Photo via mattron's flickr
When you think of the National Register of Historic Places, do you think: Gowanus Canal? The Brooklyn Paper reports that with a new push by preservationists, it's being considered. The organization wants the state to nominate the canal zone for national designation as part of its “Six to Celebrate” program, which will include six endangered areas. After all, hasn't the canal been through enough after that whole Superfund mess?
Linda Mariano of the Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus is behind the push, and declares, “I love this neighborhood—that’s why I stick it out by a toxic waterway." And as the paper points out, the historic attraction isn't all toxic, the area has historic sites like the Old American Can Factory on Third Street, and the National Packing Box Factory on Union.
The designation would protect those places, but the group also notes that they want to "respect the historic and physical environment of Gowanus while helping to guide future development." Of course, development came to a swift halt when the EPA stepped in to clean up the most polluted waterway in the country... but the area does have a Whole Foods on the way.
