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8 Harding Green Additionally, Worcester's expansive trade opportunities upset Boston merchants, who proposed a railroad that would redirect business to the eastern region of Massa- chusetts. In 1835, the arrival of the Boston & Worcester Railroad sealed the fate of the Blackstone Canal. The last canal boat made its journey in 1848 and the Canal was entombed in the 1890s. Today, a portion of the Canal still flows beneath Harding Street. Establishing a Jewish community Although the Blackstone Canal no longer flowed through Kelley Square from Washington Square, an influx of Eastern European immigrants, particularly Jewish fami- lies, subsequently arrived in the city, injecting a new breath of life into the district. The five-block stretch of Water Street soon became a "…center of religious, social, cul- tural and economic life," according to Water Street: World Within a World, a 2001 publication out of the Worcester Historical Museum. As a "main artery," Water Street featured several manu- facturing companies; ethnic restaurants; bakeries; cream- eries; butcher shops; grocery, chicken, fish and fruit mar- kets; and assorted small businesses. A single building on Water Street housed five clothing manufacturers and nearby Green Street also buzzed with commercial activity. Many buildings rose three or four stories high, with tene- ments situated above the storefronts. The 1910 U.S. Cen- sus reported that 723 people were living on Water Street in 35 residential units. City directory records indicated that in 1910, there were 56 businesses on Water Street, not including pushcart ven- dors. These businesses ranged from the needle and ser- vice trades to construction, maintenance, general industry, storekeepers and sales/white collar workers. Water Street served as a retail enclave, drawing local res- idents as well as folks from outside the city, particularly on Sundays. Shoppers made weekly pilgrimages to the area to purchase freshly baked bread, an assortment of fruits and vegetables, prime cuts of meat, live chickens and fish. Hun - dreds of lectures, meetings and cultural events also attract- ed immigrants as they strived to preserve their heritage. 92 Water Street (Mac's Spa - 1927). Water Street looking south (1948).