The River Chicago Sent the Other Way

Best Time to Visit

Late morning to mid-afternoon, when the south-bank Riverwalk gets direct sunlight on the north-bank buildings; the terra cotta of the Wrigley, the limestone of Tribune Tower, the green glass of three hundred and thirty-three West Wacker, and the bronze of the contemporary towers all read most legibly in side light. Summer and shoulder seasons see the Riverwalk at its busiest; winter the corridor is colder and quieter and the bare deciduous trees open up the building sightlines. The river current is most visible to the eye in spring and after heavy rain when the controlling works push more water through. The Chicago Architecture Center river cruises run from spring through fall and can be paired with this walk; the cruise reads the buildings from the water, this walk reads the river and the bank from the bank.

Pro Tips

• •The cold-open reveal at Stop 1 depends on actually seeing the river move. The current is usually visible on the surface, especially near the bridge piers; rain, wind, and the controlling-works flow rate at Lockport change how strong the visible movement is on a given day. If the surface looks flat, watch a leaf or a piece of debris for a few seconds.
• •Stops 2 and 3 (the Wrigley and Tribune Tower) are both viewable from the south end of the bridge without leaving the bridgehead. The Riverwalk west of the bridge gives a cleaner sightline to both buildings together.
• •Stop 4 (Marina City and the IBM Building) reads best from the south-bank Riverwalk near the Wabash Avenue Bridge undercrossing. Marina City's parking spiral is visible from the lower Riverwalk; the IBM Building's plaza setback is more legible from the upper level.
• •Stop 6 (the River Theater) is the stepped amphitheater on the Riverwalk between Clark and LaSalle. The lower tier puts you at water level and lets you see the bridge undercrossings; the upper tier gives a longer sightline back to the bridgehead.
• •Stop 7 (150 North Riverside) is best read from the Lake Street Bridge vantage looking south-west; the cantilever is most legible from the bridge or the riverwalk amphitheater at its base. Walk into the amphitheater after the audio if you want to look up at the underside of the cantilevered floors.
• •Stop 8 (Wolf Point) is the corridor's furthest point. There is no return audio. The river-bus boat dock at the foot of three hundred and thirty-three West Wacker can carry you back to the bridgehead if you do not want to retrace the walk. The Loop is a short walk south across any of the bridges.
• •If the engineering thread has hooked you, two follow-on reads are worth the time. Libby Hill, The Chicago River: A Natural and Unnatural History (Southern Illinois University Press, twenty nineteen edition), is the standard book on the hydrology and the reversal mechanics. Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett, Plan of Chicago (nineteen oh-nine; reissued by Northern Illinois University Press in two thousand nine), is the planning document that drew the bank you walked on.