Highlights
Chicago exists because of the Chicago River. In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and fellow Frenchman Louis Jolliet canoed up the river during a four-month, 2,500-mile trek to chart the Mississippi. On a later trip, Marquette, in ill health, spent the winter of 1674-75 in a hut on the river's north branch near what is now Damen Avenue. He died only a few months after leaving for Michigan. It was Jolliet, though, who made the case for the importance of the Chicago River - and, ultimately, the place that became Chicago. "All that needs to be done," he reported to his superiors, "is to dig a canal through half a league of prairie from the lower end of Lake Michigan." Using the river and a canal t...
Chicago exists because of the Chicago River. In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette and fellow Frenchman Louis Jolliet canoed up the river during a four-month, 2,500-mile trek to chart the Mississippi. On a later trip, Marquette, in ill health, spent the winter of 1674-75 in a hut on the river's north branch near what is now Damen Avenue. He died only a few months after leaving for Michigan. It was Jolliet, though, who made the case for the importance of the Chicago River - and, ultimately, the place that became Chicago. "All that needs to be done," he reported to his superiors, "is to dig a canal through half a league of prairie from the lower end of Lake Michigan." Using the river and a canal to link the lake with the Mississippi River system and the Gulf of Mexico would provide the long-sought, all-water route through much of the North American continent. The idea of that canal helped get the frontier settlement of Chicago started in the early 19th Century. In 1830, a state-established commission subdivided the Chicago site into property parcels to be sold to pay for a canal. Six years later, ground was broken for the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Completed in 1848, the canal was soon overshadowed as a geographic link by the railroads. But Chicago had already established itself as a transportation hub. Over the next century, however, the river was little more than a sewer for the growing city. To protect the city's water supply, the river bottom was lowered in 1871, and the river was made to run backward. But in 1885, after a heavy rain, the river re-reversed its flow and carried sewage into the lake. The outbreak of cholera that followed killed 1 of 8 Chicagoans. Finally, with the construction of locks and a second canal, the Sanitary and Ship canal, the current was again reversed on Jan. 2, 1900. The city, particularly the Union Stock Yards, continued to dump anything and everything into the river, and heavy rains routinely required the opening of the locks, sending sewage into the lake. But, with the rise of the environmental movement in the 1970s and the start of construction of the multibillion-dollar Deep Tunnel project in 1985, the quality of the water began to improve dramatically. Today, the river has become a playground for Chicagoans, and land along its banks is highly prized for residential development.
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Slippery when wet—but ever so pretty
Tribune reporterThere are few better places in Chicago to experience the city's austere beauty or wintry lack of friction than from the Michigan Avenue Bridge, where unchecked winds blast cheeks pink, where salt crystals crackle like gravel underfoot, and where every...Tags: Transportation, Trump Tower, Road Transportation, Heavy Engineering, Venice
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Deutsche Bank sues Trump over hotel loan
Tribune reporterDeutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas ratcheted up its battle with Donald Trump, claiming the hard-charging developer personally owes it $40 million after defaulting on a $640 million construction loan for Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. On...Tags: Manhattan (New York City), Local Authority, Trials, New York, Lawyers
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16 interesting travel deals and Web sites
Here are some of the more interesting deals and Web sites that came across our desk this week: •HazelMail lets you upload your photo while traveling, turns it into a postcard and mails it for $1.50. www.hazelmail.com •At www.tvtrip.com you...Tags: Macy's, Dining and Drinking, Colonial Williamsburg, Personal Service, Wine, Beer, and Spirits
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Trump in $40 million dispute with lender
Tribune staff reporterDeutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas has ratcheted up its battle with Donald Trump, claiming the hard-charging developer personally owes it $40 million after defaulting on a $640 million construction loan for Trump International Hotel & Tower. Friday,...Tags: Sears Tower, Manhattan (New York City), Trump Tower, Contracts, Chicago Skyline
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Logan Square: Small town in the big city
Special to the TribuneTony Hays unlocks his bike from the rack near the entrance to the Blue Line at Logan Square. For Hays, a music performance major at Columbia College, this is an everyday occurrence. Ride over, catch the train downtown and then reverse it all at mid-day....Tags: Prices, Dining and Drinking, Cycling, Wine, Beer, and Spirits, Art Institute of Chicago
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Casting agents abound in call to assist Obama
The other day, I asked readers to help President-elect Barack Obama pick his Washington brain trust—to help bring all that change we can believe in—and an amazing thing happened. A gazillion suggestions poured in to nominate a cast of...Tags: Jesse Jackson, Cook County Board, Ozzie Guillen, Chicago White Sox, Bernardine Dohrn
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What would you like an Obama presidency to mean for Chicago?
May they sing for the nation --Howard Reich He doesn't know it yet, but Barack Obama is about to become the impresario-in-chief. Or at least he can be, if he decides to flex his cultural muscles. A word from Obama, and the world could see a new cast...Tags: Vladimir Putin, Society, Internet, Federal Reserve, Chicago White Sox
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Winter Pleasures 2008-09 Calendar of Events
STAGE 500 Clown Christmas: The creators of "500 Clown Frankenstein" and "500 Clown Macbeth" blend circus arts, improv and action-based performance with a hard-core musical take on Charles Dickens' classic tale. Presented by 500 Clown. 8 p.m. Dec. 19;...Tags: Christianity, Toys, Foods and Beverages, David Hernandez, Appetizers
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Team Building
. 1 Work it all out with a winter workout . . Climb 'n' slide If you really trust your spouse/friend/co-worker, bring 'em to YMCA Camp MacLean, where a climbing tower challenges muscles and wills with zip lines, a scaling wall and rope ladders...Tags: Canoeing and Kayaking, Clubs and Associations, Holidays, New Year's, Festive Event
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Knotty but nice flooring
Special to the TribuneWant to make a big impact in your new home? Move away from standard wood or tile floors and create something more dramatic. There are hundreds of options in rustic stone tiles, exotic wood floors and even hand-scraped wood floors. When looking at...Tags: Theater, Literature, Home Depot Incorporated, Building Material, Forestry and Timber
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A hip bakery where the bakers are homeless
Meet the cast of characters of the Sweet Miss Givings Bakery. •Stan Sloan, 45, idea mastermind, a tanned Episcopal priest who wears a black leather jacket and grooves on Madonna. •Stephen Smith, 28, chief operating officer, Harvard grad...Tags: Restaurant and Catering Industry, Anglican, Diseases, Richard M. Daley, Christianity
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If Obama wins ...
Tribune reporterFrom world fairs to political conventions to papal visits, Chicago is no stranger to historic events. But never before has the city served as home to a president-elect, something that could happen should Barack Obama win election to become the nation's...Tags: Corporate Officers, Barack Obama, O'Hare International Airport, Boeing Co., Government
Dec 2, 2008
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Dec 1, 2008
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Nov 30, 2008
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Nov 29, 2008
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Nov 28, 2008
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Nov 20, 2008
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Nov 18, 2008
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Nov 16, 2008
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Nov 16, 2008
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Oct 31, 2008
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Oct 31, 2008
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Oct 30, 2008
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