From Collect Pond to Chinatown: How a Buried Lake Shaped NYC’s Chinatown · Wailuku · Oct 7, 2026

What lies beneath Chinatown? In this illustrated talk, architect William Bialosky uncovers the remarkable story of Collect Pond, the freshwater lake that once shaped the physical, social, and economic life of Lower Manhattan. For two centuries, Collect Pond supplied New York City with fresh water. But nearby industries polluted its shores, and the city began burying the lake in 1802. The resulting unstable and undesirable ground made the land inexpensive, helping determine who could afford to live there. Over time, the former pond basin became Five Points and, later, part of one of America’s most vital immigrant neighborhoods, Chinatown. Bialosky traces this layered history from glacial ice and early Manhattan infrastructure to the formation of Five Points, the growth of Chinatown, and the excavations taking place today. Combining architecture, geology, and urban history, the talk reveals how the landscape beneath a neighborhood can shape its future for generations. Bialosky will also reflect on MOCA’s move from 70 Mulberry Street, the former Public School 23, to 215 Centre Street, the former machine repair shop that artist and architect Maya Lin transformed into MOCA’s current home in 2009. As part of the architectural team, Bialosky offers a firsthand perspective on the building’s transformation and its continuing place within the changing fabric of Chinatown. About William Bialosky William Bialosky is a registered architect and Senior Principal of Bialosky New York, Architects. He has practiced in Lower Manhattan since 1988 and holds a Master of Architecture from Yale University, as well as a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan. He has collaborated with the artist Maya Lin for nearly forty years, and has spent much of his career on the adaptive reuse of nineteenth century buildings in SoHo and TriBeCa, work that turns on understanding how a building was made and what its site will allow. Since 1990 he has taught design and construction at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont. His long interest in the history of Lower Manhattan, and in how the ground beneath a building shapes what can be built on it, led to the research behind this talk. He lives and works downtown.