Bubbly Creek, made famous by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, in which he described it as “an arm of the Chicago River, [that] forms the southern boundary of the [Union Stock] yards: all the drainage of the square mile of [meat] packing houses empties into it, so that it is really a great open sewer…filth stays there forever and a day. The grease and chemicals that are poured into it undergo all sorts of strange transformations, which are the cause of its name; it’s constantly in motion…bubbles of carbonic acid gas will rise to the surface and burst…” Fortunately for us, it’s no longer an open sewer, and it’s an exciting time to visit this stretch of the river because the community is being asked to reimagine and envision its future.
We’ll start at the Eleanor Boathouse (whose architecture will remind those who joined us for the North Branch run of Clark Park’s Boathouse) travel to Cougle Chicken to see their modest but mighty contribution to a future connected riverfront path, and to Canal Origins Park and Riverwalk Park.
About the series: The Chicago River(s) Run series will feature runs along the North Branch, Main Stem, and South Branch of the Chicago River, as well as the Calumet River and Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal. Runners will be encouraged to read select passages from The Chicago River: a Natural and Unnatural History by Libby Hill. Come learn about the river that put Chicago on the map and makes its way through so much more of Chicago than just the downtown Riverwalk (though we’ll run that iconic location as well). Guide Chelsey Grassfield is the Policy Manager at Friends of the Chicago River and will be inviting colleagues from various organizations and agency partners to share their expertise on these runs.