The Winged Foot of Hermes

Oil patterns form a winged foot on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, caused by the coal tar and oil seeping to the surface. 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.

Oil pattern forms Africa on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. The oil patterns on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, come together in the strangest ways, sometimes for seconds at a time, to form recognizable shapes highlighted by the morning sun. 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.

Is it a woman's form? The oil patterns on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, come together in the strangest ways, sometimes for seconds at a time, to form recognizable shapes highlighted by the morning sun. 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.

Dinosaurs in Oil

Oil patterns form the shapes of dinosaurs on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. The Superfund site can be beautiful in its own filth. It is kind of curious when oil forms the shape of dinosaurs. 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.

At low tide, oil permeates to the surface of the Gowanus Canal sometimes so thick that it gives the appearance of a hard surface. As the oil moves in the tidal waterway, the sunlight gleams the colors as it changes shape constantly. Caused by the coal tar and oil seeping to the surface, 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.

Oil patterns form what looks like a relief map on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. Caused by the coal tar and oil seeping to the surface, 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.

Oil patterns in the shape of a large leaf on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, caused by the coal tar and oil seeping to the surface. 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.

Oil patterns form a continent that looks like Asia on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, caused by the coal tar and oil seeping to the surface. 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.

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

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.

Carroll Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY with graffitti in 2000. 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.

At Low tide during 1998, metal garbage is uncovered by the Carroll Street Bridge of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. The aea was cleaned out during the during the city-led 1999 cleanup effort that involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife. The divers had challenging conditions, coming out covered in oil and tar and working conditions with no visibility underwater.

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.

A lone man plays trumpet inside a silo by the Carroll Street Bridge on the Gowanus Canal. David Lefkowitz bought the half-acre plot beside the Carroll Street Bridge in Brooklyn with the silo and a metal warehouse in 1998. This would become one of the first multi-story condominium locations on the waterway.

Snow covered weeds 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.

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 diver covered in oil gets cleaned at the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY during the city-led 1999 cleanup effort that involved repairs to the flushing tunnel and a partial dredging at the head of the waterway. The results were immediate with an increase in fish and wildlife. The divers had challenging conditions, coming out covered in oil and tar and working conditions with no visibility underwater.

Dan of Two Dans on the banks of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, just north of the Carroll Street Bridge. The Auto Salvage company was one of the few businesses still operating along the canal in 1996.

Looking like a river delta from the air, Cracked Ice makes a phenomenal pattern in the Fourth Street basin of the Gowanus Canal after Winter Storm Jonas on January 25, 2016. 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.

A crane lifts scrap at Benson Scrap Metal from piles to load a barge on the Gowanus Canal at Sunset.

Nighttime shots along the Gowanus Canal by Carroll Street bridge. Since 2016, the patch of graffiti on a warehouse by the Carroll Street Bridge on the bank of the Gowanus Canal welcomed visitors with the tagline ‘Welcome to Venice’ with the signature "Love Jerko." But just like the Canal itself, it became a victim of gentrification. The former home of Alex Figliolia Water & Sewer, the 65,000-square-foot industrial building disappeared without a trace. On my first visit to the canal since the pandemic struck, I had one of those "Oh No" moments when I drove across the historic Carroll Street Bridge and realized the graffiti covered wall was gone. Not just gone but obliterated like it had never been there.

Welcome to Venice

Since 2016, the patch of graffiti on a warehouse by the Carroll Street Bridge on the bank of the Gowanus Canal welcomed visitors with the tagline ‘Welcome to Venice’ with the signature "Love Jerko." But just like the Canal itself, it became a victim of gentrification. The former home of Alex Figliolia Water & Sewer, the 65,000-square-foot industrial building disappeared without a trace. On my first visit to the canal since the pandemic struck, I had one of those "Oh No" moments when I drove across the historic Carroll Street Bridge and realized the graffiti covered wall was gone. Not just gone but obliterated like it had never been there.

Dykes Lumber has been a fixture on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, and allowed the “Gowanus: Industry & Ecology,” by artists Julia Whitney Barnes and Ruth Hofheimer to be painted on the side of the building at Sixth Street and the Fourth Street basin. The reflection of the mural inspired by Mexico City's floating gardens belies the Superfund status of the waterway.

Dykes Lumber has been a fixture on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY, and allowed the “Gowanus: Industry & Ecology,” by artists Julia Whitney Barnes and Ruth Hofheimer to be painted on the side of the building at Sixth Street and the Fourth Street basin. The reflection of the mural inspired by Mexico City's floating gardens belies the Superfund status of the waterway.