Des Plaines History Center to host ‘Chicago Engineered: The Taming of the Swamp’

The Des Plaines History Center, 781 Pearson St., Des Plaines, will host its June Coffee Talk program at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 13, with “Chicago Engineered: The Taming of the Swamp.”

In the middle of the 19th century, Chicago was not the shining, modern major city that it is today. The city was only four feet above Lake Michigan at most, built on a swamp. Mother Nature left Chicago’s landscape promising yet problematic. It took clever and persistent engineers to orchestrate imaginative and sometimes daring edits to Chicago’s terrain, and consequently, to build “The City of the Big Shoulders.”

In looking back, presenter Krista August salutes the problem-solvers and workers who made swampland hospitable and safe for big city life.

“Chicago’s transformation from its start as a wilderness outpost in 1833, to a modern metropolis of slaughterhouses and skyscrapers by the end of the century is nothing short of astounding,” Interpretive Curator Emma Marston says. “It’s easy to forget today, but so much work went into creating a new, man-made geography for Chicago over the years — building a canal and sewers, raising city streets, and even reversing the Chicago River. This will be a great look back at Chicago’s miraculous rise into the beautiful city we enjoy today.”

All members of the public are welcome to attend “Chicago Engineered: The Taming of the Swamp.” This program is free thanks to generous sponsors: Village Bank & Trust and Kiwanis Club of Des Plaines.

Registration is required to attend “Chicago Engineered: The Taming of the Swamp” and for all Coffee Talks moving forward. To register, call (847) 391-5399 or email contact@desplaineshistory.org. Any day-of availability will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

The History Center’s Coffee Talks are a series of adult programs meant to invite public participation and discussion on a broad range of historical topics per the History Center’s mission. Donations are appreciated.

The next Coffee Talk will be “Jules Verne & H.G. Wells, the Birth of Sci-Fi and the First Citizens of the Future” on July 11.