With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, and the advent of large steamships in the second half of the 19th century, a broad shipping canal was proposed between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers to allow them thru-transit by bypassing the tight turn up and around Marble Hill. The Harlem Canal Company (then stylized as the "Harlaem Canal Company") was founded in 1826, but did not make any progress towards building a canal. A second company also failed to complete the project. In 1863 the Hudson and Harlem River Canal Company was created, and began the final plans for the canal. The U.S. Congress broke the logjam in 1873 by appropriating money for a survey of the relevant area, following which New York state bought the necessary land and gave it to the federal government. In 1876, the New York State Legislature issued a decree for the construction of the canal. Construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal – officially the United States Ship Canal – finally started in January 1888. The canal would be in width and have a depth of to . It would be cut directly through the rock of Dyckman's Meadow, making a straight course to the Hudson River. The first section of the canal, the cut at Marble Hill, was completed in 1895 and opened on June 17 of that year. Several festivities including parades were held to commemorate the occasion. At this time, Tibbets Brook was diverted into storm drains underneath Broadway, with the old right-of-way becoming Tibbett Avenue.
