Broad Canal is a short

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, previously larger and part of the now-vanished canal system that made Cambridge an active

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

. The canal began in 1806 when Henry Hill, Rufus Davenport, and others laid out a canal system in the land and tidal flats along the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...

. Broad Canal was dug before 1810, and wide from the low-water mark to Portland Street. In 1874 the lower part of the canal, between First and Third Streets, was wide. Connecting canals ran through much of today's East Cambridge. No visible trace remains of that system, and extensive landfills have removed all remnants of Cambridge's seaport docks and wharves. Broad Canal's truncated remnants can now be found just north of Broadway, entering the

immediately north of the Longfellow Bridge.

References

* Massachusetts Committee on Charles River Dam, Henry Smith Pritchett, chairman, ''Evidence and Arguments Before the Committee on Charles River Dam'', Wright & Potter Printing Co., State Printers, 1903. Pages 459-461. {{coord, 42.362511, -71.079211, display=title Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts Canals in Middlesex County, Massachusetts