1926 The Sanitary District of Chicago. Straightening the South Branch of Chicago River...
DESCRIPTION
Created by the Sanitary District of Chicago in 1926, this rare ordinance plat charts the straightening of the South Branch between Polk and West 18th Streets, with the new channel and fills clearly defined. It documents a major 1920s modernization that improved navigation and sanitation while creating new industrial land. As a working legal and engineering map, it is extremely rare with no other known examples in institutional holdings.
This plan belongs to the 1920s program to rationalize the South Branch after it reversed the flow of the Chicago River at the turn of the 20th century. The S-curves between Polk and 18th impeded barge traffic, trapped debris, and narrowed the channel in a heavily industrial zone. The 1926 ordinance authorized the cut-off excavation of a new straight channel and the filling of the obsolete bends, creating new upland tracts for factories and yards while improving navigation and sanitation.
Examining and Describing the Map in Detail
The drawing traces the existing river in a sinuous course from Polk on the west to West 18th Street on the east, then overlays the proposed fill in pale yellow and the ordinance parcels in red outline with numbered circles. Much of the land shown in yellow was subsequently filled and brought into the city grid, while the old slips were shortened or absorbed into adjoining properties. A bold line marks the center line of the new channel, which cuts a straighter, more generous reach through the industrial corridor.
The sheet locates adjacent streets and subdivisions on both banks: Taylor, Roosevelt, Maxwell, Stewart, Bates, Holden, Dodge, Stephenson, Lumber, and the Canal Trustees subdivisions. It identifies slips, canals, and railroad properties, including Armour Slip, Union Slip, Empire 75 Slip, and the Stowell’s Canal area. Small notes at right explain the color system and state that parcel boundaries reflect the City ordinance while District tracts show Sanitary District takings.
CONDITION
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622