The Canal in Winter

See more information about this image. Then browse or search in the image catalog, or click on "Exit" at the upper right of any page in the catalog to get back to this page.	The Canal was partially drained for five months a year because winter freezes made it unusable. Because it was so shallow, the Canal could freeze very quickly, trapping boats in ice.
But the frozen canal also created many opportunities for recreation, such as ice skating at the widewaters or the aqueduct. Hundreds of skaters would gather on the aqueduct, where the stone walls protected them from cold winter winds. In 1899, spirited horsemen who could no longer race up and down East Avenue ran their horseraces in the frozen old canal bed.	See more information about this image. Then browse or search in the image catalog, or click on "Exit" at the upper right of any page in the catalog to get back to this page.