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Event
Forgotten Chicago Near North Walking Tour II: River East & the Dock & Canal Trust
On the north bank of the Main Branch of the Chicago River, an urban neighborhood similar but very different from Illinois Center will be explored in another all-new tour on Sunday, July 10. This 48-acre, highly industrialized (and notoriously polluted), site was wholly owned by the Chicago Dock & Canal Trust from 1857 top 1997, an organization initially headed by Chicagos first mayor William Ogden, and represented by attorney Abraham Lincoln.
This now-dense and vibrant neighborhood was master planned by Lohan Associates more than 25 years ago, with many of the firms design features visible today. Perhaps Chicagos saddest and most forlorn major public artworks, Vito Acconcis Floor Clock II near the intersection of North Columbus and East Illinois has been missing its signature movable hands for years, an enormous clock for which time has figuratively (and literally) stopped.
Also visited will be one of Chicagos first industrial areas, at the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River. Once Home to Cyrus Hall McCormicks famed McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, a firm that would later become International Harvester, this factory would be destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire and be rebuilt on the South Side. Home to a surface parking lot for decades, in the 1960s this site would become Pioneer Court in honor of first permanent settler Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and other Chicago pioneers. Largely remodeled some 25 years ago, this National Historic Landmark is set to undergo another dramatic transformation as the under-construction site of a new flagship Apple store, the first project in Illinois by architect Norman Foster.
In addition, we will also take a look at sites north and west of the former Dock & Canal Trust property, visiting curious remnants such as a long-closed 1950s post office, former association headquarters, and the exterior of an enormous vertical shopping mall, closed and abandoned just 19 years after opening.
Tour Details:
When? Sunday July 10 at Noon. Rain or shine.
Where? The tour will meet and begin at the Plaza of the Americas, just south of 430 North Michigan, Upper Level. It will conclude near the Grand/State Red Line station.
How Long? The tour will consist of about 3 1/2 miles of walking and will last approximately 2 1/2 hours.
How much? $20. Advance purchase is required. No walk-ups. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges. If severe weather cancels the tour, credit will be issued for use on a tour of equal value.
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LocationPlaza of the Americas (Tour Start) (View)
430 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States
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