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bankrupt, and the country went through revolution. By 
1904, the United States emerged with control of the canal 
region for a mere $10 million. Ten years and at least 5,000 
deaths later, the U.S. had a working canal, and newspapers 
across the nation—including in Lawrence—were extolling 
how much business could boom from the canal’s ability 
save ships about 7,800 miles in moving between the 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The United States began a twenty-year handover of the 

canal in 1977, ending what was, in effect, a kind of Berlin-
Wall situation, as citizens had to go through U.S. military 
checkpoints to visit family in their own country. Since 
Panama took control, canal traffic has increased, accidents 
have significantly decreased and maintenance is consistent. 
To date, more than 1 million ships have traversed the 
canal. Most significantly, Panama has initiated and 
supervised the construction, a nine year process, of a super-
sized parallel canal. This expansion adds a lane of shipping 
traffic that can manage the newest generation of massive 
cargo and cruise ships.

What I find amazing about the Panama Canal is not 

the latest engineering feats, but the fact that much of the 
original engineering and construction continues to work 
efficiently—24 hours a day, 7 days a week—a century past 
its construction.

CANAL TOURIST OPTIONS

The Miraflores Locks, the locks closest to the Pacific 

Ocean, hosts a visitors’ center/museum. If you have limited 
time, this is the best option as it is in Panama City. The $15 
admission fee allows access to the viewing platforms and a 
restaurant where you can dine while watching ships pass. 
The 4-story interactive museum explains the canal’s history, 
engineering, and what it takes day-to-day to make it all 
work (which is mind-boggling).

At the Gatun Locks, the locks closest to the Atlantic, 

the $5 admission fee grants access to viewing platforms, 
some interesting artifacts, but no museum. Gatun is harder 
to reach (although tours and guides are available) but 
affords a very up-close experience of the canal.

A short drive from Gatun is a recently completed Canal 

Visitor Center, with sweeping views of the new canal. But 
because its $15 price tag offers only a 15-minute video and 
photo-ops of the new canal, I’d opt for the budget Gatun 
Locks or the more comprehensive Miraflores Locks.