Walking Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal: From Toxic Past to Luxury Living

New York Adventure Club | www.AdventureClub.com

For over 150 years, Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal helped fuel the borough's industrial growth — but at a steep cost. Once crowded with thousands of barges carrying coal, lumber, stone, and steel, the waterway became notorious for toxic industrial chemicals, raw sewage, and even victims of underworld foul play. Now, with a $2 billion cleanup underway — and luxury towers, waterfront esplanades, and new businesses rapidly transforming its banks — can Gowanus preserve its gritty character while embracing a radically different future? It's time to hit the streets to uncover the past, present, and future of Brooklyn's most notorious canal.

Join New York Adventure Club as we explore the fascinating history and dramatic transformation of Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, from the tiny backwater creek that helped fuel Brooklyn's industrial rise to the rapidly changing waterfront neighborhood taking shape today.

Led by local resident and licensed NYC tour guide Eliot Niles, our on-the-ground exploration of this historic waterfront neighborhood will include:

• A brief history of the Gowanus Canal, from how a tiny backwater creek was transformed into a vital industrial waterway that helped build Brooklyn to how decades of pollution earned it infamous nicknames like "Lavender Lake" and "Black Mayonnaise"
• A stroll along new waterfront esplanades and scenic vantage points, offering unique perspectives of the canal and a firsthand look at the changing Gowanus landscape
• A walk across two of the neighborhood's short bridges, including the Carroll Street Bridge, the nation's oldest wood-plank retractable bridge
• A closer look at 19th-century industrial landmarks, along with vintage photographs revealing the factories, warehouses, and working waterfront that defined a now largely forgotten era of Gowanus
• An overview of the massive Gowanus Canal cleanup, including the strategy behind the remediation project and enormous underground infrastructure designed to help prevent sewage from surging into the canal and surrounding neighborhood
• A discussion around the ongoing debate over development and preservation, as luxury towers and new development rise alongside repurposed warehouses, arts spaces, music venues, bars, and other remnants of the neighborhood's industrial past

See you there!

*Please bring a water bottle and comfortable pair of shoes as we’ll be doing a lot of walking!

**This tour does not go inside any of the buildings on the route

***Please note that the tour route passes active construction sites and scaffolding and involves crossing short wood-plank and grated bridges

****Restrooms will only be available at the beginning and end of the tour

*****This tour will conclude at the Union St R station at Union St and 4th Ave

Testimonials

"I liked the information, the guide's willingness, and ability to respond to comments and questions." -Edna

"Great views of the Gowanus Canal area." -Jeffrey

Disclaimer

Event takes place rain or shine.

By attending a New York Adventure Club experience, you accept our terms of service.

Categories: In-Person, Neighborhood Tours