Arguably conceived in the spirit of "if you build it, they will come," the Richmond Canal Walk has yet to live up to the hype surrounding its inception. Promoted as a catalyst for development and a tourist draw, the canal and its immediate surroundings remain mostly quiet and undeveloped, though picturesque.
The Canal Walk is actually a restoration, of sorts - an attempt to resurrect an urban waterfront that existed in the Nineteenth Century as the main artery of commerce. The canal system in Richmond was actually a series of canals, lock and basins that permitted mule-drawn and manually-powered barges to navigate past the falls in the James River to points west, as well as providing power for industry.
Here is a map of downtown Richmond as it existed in 1876.
Note the extensive network of water in the downtown area - particularly the Central Business District.
In the 1980's the James Center was developed on the site of the largest basin, creating a precinct of unremarkable office towers, mediocre public plazas and surface parking lots.
Suppose the development of post-industrial downtown had maintained these waterways in an extensive form. Arguably, downtown Richmond would be a very different place.
Monday, November 23, 2009
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