The Lost Panoramas


A boat is unearthed in 1905 near the Western Avenue Bridge on the West Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River. Click image to view photo gallery.In 1894, photographers set out to document the reversal of the Chicago River and its effect on the region, an engineering feat known at the time as the eighth wonder of the world.

They took 22,000 photographs that are more meaningful today than ever before. These photos, all from long-lost glass negatives, connect us to a world gone by and help us better understand the world today.

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It is the story of how a big city sacrificed the natural world in order to survive and prosper.

The lost panoramas offer an entirely new view of Chicago and the region – from the river – and spark new questions about the future of the Chicago River.

Two authors collected the photographs and turned it into a book called The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed its River and the Land Beyond. Richard Cahan and Michael Williams join us on Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm.

Watch the video below for more on The Lost Panoramas.

An exhibit at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum features some of the rare photographs and maps included in the newly published book. The exhibit runs through April 29, 2012.

For more information, please visit the links and photo gallery below.

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