The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois, How the Chicago District has 'weathered' recent storm events, "The Chicago Municipal Device (Y-Shaped Figure)", "Chicago's municipal device: The city's symbol lurking in plain sight", "Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, Bridge No. 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. It flows into the Skokie River and continues through Harms Woods until it is met by the West Fork in the Chick Evans Golf Course in Morton Grove. Flychicago Landing Page O'Hare International Airport; Midway International Airport; About CDA; Community Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois, calling themselves the Chicago Transit Authority in 1968 before shortening the name in 1969. [47] In 1823 a government expedition used the name Gary River (phonetic spelling of Guillory) to refer to the north branch of the Chicago River. Notable buildings that line this stretch of the river include the Boeing Company World Headquarters, the Civic Opera House, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Union Station and Willis Tower. [66] 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.[67]. [4] In 2012 Lake Michigan-Huron's seasonal rise was about 4 inches where it usually is about 12 inches. The marker was stolen in 2000 and replaced in 2003. [71] These bridges are of several different types, including trunnion bascule, Scherzer rolling lift, swing bridges, and vertical lift bridges. [27] From Goose Island the North Branch continues to flow south east to Wolf Point where it joins the main stem. [89][90], Measurements taken by the US Army Corps in January 2013 revealed that both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron had reached their "lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918, and the lakes could set additional records over the next few months, the corps said. CHICAGO RIVER – NORTH BRANCH. CTA Brown Line - North Branch Chicago River Bridge (Cook County, Illinois) Built in the 1920s as a "shoo-fly", Replaced 1981 Lost Steel stringer bridge over North Branch Chicago River on Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line Replaced by a new bridge Since 1979, Friends has been working to improve the health of the Chicago River system for the benefit of people and wildlife and by doing so, has laid the foundation for the river to be a beautiful, continuous, easily accessible corridor of open space in the Chicago region. ", White House fountains flow green for St. Patrick's Day, "Chicago River is dyed blue for Cubs celebration", "Conservationists make waves about dying river Cubbie blue", "McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum", "Hurried Chicagoans hate it when the river bridges open. As Chicago grew, this allowed sewage and other pollution into the clean-water source for the city, contributing to several public health problems, like typhoid fever. [29] Acoustic velocity meters at the Columbus Drive Bridge and the T. J. O'Brien lock on the Calumet River monitor the diversion of water from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River basin, which is limited to an average of 3,200 cubic feet (91 m3) per second per year over the 40-year period from 1980 to 2020.[30]. Since the early 2000s, the south shore of the main stem has been developed as the Chicago Riverwalk. This canal was the farthest west, and the last, of a series of United States' government land grant canals. [77] The actual event does not necessarily occur on St. Patrick's Day and is scheduled for the Saturday before March 17, unless the 17th falls on a Saturday (when the event takes place on St. Patrick's Day). Please call ahead or visit any department's website to get additional details, or visit chicago.gov/covid-19. In the winter, reserve one of their heated domes to feel like you’re in a giant snow globe. The Middle Fork originates with the water that runs off a residential development in Lake County just north of Abbott Park, Ill.  From there, it flows south through Abbott Park, Lake Forest, and Deerfield, including Prairie Wolf Slough in the Lake County Forest Preserves, before entering the Cook County Forest Preserves in Northbrook. The river also has a large population of crayfish. [63] In 1871, the old canal was deepened in an attempt to completely reverse the river's flow but the reversal of the river only lasted one season. It is run by the Friends of the Chicago River, a non-profit environmental organization. [80] Though the committee closely guards the exact formula, they insist that it has been tested and verified safe for the environment. From there it flows south through Lake County and Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Highwood, Highland Park, then Glencoe, where it reaches the Chicago Botanic Garden in Cook County. From the confluence south, the South Branch travels as far as Damen Avenue where it becomes the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC). In 1999, the system was named a "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).[6]. It is a critical asset for people and wildlife alike that needs and and deserves to be protected and improved. At Ashland Avenue the river widens to form the U.S. The Upper North Branch then continues to flow south through Niles into the city of Chicago, where it combines with the North Shore Channel at River Park and forms the North Branch of the Chicago River. The Chicago River has been highly affected by industrial and residential development with attendant changes to the quality of the water and riverbanks. [76], Near the mouth of the Chicago River c. late 1800s, Mouth of the river in the early 20th century. The CAWS includes the Chicago River, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Cal-Sag Channel and the Calumet Rivers. Due to its small size and tight access stairway only 79 people are allowed inside the museum at any one time. The source of the main stem of the Chicago River is Lake Michigan. On April 13, 1992, a 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. 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 wrote of their discovery of the geographically vital Chicago Portage. [38] The river continues to the south west, entering the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at Damen Avenue. [21] In River Park the river meets the North Shore Channel, a drainage canal built between 1907 and 1910 to increase the flow of the North Branch and help flush pollution into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km)[1] that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The Chicago River Museum sells tickets", "Continuing Drought Could Lead To Reversal of Chicago River Flow", "MWRD: Not possible for Chicago River to reverse on its own due to low lake level", "Drought won't affect Chicago River much after all", "Lake Huron, Lake Michigan hit lowest water levels on record", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chicago_River&oldid=991800864, Articles with dead external links from September 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from Collier's Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 December 2020, at 22:00. At the basin the river is joined by a tributary, the South Fork of the river, which is commonly given the nickname Bubbly Creek. [5], The same report noted that the low Great Lakes levels were drought-induced, caused by a very hot, dry summer and a lack of a solid snowpack in the winter of 2012. [91], System of rivers and canals running through the city of Chicago, Map of river and flow directions, before and after re-engineering flow via the canal system. If the lake level falls too low threatening to reverse the river flow, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago would be forced to close locks between the lake and river for longer periods of time, limiting navigation. (312) 939-0490, McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, Report - Our Liquid Asset: The Economic Benefits of a Clean Chicago River. [7] Its three branches serve as the inspiration for the Municipal Device,[8][9][10] a three-branched, Y-shaped symbol that is found on many buildings and other structures throughout Chicago. Coordinates: 41°53′11″N 87°38′15″W / 41.88639°N 87.63750°W / 41.88639; -87.63750. [60], During the last ice age, the area that became Chicago was covered by Lake Chicago, which drained south into the Mississippi Valley. Letter from Antoine Ouilmette to John H. Kinzie dated June 1, 1839, reproduced in, Journal of Lieutenant James Strode Swearingen reproduced in. The plans reflect ideas first proposed by the Burnham Plan as early as 1909. Address & Contact Info. [4] Completed by 1900,[5] the project reversed the flow of the main stem and South Branch of the Chicago River by using a series of canal locks and increasing the flow from Lake Michigan into the river, causing the river to empty into the new canal instead. Before reversal, the South Branch generally arose with joining forks in the marshy area called Mud Lake to flow to where it met the North Branch at Wolf Point forming the main branch. "Illinois' Ice Age Legacy." GOALS [68] Many of the passengers were trapped by moving objects such as pianos and tables. [87], The US Army Corps of Engineers have monitored the development of harbors and channels for navigation on the Great Lakes since the early 1800s. The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum is a 5-floor, 1,613-square-foot (149.9 m2) museum that opened on June 10, 2006; it is named for Robert R. McCormick, formerly owner of the Chicago Tribune and president of the Chicago Sanitary District. [69] The first moveable bridge was constructed across the main stem at Dearborn Street in 1834. Since 1979, Friends has been working to improve the health of the Chicago River system for the benefit of people and wildlife and by doing so, has laid the foundation for the river to be a beautiful, continuous, easily accessible corridor of open space in the Chicago region. [6] 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 that poured into the river from Chicago's booming industrial economy. [23] Here it passes beneath the Cortland Street Drawbridge, which was the first 'Chicago-style' fixed-trunnion bascule bridge built in the United States,[24] and is designated as an ASCE Civil Engineering Landmark and a Chicago Landmark. [55][57] In January 1834 James Allen took over the supervision of this work[58] and, aided by a February storm that breached the sandbar, on July 12, 1834 the harbor works had progressed enough to allow a 100-short-ton (91 t) schooner, the Illinois to sail up the river to Wolf Point and dock at the wharf of Newberry & Dole. [38] From there, the water flows down the canal through the southwest side of Chicago and southwestern suburbs and, in time, into the Des Plaines River between Crest Hill on the west and Lockport on the east, just north of the border between Crest Hill and Joliet, Illinois, eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Odyssey Chicago River offers an elegant, out-of-the-ordinary river experience in the form of a state-of-the-art, glass-enclosed vessel, blessing all who sail with 360-degree city views. Photo by Jack Carlson, Chicago Botanic Garden. [12][13] The source of the North Branch is in the northern suburbs of Chicago where its three principal tributaries converge. The river turns westward where it is crossed by the Dan Ryan Expressway; these immovable bridges have a clearance of 60 feet (18 m) requiring large ships that pass underneath to have folding masts.[36]. When it followed its natural course, the North and South Branches of the Chicago River converged at Wolf Point to form the main stem, which jogged southward from the present course of the river to avoid a baymouth bar, entering Lake Michigan at about the level of present-day Madison Street. 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. [33] On the south bank of the river is the site of Fort Dearborn, an army fort, first established in 1803. Notable buildings surrounding this area include the NBC Tower, the Tribune Tower, and the Wrigley Building. A reversal flow of the Chicago River into Lake Michigan would have a negative impact on navigation and on the quality of Lake Michigan water, which is the source of drinking water. Tanya T. wrote a review Nov 2020. Assets, Information and Services. "[85], The river dyed green for Saint Patrick's Day, The river dyed blue during the Chicago Cubs' 2016 World Series celebration, The southwest bridgehouse of the DuSable Bridge (Michigan Avenue) serves as a museum on the river, its history, its challenges, and its renaissance. [79], The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlawed the use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was shown to be harmful to the river. [53] Lieutenant James Strode Swearingen, who led the troops from Detroit to Chicago to establish the fort, described the river as being about 30 yards (27 m) wide and upwards of 18 feet (5.5 m) deep at the place where the fort was intended to be built; the riverbanks were 8 feet (2.4 m) high on the south side and 6 feet (1.8 m) on the north. Different sections are named Market, Civic, Arcade, and Confluence. September 8-9 and 21, 2011 ASCII file of all data; Map of data on the North Branch Chicago River; Map of data on the upper CSSC South of Belmont the North Branch is lined with a mixture of residential developments, retail parks, and industry until it reaches the industrial area known as the Clybourn Corridor. [83], For the Chicago Cubs rally and parade for their 2016 World Series Championship celebrations, the river was dyed Cubs blue. CDOT designs, builds and maintains the structures that are a critical part of the city’s transportation network through its … A December 26, 2012 report revealed that Chicago District navigation infrastructure did receive significant impacts from Hurricane Sandy with some areas experiencing severe shoaling. [11] Today, the main stem of the Chicago River flows west from Lake Michigan to Wolf Point, where it converges with the North Branch to form the South Branch, which flows southwest and empties into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. 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