A Third Logistical Regime: The Ecological Succession of Industrial Ruins

The City of Chicago is foremost a logistical node. Incorporated in 1837 at the confluence of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, the City boomed with the construction of theIllinois and Michigan Canal that linked the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. This first regime saw raw materials, grain and other agricultural goods shipped from Chicago, seat of the rich midwestern farmland, to hungry eastern markets. The second regime was the introduction and development of the railroad.Chicago was the nexus where railroads from the east and west met. Warehouses and factories were built adjacent to the railroad yards and Chicago emerged as a transportation and manufacturing colossus. The Midland Warehouses are one such example. Built on what is now a Union Pacific railroad yard, the Midland Warehouses allowed rail cars to enter the building and unload their cargo.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AMP.105.41

Volume Editors
Luis Francisco Rico-Gutierrez & Martha Thorne

ISBN
978-1-944214-07-4