The Raising of Chicago
During the early history of Chicago, the city was often plagued by epidemic diseases such as typhoid fever, yellow fever, cholera, and dysentery. The main cause of this was due to the fact that the elevation of the city was not that much higher than the shoreline of Lake Michigan. As a result, the city suffered from poor drainage and sewage systems as water could not flow downhill, causing Chicago streets to be filled with large pools of standing water which harbored pathogens and parasites. Flooding was also very common. By the late 1850’s, it was clear that something had to be done as the city continued to grow, worsening the problem.
In 1856 an engineer named Ellis S. Chesbrough submitted a plan to solve the problem by building a new sewage and drainage system. An ambitious project, the key to the new plan was to literally raise the entire city around 4-7 feet, working systematically, building by building, block by block. Work began in early 1858 with the lifting of a four story, 750 ton brick building to a new elevation of 6 feet, 2 inches with the aid of 200 jackscrews. Over the next year, 50 other buildings were likewise lifted, with hundreds of thousands of tons of soil and concrete laid to form a new foundation for the city. In 1861 the 1 acre large Tremont House Hotel was raised six feet using 5,000 jackscrews (top picture). The Hotel continued to operate throughout the work, housing many guests including several VIP’s and a US Senator. The following year the 27,000 ton Robbins Building was lifted more than two feet, all the while businesses and shops continued to operate out of the building. The most impressive feat was the lifting of half of a city block located between Clark Street and LaSalle Street. This included several 4 and 5 story brick buildings as well as the streets and sidewalk. Conducted by a team of six engineers (including Brown Hollingsworth and George Pullman) directing a crew of six hundred men, the entire half block was lifted 4 feet 8 inches using 6,000 jackscrews (bottom picture).
Work continued throughout the 1860’s, by the end of the decade it was mostly completed, with hundreds of buildings raised or moved completely. The new sewage and drainage system mostly solved Chicago’s health and sanitation problems. However pollution and sewage from the rapidly growing industrial city devastated Lake Michigan.
