Chicago River

The Chicago River
River
Chicago River main branch at dusk (01/08)
Country United States
State Illinois
City Chicago
Source Lake Michigan
Length 156 mi (251 km)
Map of the Chicago River
Wikimedia Commons: Chicago River

The Chicago River is a river that runs 156 miles (251 km)[1] and flows through Chicago, including Downtown Chicago, also known as the Chicago Loop. Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley waterways. In the 19th century civil engineering feats redirected the rivers flow south, away from Lake Michigan, into which it previously emptied, and towards the Mississippi River basin. This was done for reasons of sanitation. The river is also noted for the local custom of dyeing it green on St. Patrick's Day.

The river serves as inspiration for one of Chicago's ubiquitous symbols: a three-branched, Y-shaped symbol (called, the municipal device) is found on many buildings and other structures throughout Chicago; it represents the three branches of the Chicago River.[2]

Contents

Geography

A view of the Chicago River from the South Branch, looking toward the Main Branch (right) and the North Branch (upper left) at Wolf Point

Originally, the river flowed into Lake Michigan. Its course jogged southward from the present river to avoid a baymouth bar, entering the lake at about the level of present day Madison Street.[3] Today, the Main Stem of the Chicago River flows due west from Lake Michigan, past the Wrigley Building and the Merchandise Mart to Kinzie Street, where it meets the North Branch and South Branch of the river at Wolf Point.

The North Branch is formed by the West Fork, the East Fork (also known as the Skokie River) and the Middle Fork, which join into the North Branch at Morton Grove, Illinois, to flow south toward downtown Chicago. From downtown, the river flows south along the South Branch, and into the Illinois and Michigan Canal and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. From there, the water flows into the Des Plaines River and eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

History

Early non-Native American settlers

CTA Train and Kayakers on the North Branch, from the Wilson Avenue bridge

Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, though probably not the first Europeans to visit the area, are the first recorded to have visited the Chicago River in 1673, when they recorded discovery of the geographically vital Chicago Portage.[4] Marquette returned in 1674, camped a few days near the mouth of the river, then moved on to the Chicago River–Des Plaines River portage, where he stayed through the winter of 1674–75. The Fox Wars effectively closed the Chicago area to Europeans in the first part of the eighteenth century. The first non-native to re-settle in the area may have been a trader named Guillory, who might have had a trading-post near Wolf Point on the Chicago River in around 1778.[5] In 1823 a government expedition used the name Gary River (phonetic spelling of Guillory) to refer to the north branch of the Chicago River.

Jean Baptiste Point du Sable is widely regarded as the first permanent resident of Chicago; he built a farm on the northern bank at the mouth of the river in the 1780s.[6] The earliest known record of Pointe du Sable living in Chicago is the diary of Hugh Heward, who made a journey through Illinois in the spring of 1790. Antoine Ouilmette claimed to have arrived in Chicago shortly after this in July of 1790.[7] In 1808, Fort Dearborn was constructed on the opposite bank on the site of the present-day Michigan Avenue Bridge.[8]

Diversion of Chicago Waterways.gif

Early improvements

In the 1830s and 1840s, considerable effort was made to cut a channel through the sandbar to improve shipping, supervised by James Allen.[3] In 1900, the river's flow was reversed in order to keep Lake Michigan clean.

In 1928, the South Branch of the Chicago River between Polk and 18th Street was straightened and moved 1⁄4 miles (0.40 km) west to make room for a railroad terminal.

Reversing the flow

Originally, the river flowed into Lake Michigan. As Chicago grew, this allowed sewage and other pollution into the clean-water source for the city. This contributed to several public health problems, including some problems with typhoid fever.[9] Starting in the 1850s, much of the flow was diverted across the Chicago Portage into the Illinois and Michigan Canal.[10] In 1900, the Sanitary District of Chicago, then headed by Rudolph Hering, completely reversed the flow of the river using a series of canal locks, and caused the river to flow into the newly completed Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Before this time, the Chicago River was known by many local residents of Chicago as "the stinking river" because of the massive amounts of sewage and pollution which poured into the river from Chicago's booming industrial economy. Through the 1980s, the river was quite dirty and often filled with garbage; however, during the 1990s, it underwent extensive cleaning as part of an effort at beautification by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Recently, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created a three-dimensional, hydrodynamic simulation of the Chicago River, which suggested that density currents are the cause of an observed bi-directional wintertime flow in the river. At the surface, the river flows east to west, away from Lake Michigan, as expected. But deep below, near the riverbed, water travels west to east, toward the lake.[11]

All outflows from the Great Lakes Basin are regulated by the joint U.S.-Canadian Great Lakes Commission, and the outflow through the Chicago River is set under a U.S. Supreme Court decision (1967, modified 1980 and 1997). The city of Chicago is allowed to remove 3200 cubic feet per second (91 m³/s) of water from the Great Lakes system; about half of this, 1 billion US gallons a day (44 m³/s), is sent down the Chicago River, while the rest is used for drinking water.[12] In late 2005, the Chicago-based Alliance for the Great Lakes proposed re-separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to address such ecological concerns as the spread of invasive species.[13]

Eastland disaster

Passengers being rescued from the hull of the Eastland by the tugboat Kenosha in the Chicago River

In 1915, the Eastland, an excursion boat docked at the Clark Street bridge, rolled over, killing 844 passengers.[14] Many of the passengers were trapped by moving objects such as pianos and tables. The site is now the location of a memorial which was dedicated in 1989. The marker was stolen in 2000 and replaced in 2003. There are plans to build an outdoor exhibit at the site as well.

Chicago Flood

On April 13, 1992, the Chicago Flood occurred when a pile driven into the riverbed caused stress fractures in the wall of a long-abandoned tunnel of the Chicago Tunnel Company near the Kinzie Street railroad bridge. Most of the 60-mile (97 km) network of underground freight railway, which encompasses much of downtown, was eventually flooded, along with the lower levels of buildings it once serviced and attached underground shops and pedestrian ways.

Ecology

The Chicago River has been highly affected by industrial and residential development with attendant changes to the quality of the water and riverbanks. Several species of freshwater fish are known to inhabit the river, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, rock bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, and carp. The river also has a large population of crayfish. The South Fork of the Main (South) Branch, which was the primary sewer for the Union Stock Yards and the meat packing industry, was once so polluted that it became known as Bubbly Creek.[15] Illinois has issued advisories regarding eating fish from the river due to PCB and mercury contamination, including a "do not eat" advisory for carp more than 12 inches long.[16] There are concerns that silver carp and bighead carp, now invasive species in the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, may reach the Great Lakes through the Chicago River.[17] Despite the pollution concerns, the Chicago River remains a very popular target for freshwater recreational fishing. In 2006, the Chicago Park District started the annual "Mayor Daley's Chicago River Fishing Festival", which has increased in popularity with each year.

Chicago River 2009

Chicago River 1893

Chicago River 1838

St. Patrick's Day

The Chicago River during the 2009 Saint Patrick's Day celebration.

As part of a more than forty year old Chicago tradition, the Chicago River is dyed green in observance of St. Patrick's Day.[18] The actual event does not necessarily occur on St. Patrick's Day and is scheduled for the Saturday of the closest weekend. For example in 2009, the river was dyed on Saturday, March 14, 2009, whereas St. Patrick's day was on Tuesday, March 17, 2009.

Bill King, the administrator of Chicago's St. Patrick's Day committee, stated that "the idea of dyeing the Chicago River green originally came about by accident when a group of plumbers were using fluorescein dye to trace illegal substances that were polluting the river".[19].

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlawed the use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was proven to be harmful to the river.[19] The secret ingredients used to dye the river green today are claimed to be safe and not harmful to the thousands of living organisms that find a habitat in the Chicago River.[19] Forty gallons of vegetable dye are used to color the river for the celebration. [20]

In 2009, in keeping with the Chicago St. Patrick's Day tradition, at the request of First Lady Michelle Obama, who is a Chicago native, the White House fountains were dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.[21]

Bridges

State Street Bridge (foreground), Dearborn Street Bridge, Clark Street Bridge, La Salle Street Bridge, Wells Street Bridge, & Franklin Street Bridge
State Street Bridge raised to allow boats to pass
The Link Bridge of Lake Shore Drive

The first bridge across the Chicago River was constructed over the north branch near the present day Kinzie Street in 1832. A second bridge, over the south branch near Randolph Street, was added in 1833.[22] The first moveable bridge was constructed across the main stem at Dearborn Street in 1834.[23] Today, the Chicago River has 38 movable bridges spanning it, down from a peak of 52 bridges.[24] These bridges are of several different types, including trunnion bascule, scherzer rolling lift, swing bridges, and vertical lift bridges.

The following bascule bridges cross the river (and its south branch) into the Chicago Loop:

Other bridges:

Famous buildings

The Main Branch of the river, Wrigley Building, and Tribune Tower at night.
Buildings lining the Chicago River.

Many of Chicago's landmark buildings line the banks of the river. A partial list follows:

Main branch

South branch

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Friends of the Chicago River". Friends of the Chicago River. http://chicagoriver.org/about/. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  2. ↑ "The Chicago Municipal Device (Y-Shaped Figure)". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20060903132608/http://cpl.lib.uic.edu/004chicago/chiy.html. Retrieved 2007-06-20. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hill, Libby (2000). The Chicago River: A Natural and Unnatural History. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press. pp. 32, 69–75. ISBN 189312102X. http://books.google.com/books?id=Nmfnd14WDH8C&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=chicago+river+originally+emptied+southward&source=web&ots=w-i3_gboXp&sig=GNdhSMkiBqkEJJ51iL2d0GyR5l8. 
  4. ↑ Quaife, Milo Milton (1913). Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835. University of Chicago Press. pp. 22–24. http://books.google.com/books?id=uLSEAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2010-08-17. 
  5. ↑ Meehan, Thomas A (1963). "Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the First Chicagoan". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (Illinois State Historical Society) 56 (3): 439–453. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40190620. Retrieved 2010-08-17. 
  6. ↑ "Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable". The McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum. http://bridgehousemuseum.org/exhibition/introduction/jean_baptiste_point_dusable.php. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  7. ↑ "Ouilmette, Antoine Louis". Early Chicago. Early Chicago, Inc. http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php?letter=O. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
  8. ↑ Durkin Keating, Ann. "Fort Dearborn". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. pp. 477. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/477.html. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  9. ↑ "Did 90,000 people die of typhoid fever and cholera in Chicago in 1885?". The Straight Dope. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041112.html. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  10. ↑ Cain, Louis P. "Water". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. pp. 1324. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1324.html. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  11. ↑ "The River Under the River". Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) at the University of Illinois. http://cee.uiuc.edu/alumni/newsletter/p10_river.aspx. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  12. ↑ Lake Michigan Diversion Supreme Court Consent Decree
  13. ↑ "Groups to study separating Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins". The Pantagraph. http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2005/12/28/news/102152.txt. Retrieved 2009-02-21. 
  14. ↑ Hilton, George W. "Eastland". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. pp. 408. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/408.html. Retrieved 2007-05-20. 
  15. ↑ Upton Sinclair (1906). The Jungle. Chapter 9. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Sinclair/TheJungle/09.html.  "'Bubbly Creek' is an arm of the Chicago River, and forms the southern [sic; Bubbly Creek runs north from the yards] boundary of the yards; all the drainage of the square mile of packing-houses empties into it, so that it is really a great open sewer a hundred or two feet wide. One long arm of it is blind, and the filth stays there forever and a day. The grease and chemicals that are poured into it undergo all sorts of strange transformations, which are the cause of its name; it is constantly in motion, as if huge fish were feeding in it, or great leviathans disporting themselves in its depths. Bubbles of carbonic gas will rise to the surface and burst, and make rings two or three feet wide. Here and there the grease and filth have caked solid, and the creek looks like a bed of lava; chickens walk about on it, feeding, and many times an unwary stranger has started to stroll across, and vanished temporarily. The packers used to leave the creek that way, till every now and then the surface would catch on fire and burn furiously, and the fire department would have to come and put it out. Once, however, an ingenious stranger came and started to gather this filth in scows, to make lard out of; then the packers took the cue, and got out an injunction to stop him, and afterwards gathered it themselves. The banks of 'Bubbly Creek' are plastered thick with hairs, and this also the packers gather and clean."
  16. ↑ "Illinois Fish Advisory: Chicago River". Illinois Department of Public Health. http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/fishadv/chicagoriver.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
  17. ↑ Stern, Andrew (2006-02-20). "Scientists Fear Leaping Carp To Invade US Great Lakes". Reuters. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/leapingcarp2006.html. Retrieved 2007-12-20. 
  18. ↑ "Dyeing of the River". St. Patrick's Day Parade. Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee of Chicago. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. http://www.webcitation.org/5hWo1wrVW. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Battle, British (2003-03-20). "Other cities dye-ing to know what turns Chicago River green.". The Columbia Chronicle (The Fairfield Mirror, via UWIRE). http://www.fairfieldmirror.com/2.4873/other-cities-dye-ing-to-know-what-turns-chicago-river-green-1.482160.  Also available through HighBeam Research (registration required).
  20. ↑ "St Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago & Green River Dyeing". Chicago Weekend Fun. 2009-03-03. http://chicagoweekendfun.com/2009/03/03/st-patricks-day-parade-in-chicago-river-green-dyeing/. 
  21. ↑ White House's green fountains: St. Pat's, Mark Silva, March 17, 2009
  22. ↑ Albert F. Scharf (1908). Chicago, 1835 [map].
  23. ↑ Solzman, David M. (2006). The Chicago River: An Illustrated History and Guide to the River and its Waterways (2nd edition ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 35. ISBN 0226768015. 
  24. ↑ Solzman, David M. (2006). The Chicago River: An Illustrated History and Guide to the River and its Waterways (2nd edition ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 29. ISBN 0226768015. 

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