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A sandbar had built up at the original mouth of the Chicago River, where it flowed into Lake Michigan, causing the river to bend southward for about a quarter of a mile before flowing into the lake. In the 1830s, soldiers from Fort Dearborn dug out a straightened channel to allow lake boats better navigation into the river.

South of downtown, the river curved eastward almost to Clark Street. This complicated the approach into downtown stations for railroads running alongside the river, and prevented the extension of downtown streets southward. The 1909 Plan of Chicago suggested straightening this bend, and this was done between 1927-1929. A new channel was dug, new bridges were built, and then the old channel was filled in.

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