Four miles outside of Chicago in Lake Michigan, we pass the 4 mile crib (sensibly named as it is 4 miles off the Chicago lake shore). This is one of nine permanent water cribs that the city of Chicago has built. The purpose of these cribs is to house and protect off shore water intakes which supply the city of Chicago with Lake Michigan drinking water. Water is collected and transported from huge tunnels, some 20 feet in diameter and close to 200 feet under water. Of these, 6 are still standing and 2 are still in active use. This one, the four mile crib, was built in 1892 and is no longer active. Despite the protests of historical preservation societies, it is scheduled for demolition. Time will tell who will determine its fate.
We will spend the next few cold and windy days exploring the city.
The best sights we saw during our short stay in Chicago, by far, were the sight of our loved ones! We spent time with our son, Jack, and his girlfriend, Jill. (Haha I know… but the names are just perfect for this cute couple!)
We also had a visit from Jack and his college pals.
On our last night in Chicago, we spent time with our nieces and nephew and our “grands”. Thanks for dinner Donald and MK!
For those boaters coming to Chicago, we found Dusable Marina in a prime location. DuSable Harbor is located in the heart of downtown Chicago at the foot of Randolph Street. They have 420 slips and can accommodate boats up to 60+ feet.
A short walk from the marina, through Cascades Park, you can find a Mariano’s grocery store, a division of Kroger, which has anything you would need.
Our marina slip had “prime” viewing of the Navy Pier Fireworks on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Saturday nights, we were told, are a bigger display…they last 10 minutes. (They need some tips from WEBN and the Cincinnati Reds on proper firework displays!😉)
Interestingly, with so many slips, the “laundry room” is quite a surprise.
Of course being in a large city, crime is a concern. The marina has recently installed these sturdy intimidating security gates. Each seasonal slip renter has their own code and transient codes are functional only during the transient’s stay.
Fortunately this happened our last night, otherwise we would have been sleepless in Chicago.
As a nearly 47 year resident of Chicago (locals never call it Chitown, but hey rules are meant to be broken 😉 I loved reading your post about our wonderful city. We have our share of problems but the lakefront and cityscape are World class.
And of course no visit to Chicago would be complete without a late night boarding party by local thugs. So glad all turned out fine. You’re totally honorary Chicagoans now. Lol
Wonderful meeting you folks! Hopefully our paths will cross again. Safe journeys!