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| Riverwalk extension as proposed (Sasaki Associates + Ross Barney Architects) |
Five days ago the
City of Chicago held a pre-bid conference for organizations and partnerships
interested in assisting with the planning and operation of concessions along
the new riverwalk, a project that begins this spring and will extend the scenic
walkway from State Street to Lake Street, allowing a continuous promenade along
the south side of the river from Lake Michigan to the junction of the main stem
with the north and south branches.
I wonder how many
people today remember what the reaction was back on June 13, 1970 when Mayor
Richard J. Daley said, “I hope we will live to see the day when there will be
fishing in the river. Maybe even a bicycle path along the bank.”
It was laughter,
mockery and disbelief.
I’ve been riding a
bicycle along the river for years now.
And in the past couple of years I’ve seen folks with poles standing on
the banks or casting from a small boat in the still pools of the stream. I’m not sure I would join them at their
dinner table quite yet.
The news of the
riverwalk extension puts me in mind of another spate of news concerning the
river, this one back almost a quarter-century ago on this date, March 24,
1990. Two weeks earlier the city with
the cooperation of the Friends of the Chicago River had released a set ofguidelines for development along the river.
It took two weeks for The Chicago
Tribune to digest the information and react to it.
But on this day in
1990 the paper came out in favor for the plan, writing an especially
complimentary review of the proposed first stage of the riverwalk. Today it’s hard to imagine an opening line
such as this one, “Mayor Daley is trying to do something such legendary
Chicagoans as his father and Daniel Burnham were unable to accomplish. He wants to transform the banks of the
Chicago River into an attraction as glorious as the city’s lakefront.” [Chicago
Tribune, March 24, 1990]
The son of the man
who saw fish and bicycles seemed to have hit a winner.
The paper went on,
“The guidelines and the many ideas for parks, plazas, walkways, arcades,
marinas, cafes and shops contained in the accompanying report are more than
welcome. The lakefront of Chicago is
stunning. It has also been of
inestimable value in generating economic growth; as Daniel Burnham said at the
turn of the century when he was promoting his lakefront plans, ‘Beauty has
always paid better than any other commodity.’”
That’s a line that
bears repeating, right? I might be using that one on one of my river tours this summer. Beauty has
always paid better than any other commodity.
Optimistically, the
editorial concluded, “But maybe the river’s time finally has come . . . What is
needed now is the will to proceed under guidelines that mean what they
say. City officials are drafting an
ordinance that would require minimum setbacks and a review of all development
under the guidelines. All they are
waiting for is a positive reaction to the riverfront plan.”
Well, it’s taken
25 years.
Though the
mills of God grind slowly;
Yet they
grind exceeding small;
Though with
patience he stands waiting,
With
exactness grinds he all.
The Tribune had one last suggestion, and it might be a
good idea to carry into the new plans for the river: "Name an esplanade or a café or maybe a
gondola for the Medusa Challenger, the giant cement carrier that for years
literally stopped traffic, whether on the water or the streets above, when it
lumbered up the river.”
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| Medusas Casts Her Spell (podlikenchicago.files.wordpress2013/11) |
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