North Chicago River. Chicago, Illinois. August 2, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
The North Chicago River and downtown area buildings
Early in the morning we took what I believe was the first boat on the Chicago River Tour, the (deservedly) popular way to see and learn about the architecture of Chicago that lines the river and its branches. Despite the peaceful and bucolic scene along the banks of this section of the river, the waterway has a bit of a troubled past and still has a quite a way to go before its water quality is sufficiently restored. (One memorable line from the tour narrator pointed out that only in Chicago would it be regarded as environmental progress when a river’s status “rose” from “toxic” to “polluted. ;-)
In any case, there is a lot to see from the river since much of the downtown is very close to its banks, and many additional things that you wouldn’t notice from the sidewalk or road are visible from down on the water. There is a lot of redevelopment work going on, and areas that were apparently once industrial are now being converted to residential and related use. It is possible to walk many sections of the river, and kayakers are a frequent sight. This photograph looks back toward central Chicago from the north branch of the river and past sections where trees line portions of the bank.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.