The Main Branch of the Chicago River has a long and storied history that in many ways mirrors the development of Chicago itself. Once a meandering marshy stream, the river became an engineered channel to support the industrial transformation of the city. Following the famed reversal of the river, in which the city reversed the flow of the Main Branch and South Branch to improve sanitation, urban planner Daniel Burnham introduced a new civic vision of riverside promenades with the addition of the Wacker Drive Viaduct.
For more details and images of the Chicago Riverwalk, visit ARCHITECT’sProject Gallery.