Why did the city of Chicago want to straighten the Chicago River?
South of downtown, the river curved eastward almost to Clark Street. This complicated the approach into downtown stations for railroads running alongside the river, and prevented the extension of downtown streets southward. The 1909 Plan of Chicago suggested straightening this bend, and this was done between 1927-1929. A new channel was dug, new bridges were built, and then the old channel was filled in.
