(Courtesy of Barry Butler, Arena Partners)

Fireworks will launch from six bridges, with a countdown to midnight projected on the Merchandise Mart. 

Architect Carol Ross Barney speaks with “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW News)

Chicagoans not familiar with the name Carol Ross Barney almost certainly have experienced some of her work. From the Chicago Riverwalk to CTA stations, her designs are part of everyday life in the city. 

Ben Miller, demonstrating his technique of fly cast painting. (The Rhythms of the River / Manabu Inada)
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Artist Ben Miller uses a unique technique called fly cast painting. He’ll be demonstrating it Sunday on the Riverwalk as he creates a portrait of the Chicago River.

A bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable. (Wikimedia Commons)
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DuSable Park has been a park in name only since Mayor Harold Washington dedicated the site, at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, in 1987. Wednesday, a design team was selected to bring the vision to life.

(Richard Schneider / Flickr)

Riverwalk bars, restaurants and other recreational vendors will open on a rolling schedule throughout the coming weeks, starting Friday with full service expected by the end of May, city officials said.

A close-up look at the new mural “The Radiance of Being” along the Chicago Riverwalk. (WTTW News)

Summer is the season for public art, and it seems like every week a colorful new mural blooms. We get up close to a massive new work of public art taking flight along the Chicago Riverwalk. 

There’s a new floating attraction along Chicago’s Riverwalk. We go for a look.

The Chicago River is a lot cleaner than it used to be. And after years of litigation, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and environmental groups have agreed to a settlement and will work together to make the river even cleaner. 

The decadeslong fight to clean up the Chicago River took a step forward last week with the resolution of two lawsuits targeting phosphorous discharge that has polluted waters from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel leads a tour of a new section of the Chicago Riverwalk, which will be open to the public Saturday. (Courtesy City of Chicago)

The completion of the three-block stretch marks the end of construction on the 1.25-mile promenade, providing pedestrian and bike access along the south bank of the river.

A bighead carp (U.S. Geological Survey / Flickr). Inset: An Asian carp burger at Asian Carp Grill 2015. (Margaret Frisbie)

Adventurous eaters concerned about Asian carp entering the Great Lakes will have a chance to devour the invasive fish at a special event held along the Chicago River next week.

The Chicago River is far from America's cleanest waterway. But a few anglers are trying their luck as its ecosystem improves. Captain Tim Frey took us for a winter fishing trip on the river.

After a nearly 20 year-run in a century-old converted frame house located near the North Branch of the Chicago River, The Hideout is looking down river to the centralized, bustling South Branch, where it has opened a new pop-up spot for 10 weeks along the Riverwalk. 

We share what you had to say about our conversation with Chicago Teacher's Union President Karen Lewis, the CTA's proposed Belmont flyover project, and the most recent progress of the Chicago Riverwalk project.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a new part of the Chicago Riverwalk opened from State Street to Clark Street. Carol Ross Barney has been leading the Riverwalk design for more than a dozen years. We sit down with her to talk about the project.