable Bridge opened and today is one of only four retractable bridge’s remaining in the world. Built at a cost of $36,742.58, the beloved bridge supports a 17 foot wide roadway and two 4.5 foot sidewalks that are pulled onto the shore on tracks via a cable and pulley system. Landmarked in 1987, the bridge was built to allow horse and wagons to cross the increasingly busy waterway, and still features a sign stating “Any Person Driving over this Bridge Faster than a Walk will be Subject to a Penalty of Five Dollars For Each Offence.” Shot in 1988.

A DEP Boat passes through the open Union Street drawbridge on the Gowanus Canal in 1996. St Agnes church steeple rises above the west bank of the waterway..