Navigable Canals in America

American Navigable Canal Itineraries

Illinois and Michigan, Wabash and Erie, Erie Canal, Delaware and Hudson, Chesapeake and Ohio, Chesapeake and Delaware

European and English canal systems proved the feasibility of inland waterway transport and provided fine examples to be improved upon. As the need for improved inland transportation became obvious for westward expansion, America plunged into an era of canal building activity.

The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Mississippi and Great Lakes Basins. making
agriculture in northern Illinois profitable by opening-up connections to eastern markets and leading to the creation of Chicago. Chicago was the eastern and LaSalle the western terminus with the latter becoming a transshipment point from canal boats originating in Chicago to steamboats heading for St Louis and New Orleans.

A Cultural Meeting Point between North and South

Canal and Steamboat basins were located at locks 14 and 15 with New Orleans steamboats unloading molasses, sugar, coffee, fresh oranges and lemons whereas the Chicago cargo included lumber, stoves, wagons, and the latest clothing styles from the east.

Mastery of the American Mid-Continent

The Wabash and Erie Canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River; 460 miles long, it was the longest canal ever built in North America. The waterway was a combination of four canals: the Miami and Erie, the original Wabash and Erie from Junction to Terre Haute, Indiana, the Cross-Cut Canal from Terre Haute to Point Commerce, and the Central Canal from Worthington to Evansville.  

The Wabash & Erie Canal Association is dedicated to Indiana's canal heritage. The center serves as a physical focus of a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) segment of the canal that has been rebuilt and reopened as a waterway and parallel towpath.

Syracuse New York and the Erie Canal Museum Syracuse stands at the northeast corner of the Finger Lakes region and is a city comprised of many neighborhoods which were originally villages that joined the city over the years. Land to the north of town is generally flat while land to the south is hilly.

A major Crossroads for two Centuries with the Erie Canal and a Rail Network

The Erie Canal Museum is dedicated to preserving the 1850 National Register Weigh Lock Building, the last remaining structure of its kind, and to telling the incredible adventure story of the Erie Canal. The collections of the Erie Canal Museum consist of nearly 60,000 artifacts, covering a wide variety of items reflecting the culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries in upstate New York.

The Delaware and Hudson Canal a British blockade preceding the War of 1812, which cut off the supply of imported bituminous coal, led to the commercial development of Pennsylvania’s anthracite coal fields. The 108-mile 108-lock waterway operated from 1828 until 1898 transforming the economic landscape, as towns and villages sprang up along its route, and industries developed to exploit local resources such as lumber, agricultural products, and bluestone.  

The D&H Canal Historical Society maintains a Canal Museum and Five Locks Walk trail to preserve canal-era artifacts, and document the canal’s creation, operation, and importance as an engine of economic development in the region and beyond.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland. Construction on the 184.5-mile (296.9 km) course began in 1828 and ended in 1850 with the completion of a 50-mile stretch to Cumberland, rising and falling over an
elevation change of 605 feet (184 meters) that required 74 locks. In 1938, the abandoned canal was obtained by the United States and is now the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal national historic park.

Boatmen and their families were an independent lot often intermarrying within their own group. They frequently fought amongst each other and with lockkeepers over company rules. During winter when the boats were tied up, they lived in their own communities away from others. One boat captain observed that on the canal, women and children were as good as the men.

The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal is 14 miles long, 450 feet wide and 35 feet deep across Maryland and Delaware, connecting the Delaware River with Chesapeake Bay. The C&D Canal is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, and is the sole major commercial navigation waterway in the United States built during the early 1800s still in use.

The C&D Canal Museum in Chesapeake City provides visitors with a glimpse of the canal’s early days. The steam engines are the oldest of their type in America still on their original foundations.

The Delaware City Historic District is significant for its architecture, for its beginnings as a planned settlement, and for its importance as a nineteenth century canal-oriented transportation center. The town was envisioned by its backers as a place that would develop into a major shipping and trading point for traffic that passed along this trans-peninsular trade route, and so, its early plans were based on the completion of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

Val Metauro Marche Italy

Nature History and Superb Culinary Traditions

Val Metauro is named for the rivers Meta and Auro that orginate in the Appenine Mountains and flows to the Adriatic Sea. The hills of this ancient and historic valley overlook the seaside town of Fano and its historic center, rich in monuments and buildings dating from the Roman, medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Via Flaminia still connects Rome with this province; there is also a superhighway that parallels the ancient route.  

The Historic Borgo of Cartoceto here, you can taste unique cheese products, experience the local goat farm and millstones where a DOP olive oil is produced.

Fratte Rosa is a hilltop borgo near the renaissance town of Urbino, famous for its clay products and artisan shops dating back to the 18^th Century that display products for decorative as well as domestic use. Here, you can also visit the Terrecotte Museum in the convent of Santa Vittoria, a winery to taste the three doc wines of Pesaro-Urbino province – bianchello, sangiovese and pergola rosso – as well as experience the local cuisine, rigorously and slowly prepared with coccio, the local earthenware utensils.

Stay in a Traditional Mansion, superbly located for wine lovers and seekers of a typical local food experience, in a fairytale setting dotted with castles and villages just a few kilometers from the Adriatic Sea and the Marche Appennine mountains.

An Open-Air Museum Featuring Ancient Arms

Mondavio Castle and Rocca Roveresca, a masterpiece of military engineering by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, architect to the Duke of Urbino, charged with the fortification and restoration of structures in the Montefeltro area.

A Unique Culinary Experience

Help prepare truffle dishes and other Marchigiano specialties in these magical surroundings

The Furlo Gorge is part of a Natural Reserve park. The emperor Vespasian had a tunnel built here to facilitate passage on the Via Flaminia at the narrowest point of the gorge; next to it is a similar but smaller tunnel dating from Etruscan times.

An Open-Air Museum featuring ancient arms. Mondavio Castle and Rocca Roveresca, a masterpiece of military engineering by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, architect to the Duke of Urbino, charged with the fortification and restoration of structures in the Montefeltro area.

The Fifth Avenue Historic District in Nashville Tennessee

The Fifth Avenue Historic District is significant both in Nashville's commercial history and architectural development. Located in the central business district, this area has traditionally been the retail center of the city and its architecture is reflective of a period of prosperity from 1870 to the 1930s.

The buildings pre-date 1935 and most retain their original architectural character

Before the Civil War the Fifth Avenue area was characterized by up to three- story brick stores and residences while most of the city's commercial activities centered on nearby Second Avenue. The post-war prosperity brought about an expansion of activities with the Church Street and Fifth Avenue area one of the main centers of this development. Companies specializing in dry goods and clothing relocated here. Property changed hands often during this period with new brick buildings erected on the site of former residences and vacant lots.

The oldest buildings from this era are the St. Cloud Block and the Thompson Building both of which were constructed in the late 1860s. The St. Cloud Block was built on the site of the St. Cloud Hotel and was a major storehouse for three businesses. One of the developers was Charles Thompson who opened an adjacent dry goods company in 1868 at 213 Fifth Avenue North. On Fourth Avenue the 219-221 Building was constructed in 1871; occupied by the McEwen Steam Laundry Company, it was the largest cleaning establishment in the city. All three buildings were three-story with Second Empire and Italianate detailing.

Between 1870 and 1890 seven major buildings were constructed along Fifth Avenue, Fourth Avenue and Church Street. Most of these were designed in the Italianate, Romanesque or Chicago commercial styles. Occupants of these buildings catered to middle and upper-class women who shopped for clothing, shoes, sewing goods and household items. Other establishments listed were music teachers, hair dressers, and sewing machine companies.

Many of Nashville's department stores opened their doors in the area during the late 19^th century

Another major business of this period was the Jesse French Piano Company, one of the largest piano makers in the South, which constructed the ornate building at 240 Fifth Avenue in 1889. Other major businesses including the Kress Company, W.T. Grant Company, and Woolworths have or continue to occupy buildings in the district.

During the 1890s a distinctly Victorian phenomenon appeared in the downtown area. Fourth Avenue between Church and Union became known as the "Men's Quarter" with the city's most famous saloons and gambling houses located along this block. The corresponding block on Fifth Avenue became the center for women's shopping where businesses catered primarily to female clients.

Between 1890 and 1910 the Fifth Avenue area reached its height of popularity as the retail center of the city. In 1903 the Nashville Arcade created a new shopping complex for the downtown area along this block between Fourth and Fifth. Motion picture theatres were found along Fifth Avenue. At 235 Fifth Avenue was the Strand Theatre, and on the east side of the street was the Rex and Fifth Avenue Theatres. These early theatres provided amusement for children while mothers shopped along the street. Construction of new retail establishments continued along Church Street and Fifth Avenue into the 1930s. The last building erected in the district was the five-story Art Deco Kress Building constructed in 1935; although many storefronts or interiors were altered in later years, the basic architectural configuration of the district remained unchanged. These properties constitute an important architectural, historical and commercial resource reflective of the evolution of downtown Nashville.

Annapolis e Baltimora

architettura commercio marittimo navi storiche progetti di sviluppo e conservazione

Annapolis

Hammond-Harwood House e’ un museo di Arte e Architettura del 18^th secolo ubicato nel centro storico di Annapolis, la capitale del Maryland e sede dell’Accademia Navale degli Stati Uniti. Il nobile proprietario di piantagioni Matthias Hammond inizio’ la costruzione nel 1774 in collaborazione con il famoso architetto William Buckland per una nuova dimora nella zona piu’ elegante di Annapolis.

Una Villa Anglo-Palladiana con Sculture in Legno e Intonaci

Leggere e Scrivere la Storia Progettata per fornire agli studenti delle scuole superiori una lezione pratica sulla storia coloniale americana, il programma è diviso in tre mini-sessioni ognuno con i seguenti obiettivi: una visita ad una casa coloniale, una introduzione alle risorse della storia, e una sessione pratica di studio di gruppo. Il programma copre argomenti che comprendono lavoratori comuni e a contratto, la vita degli schiavi, la vita di artigiani, le attività dei nobili e il tempo libero, le arti decorative, e l'architettura.

Baltimora

Navi Storiche un programma di mezza giornata che da una esperienza storica pratica e immersiva con applicabilita’ da ventunesimo secolo che incoraggiano il lavoro di gruppo, la soluzione di problemi e l’apprendimento. I programmmi includono visite guidate alle navi dopodiche’ gli studenti si concentrano su due di sei particolari aree della nave e sviluppano il vocabolario specializzato e le tecniche a bordo.  Alla fine del programma di 2 ore e mezza, l’apprendimento viene verificato con un esercizio scritto ed una valutazione che poi vengono messi a disposizione degli insegnanti. I programmi sono pratici, mirano alla lettura, all’ascolto, al divertimento che include sparare i cannoni a bordo della Nave Constellation.

 Progetti di Sviluppo e Conservanzione Negli anni 60s, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, ubicata nella storica Brandywine Valley, si cimentava con progetti industriali e conseguente effetti su una comunita’ prevalentemente rurale; detti piani minacciavano le aree alluvionali e le forniture di acqua nella Pennsylvania sudorientale ed il Delaware settentrionale. Un gruppo di residenti acquisto I terreni e diede nascita alla Brandywine Conservancy nel 1967, attuando le prime misure di conservazione, mirate a proteggere oltre cinque miglia di spartiacque sul fiume Brandywine. 

Queste Esperienze rendono le comunita’ della Brandywine Valley all’avanguardia dell’uso responsabile dei suoli, la preservazione degli spazi aperti e la salvaguardia delle risorse di acqua, con enfasi sull’integrazione di conservazione e sviluppo economico, tramite una saggia amministrazione dei terreni, l’utilizzo di programmi pubblici locali in un partenariato che coinvolge individui e organi no profit per proteggere risorse naturali, culturali e sceniche. Nel 1971, la Conservancy inauguro’ un museo nella rinnovata Hoffman’s Mill, un mulino che risale al 1864, che oggi ospita una importante collezione d’arte americana sul territorio, illustrazioni, opere di natura morta, dipinti di paesaggi e le opere della famiglia Wyeth.