Good Ol' Bubbly Creek in Chicago

The South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River; a short 1.1 mile, 200 feet across at its widest point, better known as Bubbly Creek, may be getting a second chance thanks to the influx of some mighty pricey real estate. It is "one of the most notoriously nasty stretches of befouled, degraded, and abused water that has ever flowed in the Chicago area." Make that the whole world.

"The legacy of pollution, most notably untold tons of waste from the Union Stockyards lives on in Bubbly even today."

This is one time that something historical is not worthy of saving in its present form.

Bubbly Creek forms the western border of the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago and is the home of the Daley family. Present Mayor Richard M. Daley has introduced a proposal for the city to pay half of the estimated $2.65 million cost of a detailed feasibility study on restoring the stream.

Pretty much all of Chicago's waterways suffered to one extent or another from industrial pollution, but Bubbly's came from animals rather than chemical byproducts of manufacturing. It came from the millions of carcasses from the slaughter at the various Chicago stockyards, but principally from the Union Stock Yards. This offal included blood, urine, manure, and body scraps.

In 1906, Upton's "The Jungle" described it as: "Here and there the grease and filth have caked solid, and the creek looks like a bed of lava. Chickens walk about on it, feeding, and many times an unwary stranger has started to stroll across, and vanished temporarily."

The ever-present bubbles formed by methane and hydrogen sulfide from the decomposition of the estimated still-present two meters of offal on the creekbed, still bubble even today. The two also heavily polluted streams that joined together to form the South Fork have since been filled in, but you can still tell where the were by looking at street configuration.

The stockyards have been gone a long time and efforts have been made to clean it up and it is a little better. Wildlife, including fish and beavers have returned.

Now, residential development has begun along Bubbly. This is true all along Chicago's waterways, including the mile-long Riverwalk currently under construction along the Chicago River. Being by the water is the place to be.

The biggest is Bridgeport Village where some of the luxury homes have sold for more than a million dollars. One man spent $1.2 million for a 6,600 square foot home right next to it. Now, who in his right mind would spend that much to live next to something as polluted as Bubbly Creek?

Chicago Tribune-July 5th- "Murky Bridgeport waterway has ally in mayor" by Gary Washburn.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE CHICAGO RIVER: from Wikipedia

It is 156 miles long and runs right through downtown Chicago.

In the 19th century, a major civil engineering feat was accomplished when its flow was reversed from Lake Michigan.

Every St. Patrick's Day it is dyed green.

In 1992, there was the great Chicago Flood when old tunnels collapsed, flooding the basements of downtown buildings.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE UNION STOCK YARDS: from Wikipedia

Helped Chicago get the moniker "Hog Butcher to the World"

Was the center of US meatpacking for 109 years due to the many railroads.

Peaked in 1924

Opened Christmas Day 1865

Closed July 30, 1971. Only the Union Stock Yards Gate (and, of course, Bubbly Creek) remains and is a Chicago landmark.

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, and Not in the Tub Either. --RoadDog