The Flood Control Channel

Today, it is hard to imagine the west end without the flood control waterway. Although it is was created as recently as the 1960's, it is a major component of the waterfront's history. The catalyst for Ithaca's Flood Control Channel was the great flood of 1935 that inundated most flat areas of the City of Ithaca, hitting the Inlet area particularly hard. After that, resolve intensified to provide truly comprehensive flood control. In 1950, Common Council voted unanimously for the creation of the flood control channel, despite the severity of its impact. After many years of discussion and lobbying at a higher political level, it was included in the Federal Flood Control Act of 1960. Work by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began in 1964 as funding was approved.

Work on the channel occurred in three phases. The first phase deepened and widened the mouth of the Inlet north of Cascadilla Creek. The second phase involved projects at the south end of the city, including a new bridge for the Lehigh Valley railroad. The third phase saw the digging of the channel all the way from the southwest corner of today's Southwest Park north to Cascadilla Creek. The channel went through the heart of the Inlet Neighborhood, and required the demolition of the West Side House, Beebe Community Chapel (formerly the Inlet Beebe Mission), and 55 out of 65 homes in the area. Over 30 of these homes were set on fire for fire department training exercises.

Dredge and sewer pipe. Early 1900's

The creation of the flood control channel was an angry, painful process for Inlet neighborhood residents and Ithacans alike. In a letter to the newspaper, one resident suggested it was "a conspiracy to rid Ithaca of Floral Avenue's dilapidated houses". Another resident remembers it as "the night they burned the west end". A Fall Creek neighborhood resident remembered thinking, " I wonder if they'll ever do that to my neighborhood".

After its completion, Ithaca had an Inlet with substantially improved flood control. Cornell University had the use of a three-lane, 2000 meter, Olympic eligible rowing course. The Ithaca Garden Club planted crab apple trees along its banks. The City was also left with Inlet Island, and with the 'Octopus' intersection, which Ithacans endured for more than twenty years, until it too was rectified with the building of route 96 and route 89 bridges in 1997.

Cass Park

Cass Park exists on an amalgamation of several different parcels of land the city acquired over the years. These include the area of the former municipal airport, land acquired in 1929 between the railroad tracks and the Inlet where the shacks of "Silent City" used to be, and Lehigh Valley Railroad land, including the 'loop', appropriated in 1966 at the time of the Flood Control Channel project. Earth dredged from that project could be said to have created land as it was used to fill in the southern portion of the park. The Cass Park ice rink opened in November of 1972, and the swimming pool and ball fields opened in the summer of 1973. More ball fields and a minipool were added later. Cass Park was named after Leon Cass (Cornell '29), who became city engineer in 1933 and was responsible for a lot of West Hill development.

At the north end of Cass Park, the Hangar Theater occupies what was the old airport hangar, built in 1932. The hangar was converted into a theater with Rockefeller funding, and the theater opened in 1975 under the artistic directorship of Robert Moss. Around that time, there were also attempts to secure Rockefeller funds for the creation of a National Arts and Recreation Center. According to its master plan, it called for a museum, concert hall, planetarium, children's center and theater. There were also plans for a national level theater center and school devoted to Ancient Greek plays, on something of the scale of the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake.

Just to the north of Cass Park, Allan H. Treman State Marine Park is the largest inland marina in New York State, with 399 berths. A city marina was first constructed at this site in the 1960's. The state took it over and further developed it at the time of the Cass Park construction.