New York beneath the surface
To avoid the epidemics ravaging the Old World, New York began building its sewer network relatively early. By 1857, sewers ran beneath one third of the city’s nearly 800 kilometres of paved roads.
By the early 1890s, New York had approximately 750 kilometres of sewers. As the city grew, several natural waterways were also forced underground.
Buried waterways
The Sunswick, Linden and Tibbett’s were once surface waterways; as the city developed, they were gradually buried underground.
Croton and Manhattan
The Croton Aqueduct supplied the city with fresh water from 1842. An extensive sewer network still runs beneath Canal Street.
Sewer details
Details of New York’s underground infrastructure.
The alligator legend
Urban legend claims that alligators live in New York’s sewers. The story was reinforced by an incident in Harlem in 1935.
