About this item
"The Nation's First Superhighway" existed before the spread of cars ... or even railroads! This immersive photo book ferries readers through the past and present of the Erie Canal, from impossible idea to groundbreaking reality.. In the twenty-first century, it's hard to imagine a canal as cutting-edge technology. Yet even to the most scientifically-minded, the Erie Canal once seemed an unachievable dream. Thomas Jefferson himself called it "nothing short of madness;" one critic felt sure it was impossible as "building a canal to the moon." Yet with eight years and nearly $185 million dollars in today's currency, the Erie Canal opened in 1825 to celebratory cannon fire: an innovating - and enduring - marvel of engineering.
