Cleaned and flowing: What’s left of the Thurston Canal, south of Second Avenue, on Aug. 7, 2025.
A part of Albany’s history is buried under Thurston Street from Sixth Avenue north to the Willamette River. It’s what used to be the Thurston Street Canal.
Up to about a century ago, the canal was one of the main drivers of Albany’s early industries, supplying the water that powered turbines along the south bank of the Willamette River. In the early 1980s the canal was covered up and most of its remaining flow diverted to an underground pipe.
I didn’t pay too much attention at the time, when my family and I were still new in town. But for a story on hh-today three years ago, I went to the online newspaper archives to reconstruct what happened. You can read the story here.
Go ahead, click on the link and take a look. The item includes a photo of the Thurston Canal around the year 1900. The image, part of the Potts Collection at the Albany Regional Museum, gives us a sense of what was lost by the neglect of this waterway over the century since.
What remains of the canal is a narrow ditch the city calls Thurston Creek. Over the years I’ve complained about it being overgrown and dried up. So on a bike ride through that part of town last week, I was glad to see water in the ditch and the adjacent grounds cleaned up.
I asked Kristin Preston if the city had anything to do with this improvement. She’s the operations manager in Albany Public Works.
“Yes,” she replied, “our street maintenance crew is responsible for mowing and maintaining drainage ditches. Last winter, with the help of the canal crew, they removed a bunch of brush and debris from this ‘canal,’ which may be why you’re seeing more flow now.”
From Second Avenue north, the water flows in a pipe and there’s no trace of the canal above ground. But from Sixth north to Second, the little “Thurston Creek” is still flowing and giving people who are interested a clue to what once was there. (hh)
Looking north beyond Second Avenue, the canal runs in a pipe and is covered up.
Fun tidbit Hasso, and an excellent example of city employees being responsive to feedback from citizen’s. Both with your nudges pointing out ways our city can improve and by covering local news with journalistic integrity, I always appreciate your efforts!
That’s because my Roommate goes out there and keeps it flowing. I’ve never seen a city worker out there ever