In 1962, Chicago city workers dumped 100 pounds of dye into the river flowing through downtown Chicago. It left the river emerald green for an entire week and kick-started an annual tradition. The city celebrated the 60th anniversary of the event this past weekend.
The dyeing of the Chicago River has become synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States, but where did the tradition originate?
The green dye was originally part of the city’s effort to clean up the river’s waterfront areas, which had long been a depository for Chicago’s waste. So much so that Upton Sinclair mentioned one of the river’s tributaries, Bubbly Creek, in his famous novel The Jungle.
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