Murphy Canal

The Murphy Canal is a large canal in West New London connecting the Royal Stream to the lower River Bérégovoy.

The canal was built for seveal reasons: The Canal originally continued along Canal Street and turned at Madison Avenue (which did not then exist). Then on 155th, it turned east, and ran until reaching the Bérégovoy.
 * 1) Marine traffic from Aeroson wanted a more secure way to transport goods from Aeroson to Downtown (then centered on Old New London) directly.
 * 2) The narrows near Waldren Palace prevented a viable route from being possible to Old New London. The Bronx Rapids made coming to Old New London from the south impossible.
 * 3) The River Bérégovoy already had dense, wealthy populations along its shores which could not be displaced without significant disruption. This would also require the displacement of the Waldren Palace.
 * 4) East New London also firmly opposed any project which would reduce the land available to them, making adjusting the River Bérégovoy impossible.
 * 5) Thus the Murphy Canal was proposed.

However, in 1964, the Canal was no longer a viable route, and was not seen as a pleasant beautiful part of the city as it is today, but rather as an eyesore and a pain. Downtown had also shifted from Old New London, which was a tourist destination, to the current Downtown from 148th to 108th, bounded between the Bérégovoy and (then) Newland Mall. Thus, a connection to Old New London was no longer required. The canal was planned to be emptied and filled, but businesses of the Quartier Latin, who enjoyed much tourist traffic from the canal, protested. A compromise was made so that south of Canal Park, the canal would be re-routed underground beneath the Newland Mall, the Delongo Mall, and parts of the SoPal neighbourhood in Waldren. This would allow the canal to continue to be clean, while also giving a lot of space back to the new Downtown core.

Today, there are growing calls for the Canal to be re-opened. But there are hundreds of buildings on top of the former canal. The old Canal still exists, but is filled with soil and in some places concrete. Some have called for the Newland Mall and Delongo Mall to open the canal to be visible, but others say it would damage the park. The Greater New London Government announced in March 2018 plans to rebuild the canal through the Newland Mall, where it will be visible.