Peoples Gas removes 164-year-old pipe under Chicago's Wabash Avenue
Construction crews on Monday removed the 164-year-old pipe beneath Wabash Avenue at 8th Street in the South Loop.
The 2,000-pound pipe has been in use since 1861 — the year Abraham Lincoln took office as president and the Civil War started. The pipe had already been there when the Great Chicago Fire was raging blocks away.
The pipe in conte3mporary times delivered heat and energy to numerous downtown buildings, including Miller's Pub and the Palmer House Hotel, according to Peoples Gas.
But for all its history, it was time for the pipe to go. Peoples Gas said it was corroding and needed to be replaced with a modern pipeline.
This pipe was one of several old and corroding energy pipes under Wabash Avenue that are being retired and replaced. Altogether, Peoples Gas and its union construction crews have safely taken out more than 5,8700 feet of pipeline from service in the area.
The pipe removed Monday is going to a Peoples Gas facility for scientific study. It will help scientists understand and predict how construction materials will corrode over time.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution published
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 20, the 232nd day of 2025. There are 133 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 20, 1858, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was first published, in the 'Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society'. Also on this date: In 1862, the New York Tribune published an open letter by editor Horace Greeley calling on President Abraham Lincoln to take more aggressive measures to free enslaved people and end the South's rebellion. In 1866, President Andrew Johnson declared the official end of the Civil War. In 1882, Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture' had its premiere in Moscow. In 1910, a series of wildfires swept through parts of Idaho, Montana and Washington, killing at least 85 people and burning some 3 million acres. In 1920, the American Professional Football Conference was established by representatives of four professional football teams; two years later, with 18 teams, it would be renamed the National Football League. In 1940, exiled Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was attacked in Coyoacan, Mexico by assassin Ramon Mercader. (Trotsky died the next day.) In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Economic Opportunity Act, a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure. In 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the 'Prague Spring' liberalization movement. In 1986, postal employee Patrick Henry Sherrill went on a deadly rampage at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma, shooting 14 fellow workers to death before killing himself. In 1989, 51 people died when the pleasure boat Marchioness sank in the River Thames in London after being struck by a dredger. In 2012, after 80 years in existence, Georgia's Augusta National golf club (home to the Masters Tournament) invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become its first female members; both accepted. In 2023, Tropical Storm Hilary struck Baja California, killing three and causing $15 million in damage. Today's Birthdays: Boxing promoter Don King is 94. Former U.S. Senator and diplomat George Mitchell is 92. Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is 90. Broadcast journalist Connie Chung is 79. Rock singer Robert Plant is 77. Country singer Rudy Gatlin is 73. Singer-songwriter John Hiatt is 73. Actor-director Peter Horton is 72. TV weather presenter Al Roker is 71. Actor Joan Allen is 69. Movie director David O. Russell is 67. Rapper KRS-One (Boogie Down Productions) is 60. Actor Colin Cunningham is 58. Actor Billy Gardell is 56. Rock singer Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) is 55. Actor Ke Huy Quan is 54. Baseball Hall of Famer Todd Helton is 52. Actor Amy Adams is 51. Actor Misha Collins (TV: 'Supernatural') is 51. Actor Ben Barnes is 44. Actor Andrew Garfield is 42. Actor-singer Demi Lovato is 33.
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Lake County museum looking for new home; must vacate old courthouse by Dec. 31
Time travel is a possibility at the Lake County Historical Society Museum. The museum, housed in 4,000 square feet on the second floor of the Old Lake County Courthouse in downtown Crown Point, is filled with donations that go back to the 1800s when both Crown Point and Lake County were in their infancy. Finding new homes for these museum treasures, including diaries from Civil War soldiers, an 1821 Gutenberg printing press and a symphonion music box and cabinet from 1890 that still plays, is now the job of Executive Director Diane Gora and some eight volunteers. Gora herself is an unpaid volunteer. 'We were given notice on July 31 that we have until Dec. 31 to vacate the space,' Gora said. Notice was given from the Lake Courthouse Foundation, owners of the courthouse, who couldn't be reached for comment. 'We can't afford the rent right now,' Gora said. The museum has been housed in the courthouse for 43 years this month. 'We've had a good 43 years,' she said. Gora said the Lake County Historical Society, which operates the museum, is one of the oldest continuously operating historical societies in Indiana. It's still gearing up to celebrate its 150th anniversary with an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 27. 'Our goal is to maintain the society and keep it going for another 150 years. The elephant in the room is taking care of people's treasures,' she said. Gora said the society knew two years ago that they would be asked to move the museum out of the courthouse. During that time period, Gora and volunteers have tried to inventory everything. 'We have been working diligently to do an inventory; none had been done before,' she said. So far, 5,000 items have been logged and can be accounted for. 'We are struggling to get through all the items,' she said. She said part of her group's tedious process, in addition to logging everything, is trying to connect items with their donors. 'It's not a matter of putting things out in a dumpster. We're trying to find paperwork that links items with the family. Do they want the item back or donate it to another place?' she said. Her group is also able to loan or gift items, if pertinent to that community, to other cities or historical societies. The Lake County Parks Department, including Deep River Mill and Buckley Homestead, has taken some of the museum's items, as has the city of Gary and the Old Sheriff's House Foundation in Crown Point. The Lake County Historical Society Museum includes two rooms that are open to the public, plus two rooms used for storage of many items, including 50 bins of military and vintage clothing. On a recent Tuesday, Crown Point residents Alicia and Scott Savoy came to the museum after hearing that it would no longer be located there after Dec. 31. It was their second visit to the museum. 'This is great,' Alicia Savoy said of the items inside the museum, adding, 'It's telling a story.' There's plenty to see, including the astronaut spacesuit Crown Point native Jerry Ross wore on one of his many trips into space; 'technology' from the early 1900s, such as typewriters and adding machines; as well as a German-made silent movie camera patented in the early 1900s. 'We're trying to preserve as much as we can,' Gora said. Gora hopes that the museum can find a new home for all its treasures, and she said she has had at least one offer from a Dyer businessperson who would let them use a storefront for items. 'It (a new location) will never be as right as this is,' she said of the museum's present location. Those with questions about the museum or the society can call (219) 662-3975 or (219) 308-4407. The phone number for the foundation is (219) 663-0660
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
161 years after his death, this Civil War soldier can finally rest
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Civil War soldier Moses Banks of the 2nd Kansas State Militia (KSM) can finally rest peacefully thanks to a Holton woman's campaign to get him a headstone. Trisha Johnson from Holton has spent the past two years trying to get Civil War soldiers Moses Banks and Ben Hughes headstones in Topeka Cemetery 161 years after their deaths. Johnson's saga began by accident when she was cleaning headstones in the cemetery, something she does as a hobby. She would often research the men after cleaning their stones, and eventually she came across the 2nd KSM. 'While I was researching the regiment, I found some inconsistencies,' Johnson said. 'There was no mention of Banks nor Hughes in much of the historical accounts at the time, except their mention on the Gage Memorial. I went down a rabbit hole of trying to find their bodies and learning about their lives.' K-State band director talks 'Farmaggedon' in Ireland Johnson said Banks and Hughes were the only two black men who served in the 2nd Kansas State Militia. Born into slavery in Missouri in the late 1830s, the men would eventually escape to freedom in Kansas by the 1860s. They enlisted in October of 1864 to defend Kansas from the threat of invasion by Confederate General Sterling Price during the Battle of Westport near modern Kansas City, Missouri. 'Winning this battle meant something else for Banks and Hughes,' Johnson said. 'As runaway slaves, losing meant certain death, even if they survived.' The battle lasted from the 21st to the 23rd, and the men from Shawnee County participated on the 22nd in a skirmish known as the Battle of Big Blue River. Both men were killed in action that day and buried in Topeka Cemetery with the other men from the 2nd KSM in an unmarked mass grave. Topeka conference to support justice involved individuals reentering society 'Neither man lived long enough to enjoy their freedom, or to watch their children, who were born as slaves, grow up in a world where they were free,' Johnson said in a social media post on Aug. 7. 'They died defending Kansas, their adopted state, and more importantly, died fighting so their families, and other black people would never have to live as slaves again.' Johnson paid for Banks's headstone out of her own pocket. She has been working with the superintendent at the Topeka Cemetery to help collect documentation of these men's service to send to the state for a government-issued headstone. As it stands, Hughes's headstone is some months away, as he had almost no paperwork at the time of his enlistment. Where Moses's widow at least filed for pension after his death, Ben had no one to do the same for him. Topeka Police Department acquires new robot dog Johnson and the Topeka Cemetery are submitting the few documents with his name to the state for approval. When Hughes's headstone is installed, Johnson will host a public memorial to honor the two men. 'I want people to remember their sacrifice and the importance of the Battle of Westport,' Johnson said. 'If they had not stood and fought then and there, Kansas would have been lost.' 'Best kept secret in the art world': Volland Foundation supports arts in rural Kansas For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
