The March 22, 1890 issue of Scientific American had a detailed cover depicting the construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal with the Johnson foundry in the distance:
My scanner cut off the labels so here they are:
General view of the rock excavation and future course of the canal.
Dumping rock and debris from trestle.
Bird’s eye view of the connection between the Hudson River and Long Island Sound by the ship-canal and Harlem River.
Dredging channel in the Harlem River
There’s so much interesting detail here. One thing that’s a little strange about it is the absence of Inwood Hill. You should see that to the left of the foundry. The rock faces on the right are still clearly visible at the Metro North Marble Hill train station. I believe the house on top of those rock faces is the Isaac Dyckman house.