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| MWRD posted on Feb 5, 2023 Construction of the Des Plaines River Sewage Treatment Works on August 20, 1920. This early treatment plant built by the Sanitary District of Chicago (now MWRD) was located southeast of Roosevelt Road and 1st Avenue in Forest Park, Illinois. Operating until 1931, the plant served as a testing location for various treatment processes. Once the nearby Salt Creek intercepting sewer was placed in service, the flow was then conveyed to the West Side Plant, which is now the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant. Village of Forest Park US Postal Service Bob Burns: There's an interesting story about how those planes would find their way across the US back before GPS was a thing: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mysterious-arrows/ You can still see one south of Rockford. https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0... |
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| MWRD posted on Mar 26, 2023 Workers rolling and seeding the grounds of the Des Plaines River Sewage Treatment Works on May 21, 1924. |
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| MWRD posted A view of the Des Plaines River Treatment Works facility grounds, viewed to the west from the roof of one of the buildings on September 24, 1924. |
Another early WRP: (Update: I now think this is the same WRP.)
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| MWRD posted Construction of an early wastewater treatment plant in Maywood on September 28, 1921. Dennis DeBruler: I'm aware of the early Des Plaines River Treatment Works. Where was this one located, and when was it closed? |
Looking at a map, Maywood is just across the intersection from the 1920 plant, so I now assume that this is the same plant.
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| MWRD posted Construction of an early wastewater treatment plant in Maywood on May 4, 1922. |
I think I have it on USGSs, IHAPs, and Google Maps. Today there is a Forest Preserve maintenance facility on the east side of 1st Ave. about 13th St. On Google Maps check out the square building at the very west side? I'll probably have something in a few days, Speedway/Hines, WRD/CCFPD, Maywood Field/Airmail, etc.
ReplyDeleteLOCATION
ReplyDeleteI think that this plant is on the east side of 1st Ave. on 13th St. The building in the second photograph is still visible on Google Maps in 2024. I have only seen one map that has it marked as Sanitary District, but that's not surprising. I haven't seen when the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Forest Preserve) got it (maybe 1934?), it's a maintenance facility now. In October 2019 Google street view shows a Sewer Improvement Project there! Can't possibly relate to 1930, can it? Deep tunnel? Probably just sewers.
Immediately north of the plant was Checkerboard Air Field, now it's Miller Meadow North Forest Preserve. South of it is the main Miller Meadow Forest Preserve, which was opened in 1934 as Riverside Woods. It was a Deep Tunnel shaft/limestone wasteland from 1975ish to 2016, when Google Earth Pro shows it looking good again. Across 1st Ave. to the west is Hines Hospital with the Maywood Air Mail Field, Graham Hospital, and Loyola. East, across the river, is Waldheim Cemetery. Brookfield Zoo is about two miles south on 1st Ave
CHECKERBOARD AIR FIELD
ReplyDeleteIn 1918 John Schultz was farming the southeast corner of 12th St. (later Roosevelt Rd.) and 1st Ave., in 1919 Decker & Cohen built an air field to distribute their clothing brand. Yup, an airport for clothing. Society Brand Clothes logo was a checkerboard, the planes had it painted on them. That's where the name came from.
The Army air mail showed up in 1920 but didn't last long, in 1922-1923 they moved west across 1st Ave. to the new Maywood Air Mail Field on the Hines grounds. Checkerboard was sold to Wilfred Yackley, who used it as a factory until the Feds closed it as unsafe in 1927. The Forest Preserve of Cook County bought it in 1934, you can see ghosts on the 1938 Illinois Historic Aerial Photographs (IHAP) photo. It's Miller Meadow North Forest Preserve today, there's a stone marker there.
The sanitary district owned property immediately south of Checkerboard air field. You didn't need a very big airfield in the days of bi-plane "Jennys" (visible in the first picture) so the size can look wrong. It's just so tiny.
EDWARD HINES JR. VA HOSPITAL.
ReplyDeleteHines must be the area landmark now. From 1915 to 1917 it was "Speedway", an auto race-track. It became a VA hospital in 1921. It would pick up an Air Mail field from 1922 to 1927, then the hospital expanded. It's still there now.
Eddie Hines had a ton of money. He was a 1900ish lumber baron, with his buddy/employee Fred Weyerhaeuser (name look familiar?) he pretty much cornered the market. He had tree farms (most on the Great Lakes but he made it to Canada, Alabama, and Oregon), mills, and a fleet of ships. Many of us around here remember Hines Lumber yards.
1st. Lieutenant Eddie Junior (2nd Infantry Division) was killed in WWI. The trenches at Verdun were just too much, pneumonia in 1918. Senior was hit hard, bought the Speedway, and donated it to the Public Health Service for veterans' care. He had to push hard, and even put a million bucks of his own into it (plus the land). Finally, in 1921, it opened as a Veterans Hospital (on the first day of the VA).
The original hospital was the long building along 9th Ave., everything east to 1st Ave. was pretty much empty. The Army built Maywood Air Mail Field there, in 1922 it opened and took the business from Checkerboard Field, on the east side of 1st Ave. Air mail only lasted until 1927, I don't know when the field actually closed. It's in the 1938 IHAP photo, but doesn't look good (they may be digging up the north part of the runway). In 2024 there are a couple of old hangars on Air Mail Drive inside the grounds.
In 1944 General Vaughan Medical Corps Hospital was opened, in 1946 it became part of Hines. I think it may have been on the old air mail field. The IU library has some photos, they're in Sources below.
In 1962 Loyola bought a piece of the property on 1st Ave. and opened the Stritch School of Medicine in 1968. In 1973 they opened the Foster G. McGraw Hospital.
In 2022 there was talk about razing the old stuff and starting over. All they need is $$$ x tons. Loyola has plans, too.
BROOKFIELD ZOO (Why not?)
ReplyDeleteI'm adding Brookfield Zoo because it's close, about two miles south, and has a Forest Preserve history.
Edith Rockefeller McCormick, a "prominent socialite" (and wacko), donated 83 acres to the Forest Preserve in 1920 for a zoo. The area was largely unimproved recreational land with a streetcar/interurban (Chicago and West Towns Railway) running next to it. It wasn't easy going, she got divorced (heir to IHC), disowned by her father (John D. of Standard Oil), donated another 103 acres, sold her jewels (from Catherine the Great), and even died in 1932, but the zoo finally opened in 1934. It was cutting edge then and has only gotten better, we're members. Thanks Edith.
SOME SOURCES
ReplyDeleteCheckerboard Air Field is here: https://www.fhproject.org/Histories/Checkerboard%20Field/Checkerboard%20Air%20Field_expanded%20version.htm It has a map with Checkerboard, the Sanitary district, the speedway, Hines, and Maywood Field all shown.
Hines VA Hospital's history site: https://www.va.gov/hines-health-care/about-us/history/
Edward Hines biography (doesn't mention Junior, though): https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2004-Bio-portrait-Edward-Hines.pdf
Illinois Historic Aerial Photographs home page: https://prairie-research.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a251e0a92bd84f978e46a0b2f3b5a50f 1938: https://prairie-research.maps.arcgis.com/apps/we bappviewer/index.html?id=a251e0a92bd84f978e46a0b2f3b5a50f 1961: https://prairie-research.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a251e0a92bd84f978e46a0b2f3b5a50f
United States Geological Survey maps: https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#13/41.8628/-87.8450
Indiana University Indianapolis library has photos of Vaughan Medical Corps Hospital: https://cdm17475.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/IUSM/search/searchterm/United%20States.%20Army.%20Vaughan%20General%20Hospital%20(Hines%2C%20Ill.)/field/subjec/mode/exact/conn/and
Edith Rockefeller McCormick (some blog): https://mutterhood.com/edith-rockefeller-mccormick/
Google Maps has a different format now so I don't hate it any more. If you have a (free) Google account you can get some pretty good 3-D satellite images.
Google Earth Pro is a free download to a desktop. It has satellite images from about 2000 to now. Check the little grid in the upper right corner, it's there.
Nothing Sammy posts comes from Wikipedia.