Brooklyn · NYC landmark
Gowanus Flushing Tunnel Pumping Station and Gate House
201 Douglass Street (aka 196 Butler Street) · Brooklyn, New York City
A pair of canal-side buildings records an engineering attempt to improve polluted water in the Gowanus Canal.
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NYFE Summary
Tides alone failed to clear industrial waste and sewage from the canal. The city built a tunnel and pumping equipment to move its water. After decades of breakdown, the system was restarted in 1999 with its flow reversed to bring cleaner, oxygenated water toward the canal’s head.
The larger brick building housed the pump, motor and a sluice gate. A smaller gate house controlled the other end of the equipment. Broad arched openings, stone trim and a prominent roof gave this utility work a formal public face.
NYFE summary from the official history and visitor sources linked below.
Plan a visit
Check the operator’s current opening, admission and access information before travelling. Historic status does not guarantee public access to every interior.
Official visitor information ↗