North Branch Pumping Station

6 comments

station_2

Sitting on the bank of the Chicago River adjoining Ronan Park is a handsome building that could easily be mistaken for the park’s field house. The graceful art deco structure appears quite elegant and inviting, particularly when viewed from the nearby Lawrence Avenue bridge.

station_1

A walk around to the other side of the building reveals its true purpose—it is a sewage pumping station. It was built by the Sanitary District of Chicago in 1929 to meet the increasing need for water in the neighboring Lincoln Square and Albany Park communities.

station_3

Currently, the station is used to pump raw sewage northward to the North Side Water Reclamation Plant, which is located at Howard Street. All sewage from the area bounded by Lake Michigan, Fullerton Avenue, Clark Street, and Howard Street drains through the Lawrence sewer to this facility. During heavy thunderstorms,  extra pumps are deployed to pump excess sewage and water to the river through the arches.

station_5

The graceful interior of the facility comes as a bit of a surprise, given its humble function. The beautiful architectural detail is still very well preserved, though it’s unlikely that  many people get the opportunity to see and appreciate it.


6 responses to “North Branch Pumping Station”

  1. Wow, they let you in there to take pictures??? Jealous! Can you hook me up to get into the pumping station at 68th near South Shore Drive?

  2. Wow. I guess I should try closed doors more often. Here’s hoping they don’t send you a 9/11-based demand to take down the photos.

  3. Mark Ross says:

    Excellent photos!

  4. Christine says:

    Love the photos.

  5. Wow! Thanks so much! I rode by on the bus today and realized I needed to look it up again. It’s too late now, but I’ll have to save these wonderful color photos. It’s a great augment to the books by Richard Lanyon which explain all the historic details of the system, but have only B&W photos.

Leave a Reply to Jean Smilingcoyote Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *