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| Essential
Architecture- Chicago
South and West Site of the Origins of the I&M Canal |
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architect |
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location |
2800 block of South Ashland Avenue, along
the south fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River |
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date |
South channel excavated 1836-38; north channel 1845-48 |
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type |
Utility |
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This site represents the city's most important, remaining element of the
historic Illinois and Michigan Canal. This manmade waterway, which was
built to connect the Illinois River with Lake Michigan, was crucial in
establishing Chicago as the nation's central transportation hub.
Construction of the Stevenson Expressway in the 1950s destroyed most of
the canal inside the city limits, but this site encompasses several
important features, including: the mouth of the original canal, the
below-grade foundations of the 1840s-era pumping station, and the street
approach of the former bridge to the "Bridgeport" community, which
developed at the time of the canal. This is also the city's prime site
in the I&M Canal Heritage Corridor, a national park. |
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links |
With special thanks to the City of
Chicago website,
www.egov.cityofchicago.org , for much of the info on this page.
Photos copyright City of Chicago. |
| www.essential-architecture.com | |