Is the Chicago River the most unique of all urban rivers in the world? Obviously it is one of the greatest of the world's urban rivers; but does it actually earn the title of "most unique"?

The Chicago River alone of all the rivers on the planet runs through a man made canyon of towers on either side, a man made canyon to match the natural one that is the Grand Canyon.

Nowhere else can you travel through such high rise corridors as the main and south branches of the river (and to a lesser extent the north branch).

Chicago's Lake Michigan lakefront may be the most pleasurably designed edge to any US city, but the Chicago River is just as unique and evolves even more spectaculaly than even the still developing lakefront does.

Is this really the urban river like no other...for reasons far beyond its backward flow?

you're gonna get some very bias replies posting this here.(including my own)

But I think the Chicago River is the greatest urban waterway in the world. Especially now with all of the changes going on. I can think of 8 projects proposed or U/C on the main branch alone right now! Once those are completed I really do not think of a place on earth where you will get such architectural diversity in such a small area.

The river's historical importance is not to be overlooked either. The river connected the east coast to the Mississippi River opening up the country and transforming our nation.

The river connected the east coast to the Mississippi River opening up the country and transforming our nation.
If you overlook that canal through Ohio.

If you overlook that canal through Ohio.what canal? can you get to the Mississippi river from the Atlantic ocean another way I'm not aware of?

Yeah, there were the Erie and the C & O (Chesapeake and Ohio) canals. These were not very wide though. I often walk along the footpath along the C & O canal here in DC and I can tell you that the Chicago River is much wider.

Yeah, there were the Erie and the C & O (Chesapeake and Ohio) canals. These were not very wide though. I often walk along the footpath along the C & O canal here in DC and I can tell you that the Chicago River is much wider.They extend all the way to the Mississippi?

obviously my point was the Chicago River's connection is what really mattered to the country's commerce trade at the time. Mr.D knows that too he is just trying to flex his condescending muscle again.

can you get to the Mississippi river from the Atlantic ocean another way I'm not aware of?

The Ohio & Erie Canal opened in 1832, connecting the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland with the Ohio River at Portsmouth, making possible navigation between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. That's 16 years before the connection was made via the Illinois & Michigan Canal.

I would actually argue that the I&M Canal wasn't particularly important in "opening up" the continent's interior. The Mississippi and Illinois rivers had been navigated and settled for decades (Illinois had been a state for 20 years when Chicago was founded.) The railroads began to arrive in Chicago the same year (1848), and those could stretch far into the prairie. It was the interchange between lake boats and railroad car that made Chicago such an important entrepôt.

^ The Hudson and East rivers are obviously incredible sites, but they don't really give you the intense canyon effect that you experience on the main branch of the Chicago River. I think that's what Edsg is talking about

That pretty much sums it up....

The Chicago River basically cuts through the heart of the Loop.

Enjoy :cheers:

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The Ohio & Erie Canal opened in 1832, connecting the Cuyahoga River at Cleveland with the Ohio River at Portsmouth, making possible navigation between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. That's 16 years before the connection was made via the Illinois & Michigan Canal.

I would actually argue that the I&M Canal wasn't particularly important in "opening up" the continent's interior. The Mississippi and Illinois rivers had been navigated and settled for decades (Illinois had been a state for 25 years when Chicago was founded.) The railroads began to arrive in Chicago the same year (1848), and those could stretch far into the prairie. It was the interchange between lake boats and railroad car that made Chicago such an important entrepôt.why couldnt you say this in your original post? If you want to make a point, make it. Dont just post your same old "I know more that you" BS. its old.

and you know my point was the Chicago River's passage to the Mississippi was the most important passage, I didnt say it was the first. If you dont believe the river was an important passageway for commerce in the country at that time, then you really are delusional and honestly believe your own bullshit.

Well, the Cheongyye Stream in Seoul, Korea is similar, but it's not as wide, and it's not navigable. It's almost like a hybrid of the Chicago River and the San Antonio Riverwalk.

In terms of a feature of urban geography, though, it's very prominent in Seoul. It was covered by a highway for many years before being uncovered. It's also just as artificial as the Chicago River - ours flows backwards, and theirs doesn't flow at all - it has no sources, so water has to be pumped to the start of the creek from the city water system.

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9915/800pxseoul0128xndr29po1.jpg

If I may expound upon this topic, not only is the Chicago River canyon unique in the world, the el trains that run through downtown Chicago are also unique in the world. NYC has el trains too, but they are only out in the neighorboods, they don't run between skyscrapers in Manhattan.

Actually, the Yamanote Line in Tokyo looks sort of like Chicago's el in some places, but suffice to say the el is completely unique in the US.

PS - That creek in Seoul looks weak compared to the Chicago River.

I'm not sure what you mean by "most unique".

The Thames River in London is also incredible. The sheer amount of architectural styles going on is unmatched, IMO.

Why is everyone making this question so difficult?
The answer is YES...:cheers:

Once waterview, trump, waldorf=astoria, 300 nlasalle, 200n riverside are completed, oh and the Spire how could I forget, the world's greatest urban canyon will become even more incredible. :cool:

Forgot to mention LSE's Aqua and Arquitectonica

Here are a few more....

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Last February was so cold that you needed an ice breaker to navigate the river!

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Once waterview, trump, waldorf=astoria, 300 nlasalle, 200n riverside are completed, oh and the Spire how could I forget, the world's greatest urban canyon will become even more incredible. :cool:

Forgot to mention LSE's Aqua and Arquitectonicayou also forget Wolf Point. I have high hopes for that spot!

^ Ah, yes! I've sort of forgotten about that one since all these other great projects are going on. I hope the renders of that proposal will come out soon and blow everyone away- I hope.

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9915/800pxseoul0128xndr29po1.jpg
I was going to post that :)

How about Tokyo?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Sumida_River_at_Night%2C_Tokyo.jpg/800px-Sumida_River_at_Night%2C_Tokyo.jpg

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Arguably, though, Chicago River does have the most dramatic canyon effect.

^^great shots of an intiging city, but I don't get any sense of the canyon like Chicago River from them.

I'm a big fan of the Chicago river, and it is unique, but it seems provincial to place it above the Thames, Tiber, Hudson, Seine, the canals of Venice etc.

show another urban river that you can do this? Chicago River #1
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People already use the word "canyon" to describe urban streets fronting by towering skyscrapers.

Thus, I like to think of the downtown part of the Chicago River as a "gorge." Furthermore, I think that the Chicago River is the only river in the world where you can say that the setting is gorge-like. No matter what happens in London, Shanghai, or Paris, those rivers are just too wide to be the waterway of a gorge.

Seoul does seem to be getting impressive, I suppose. Berlin, if its local economy ever picks up, could also create an impressive gorge with the Spree. However, that would be decades away.

That's not a river in Seoul, it's creek. The Han River- the actual RIVER in town- is much more like the Thames or Hudson. And it's got a beauty all it's own.

While I agree the title- and probably even premise- of this thread is a tad self-fellating, there really is no river in the world that I've either seen or heard of that has the look of the Chicago River. Everything else is too wide and therefore doesn't feel "closed in", or just way too small and is barely noticeable- I've driven over the Cheongyye and it's extremely easy to overlook, I didn't even notice the first time.

That doesn't by any means mean the Chicago River is the best river (or just urban river) at all, though. I'd argue vehemently against that. But for what it does, it is the best at it.

Let's put it this way: I see the Chicago River's uniqueness in the sense that I cannot think of another river in the world that so envelopes you into a towering man-made setting. many rivers offer massive skylines along one of their banks (Hudson, Delaware, Mississippi, etc.) and so many others give you true urbanity or a lower scale on both banks (Thames, Seine, etc.)

Only the Chicago River can give you a towering corridor on both sides and the appropriate width to give you the sense that you really are on a river but not so wide that the skyline doesn't overwhelm you as you pass through it. Is there little doubt why are architectural boat tour is one of the grandest excursions you could take in any city in the nation? or world?

The Chicago River is the greatest urban canyon in the world, and all those bridges over it let a pedestrian take it all in a way that would be impossible with a wider river, such as the Hudson between lower Manhattan and Jersey City.

sorry isnt the unique but...
yeah the biggest (i think haha)

The Chicago River is the greatest urban canyon in the world, and all those bridges over it let a pedestrian take it all in a way that would be impossible with a wider river, such as the Hudson between lower Manhattan and Jersey City.
Thats a good point. I think it's the Chicago River's unique width that makes the canyon effect so much more intense. Other urban rivers are usually much wider.

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http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6452/chicagorivercanyonbestvu0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

to me, the real uniqueness is its ability to take a natural feature like a river and transform its surroundings to be wholy and overpoweringly man-made. I don't see another real river in the world that can deliver that type of punch...from bankside development to buildings up to the stratosphere, you can't see the human hand on a river like you can on the Chicago River.

to me, the real uniqueness is its ability to take a natural feature like a river and transform its surroundings to be wholy and overpoweringly man-made. I don't see another real river in the world that can deliver that type of punch...from bankside development to buildings up to the stratosphere, you can't see the human hand on a river like you can on the Chicago River.

I always thought the Chicago River was so fake looking. How could that ever possibly have been a real free flowing river, with dirt banks and trees, etc? The way it's built up...it just looks very man-made. I find it hard to believe that 150 years ago this was a "natural" area.