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By Ellen Shubart, Class of 2008

Until the 21^st century, no one was walking or running along the banks of the Chicago River, much less settling in for a drink or enjoying the outdoors by watching the boats go by. These pleasures have become so much a part of our lives that we don’t remember the history and development of the river.

Chicago’s Riverwalk was a gleam in the eye of Daniel Burnham when he and Edward Bennett wrote the 1909 Plan of Chicago. But it wasn’t until the late 20^th century that plans were revived to create the walk. The first visible step in 2005 was moving the Vietnam Memorial from its Wacker Drive location down to the nascent Riverwalk, setting the stage for more than two decades of development.

CAC’s first Riverwalk tour was created in 2015 when the first of the three of the six “rooms” (spaces between the bridges) were completed. These first “rooms” were built west of the Vietnam Memorial, and as new “rooms” opened, they were added to the tour.

The Riverwalk improvements between Michigan Avenue and Lake Michigan were completed in 2019, and the Riverwalk East tour was launched. The two tours alternated annually; last year, it was Riverwalk East, and this year we revived Riverwalk West.

The story of the Riverwalk tells the tale of the reconstruction of  Wacker Drive in 1999. This work allowed the roadway to be reconfigured to accommodate a riverwalk, which is a public park. Congressional permission was required to create the 25-ft. build-out from under each bridge. When completed, this allowed a walkway of 1.5 miles, eliminating the need to climb up to street level and cross over myriad bridges.

Sasaki Architects, along with the firms of Carol Ross Barney, Jacobs Ryan, and Alfred Benesch, were responsible for the design of Riverwalk West. The “rooms”—Marina, Cove, Theater, Water Plaza, Jetty, and Confluence—each have a distinct “personality” and purpose. Some provide mooring for boats while others offer space for children to learn and play.

This year’s tour will feature the recent restoration of the Vietnam Memorial after almost 20 years of wear and tear. The memorial is the second largest in the U.S., that in Washington, D.C. being larger. Many names of Illinois’ 2,936 soldiers had faded to illegibility and were restored. This spring the memorial was rededicated by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Come along as we revisit the Riverwalk West and appreciate what former Mayor Rahm Emanuel called “Chicago’s second coast.”

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