Browse Items (217 total)

Trustees of the Sanitary District of Chicago break the temporary dam at the west fork of the south branch of the Chicago River to allow water from Lake Michigan to begin filling the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A side view shows a rock wall lining a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal post-construction.

A large truss structure stands on the banks of a partially filled Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A view shows a full Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal five months after construction completed.

A bridge spans a partially filled section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A view taken from a bridge shows the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal nearly three months after it was filled with water.

A view taken from the banks shows the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal nearly three months after it was filled with water.

Mounds of excavated materials stand along the side of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal nearly three months after it was filled with water.

A view of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont shows the waterway four months after it was filled with water.

A landscape view shows a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A view from an unidentified bridge shows a section of the partially filled Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Trustees of the Sanitary District of Chicago stand with shovels while awaiting approval to open the Bear Trap Dam at Lockport, which would send the water from the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal into the Des Plaines River, eventually reaching the…

Two cranes stand on the right side of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A landscape view shows a small house along the left side of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A landscape view shows a small waterway that runs parallel to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near an unidentified town.

A landscape view shows a waterway lined with trees on the far side.

A view shows the "The Great Two Mile Curve" at Romeoville, prior to the filling of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

A view shows houses along the far side of "The Great Two Mile Curve" at Romeoville prior to the filling of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

An aerial view shows "The Great Two Mile Curve," at Romeoville, ten months after the filling of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The location of a recently removed passenger bridge can be seen in the lower right corner of the photo.

Large utility structures stand on the side of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Large piles of rock stand along a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal post-construction.

A large cantilever conveyor crane moves earth excavated during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Smoke fills the sky over a section of the empty Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal post-construction.

A map shows Chicago in 1812, including Lake Michigan, Wolf's Point Tavern at the west end of the Chicago River, and the southern and northern branches of the "Canoe Route to the Interior."

Two unidentified children sit outside a wooden building.