In 1894, photographers set out to document the reversal of the Chicago River, an engineering feat known at the time as the eighth wonder of the world.
They took 22,000 photographs that are more meaningful today than ever before. These photos, all from long-lost glass negatives, connect us to a world gone by and help us better understand the world today. And like all evocative photographs, they act as metaphors.
This is the untold story of an audacious scheme as well as the consequences. It is the story of how a big city sacrificed the natural world in order to survive and prosper.
The lost panoramas
When Chicago changed its river and the land beyond
