Canal Street to become actual canal

LACONIA — The City of Laconia, long known as the “Venice of New Hampshire," is taking another large stride in living up to its nickname. Providence ain’t got nothing on us.

Canal Street downtown is set to be dug up and dredged, transforming the busy thoroughfare into an actual canal, forever changing the seascape of the city.

“The plans are already done,” Relator Warren Clement said. “We’re going to do it in the middle of the night.”

Canal is the oldest street in Laconia, dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln while on tour in seeking reelection to a fourth term in the nation’s highest office, and has at various times been home to a boat factory, Sam McGloughlin’s Blacksmith Shop and batting cages, but is today a major center of commerce.

A number of prominent local businesses there will be transformed, and a new one will likely open mid-summer, and the “mystery stone of Canal Street”, discovered by workers digging a trench along the street while renovating the Colonial Theatre in 2021, will be hung by a crane 25 feet above the water, serving as a permanent reminder of the neighborhood’s roots. 

“It’ll put a new focus on it,” Clement said. “There’s going to be a new art store there, Mike and Angelo’s.”

Mike and Angelo’s will leverage their superior painting skills and craftsmanship — they specialize in rejuvenating older houses and public institutions, like chapels, saving them from the hard scars of time. 

Next door, Lemon Jello is set to open in early spring, enticing tourists from all over the world with a wide range of gelatinous delicacies. It’s not clear where the associated slaughterhouse will be located — they’re still bound up at the city’s planning board.

Trillium Farm to Table will retain its prominent corner location but will pivot to serving made-to-order pasta and chicken parmesan, Clement explained. 

It’s not clear how expensive boat parking will be along the canal, but it’s recommended visitors bring their piggy banks — they’ll only accept pennies. 

Though he’s had a great run in downtown Laconia, Clement himself is set to change careers — he’ll be the first gondola singer Laconia’s seen in decades. No easy feat, he’s been training almost a year in preparation.

“Well I’ve been practicing,” he said. “Pavarotti is helping me with the octave changes.”

The plan isn’t new, it’s just been a closely-held secret for several years. Canal Street Canal developers won approval in March — dirt to be dug in April. 

“The idea really has been festering for a long time,” Clement said. 

When all is said and done, boaters and gondoliers alike will be able to circumnavigate the city, from Lake Opechee to the Winnipesaukee River, just as the city’s founders intended. A massive feat of industry and engineering, the $5 billion project will pave the way for the city’s first hosting of the World’s Fair in October.

The 2024 addition of permanent lighting above the former Canal Street was just the beginning and there’s still much work to be done.

“As you know, there’s a hydro-dam in the way,” Clement said.