Bubbly Creek

Category: Industry

The 35th Street bridge over the South Branch of the Chicago River crosses over what was once known as "Bubbly Creek." Refuse from the worlds' largest packinghouses nearby drained into the river. "Bubbly Creek" was a notorious example of the severe environmental pollution that has commonly affected working-class neighborhoods in the shadow of large industrial sites. The accompanying photograph shows a man "skimming" an unknown substance from the river in 1905. (Chicago History Museum, ICHi -23820)