A river remembers its floodplain when we let it

The Millrace River once spread across a wide floodplain on Chicago's far south side. Decades of fill and mown turf pushed it into a narrow channel, and the neighbourhood lost both its connection to the river and the natural flood storage the floodplain provided.

Giving the river room

The first move was to regrade 1.8 acres of slope into a lower flood bench, restoring the historic floodplain. In high water, the bench floods safely and slows the river down. The rest of the year, it is a prairie meadow of switchgrass, coneflower and native sedges.

An amphitheatre that holds rain

Curved limestone terraces step down the slope to form a 450-seat amphitheatre. The basin at its centre is a planted infiltration garden that treats stormwater from the surrounding streets before it reaches the river.

Linking the greenway

This is one of seven ecological nodes along the Millrace greenway. A new pedestrian bridge and wayfinding connect the park to the nearest transit hub, and a native forest edge of 68 canopy trees will shade the path as it matures. Construction is under way, with planting scheduled for next season.