News

Michigan Avenue “Fish Hotel”

The Chicago River, at least in the heart of Chicago’s business district, is not a fish-friendly place. Fish like nooks and crannies, not canyons of steel and concrete. So Friends of the Chicago River commissioned a new hotel in downtown Chicago to provide hospitable berths for fish. Designed by WRD Environmental, a Chicago-based ecological consulting firm that specializes in environmentally responsible urban landscapes, the hotel is actually a floating structure with native aquatic plants on the surface to attract insects for fish to eat; a second level with more wetland plants for shelter; and four deeper fish cribs, where bigger fish can linger and hide.

Located just off the Michigan Avenue Bridge at the south end of the Magnificent Mile shopping district, the structure is anchored to the steel walls lining the river so that it doesn’t affect boat traffic. The habitat is about the size of a pontoon boat — 42 feet long by 10 feet wide. Eventually, the structure will be equipped with underwater cameras so people can see green sunfish and largemouth bass snack on clasping-leaf pondweed and bristly sedge. “The habitat problems we have on the Chicago River are typical of many urban rivers,” says Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River. “It is exciting to know that this project could guide other cities facing similar challenges.” During November, the “fish hotel” will be removed from the river for winter storage.

Friends of the Chicago River officially began celebrating their 25th anniversary on September 1, 2005, with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley proclaiming that day as Friends of the Chicago River Day. Upcoming anniversary events include opening the Michigan Avenue Bridgehouse Museum in May 2006.

ounded in 1979, after a magazine article asserted that the neglected Chicago River had no allies, Friends of the Chicago River has worked as the sole organization dedicated to the Chicago River and its watershed, and the mission continues. According to Frisbie, long term goals include reducing stormwater and runoff pollution, and ensuring the development of a continuous river trail.

— Mary Boldan