One For The Road: The Chicago Flood Of 1992

By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 13, 2012 10:30PM

Twenty years ago today, a freight tunnel under the Chicago River began leaking, eventually flooding basements in the Loop with about 250 million gallons of water. It flooded some basements up to 40 feet deep and caused billions of dollars of damage. It also shut down business in the loop including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Here's more about those tunnels from a 2007 CBS story:

The tunnels, which run 40 feet beneath the Loop, were dug at the turn of the 20th century for a telephone system that was never built. Instead, it was used for railroads for coal, merchandise, and even mail and money between downtown buildings.

By the late 1950s, the system fell out of use, although some of its 15-mile grid was used to house high-voltage electrical conduits. Otherwise, the system was abandoned, and buildings put bricks or walls over their portals to the tunnels.

But on April 13, 1992, everyone was reminded of their existence, in the most chaotic way possible.

Below is a video showing how the Bryman School tried to manage during the flood, and it features images and newspaper headlines from the flood.