The canal has undergone repairs and reconstruction over its existence, deepening the channel, and replacing wooden banks with granite.

In 1799 the eastern bank, alongside the Summer Garden, was strengthened with a stone terrace to the design of Grigory Pilnikov [ru], and a pier was also constructed, decorated with iron vases by architect Carlo Rossi.

[7] In 1824 the terrace was destroyed in a flood, and had to be restored, with stone balusters replaced with a cast-iron openwork grille.

[4] Expansion across the meadow's Neva frontage continued in the 1780s with the construction of the service wing of the Marble Palace, and the Betskoy [ru] and the Saltykov Mansions.

[5] The Betskoy Mansion, now the home of the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Culture, was built between 1784 and 1787 by Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe, stands on the west bank of the canal, close to the Upper Swan Bridge.

[3] The canal's banks were reinforced in 1934, though a similar strengthening project planned for 1941 had to be cancelled after the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union.

[4] Further work on the structure of the canal was carried out between 1953 and 1956, involving deepening it, facing the banks with granite, and landscaping the slopes with earth.