Lechmere Canal is a short canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 in East Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. It opens onto the Charles River

Charles River

The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...

 and used to be an active port for Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

 and the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

During the 19th century the canal served as a seaport before the Charles River

Charles River

The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...

 dam was interposed between it and Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

. The canal was created from the tidal waterways of the Charles basin as the surrounding area was filled.

The canal's original right of way appears to have been granted by several deeds in 1834, as conveyed by the Proprietors of Canal Bridge. These deeds conveyed canal passage as well as "the privilege of a dock 100 feet in width on the south-westerly side of the aforegranted premises; said dock to be kept open for ever for the common use and benefit of the owners and occupants of the land or wharves on either side and head thereof." Its south spur seems to have been authorized by the Harbor Commissioners in 1874. This extension was allowed to be 120 feet wide and some 900 feet long, and would be created in the midst of landfill as the harbor was filled.

Today the canal has been incorporated into the East Cambridge Embankment, and serves as a scenic accent to the surrounding neighborhood and park. It is northwest of the Museum of Science

Museum of Science, Boston

The Museum of Science is a Boston, Massachusetts landmark, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 500 interactive exhibits, the Museum features a number of live presentations throughout the building every day, along with shows at the Charles Hayden...

 near Lechmere Square

Lechmere Square

Lechmere Square is located at the intersection of Cambridge Street and First Street in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was originally named for the Colonial-era landowner Richard Lechmere, a Loyalist who returned to England at the beginning of the American Revolution. His lands were later seized...

.