GowanusCanal.US – Mark D Phillips photographs document the last 35 years along the Gowanus Canal, declared a Superfund site in 2010 containing the dirtiest water in the United States.

Gowanus2024 “ECHOES in a canyon”

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The Gowanus canal - A LONG TERM Photographic DOCUMENTARY PROJECT

Mark D Phillips first discovered the fetid, abandoned waterway in the heart of Brooklyn in 1989. His photographs document a unique urban landscape surrounding the 1.8 mile long canal containing the dirtiest water in the United States.

Today’s Gowanus Canal is a developers dream with high rise apartment buildings sprouting like weeds along its shoreline. But there are advocates fighting to keep access to this jewel in Brooklyn.

Gowanus Art

All of the images by Mark D Phillips are available in the MarkDPhillips.com | maddog.photo fine art store in multiple formats. Looking for a large print for a building lobby? My images are your perfect source.

Welcome to Venice Jerko ©Mark D Phillips — Since 2016, the patch of graffiti on the former home of Alex Figliolia Water & Sewer welcomed visitors with the tagline ‘Welcome to Venice’ with the signature "Love Jerko." On my first visit to the canal since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, I had one of those "Oh No" moments when I drove across the historic Carroll Street Bridge and realized the graffiti covered wall was gone. Not just gone but obliterated like it had never been there. ©Mark D Phillips

From the blog

Echoes in a Canyon, the new Gowanus Canal

“Hello” we called on the new Gowanus. Our voices echoed back. This was not the Gowanus Canal of the last thirty years. It also was almost unrecognizable. Bulkheads stretched high above our heads. And then the final blow: It was Glen Canyon before the dam with high rise buildings soaring toward the sky, creating a new canyon within the heart of Brooklyn.

The inaugural Gowanus Art Parade crosses the Union Street Bridge on June 1, 2024, with a changing landscape along the shores of the canal. As hundreds of revelers cross the Union Street bridge, the old and the new Gowanus are in sharp contrast. All eyes are on the Gowanus Canal and its environs as it undergoes an upgrade from the 19th century to the 22nd century.

Field of Dreams: New bulkheads are constructed along the shore at the head of the Gowanus Canal beyond the Union Street bridge in July 2020. ©Mark D Phillips

EPA Inspector General Sean W. O’Donnell issued a report this morning outlining how oversight failures by EPA Region 2 and willful obstruction by the City of New York have led to soaring costs and increased health risks in Gowanus.