A Corridor in Time: The Illinois and Michigan Canal

A Corridor in Time: The Illinois and Michigan Canal. . This series of four murals based on historical photographs commemorates the Joliet region's symbiotic relationship to the Des Plaines River and the Illinois and Michigan Canal. In 1673 French-Canadian voyageur Louis Joliet, the city's namesake, was the first to suggest that a waterway be built connecting the Great Lakes and the waters that flowed to the Mississippi. (The northernmost mural shows Illini Indians meeting Marquette and Joliet.) Completed in 1848, the I and M Canal helped transform Joliet from a frontier outpost into a major commercial center. Constructed by Irish, German and Scandinavian immigrants, the canal not only changed the landscape of northern Illinois, but also had an immediate and lasting impact on the Midwestern economy., However, the canal's demise came rather quickly. By the mid-1850's, railroad developers had laid tracks along the canal route. The rail transport of freight had become increasingly competitive and the canal reduced its tolls. The opening of the Illinois Waterway adjacent to the I and M in 1933 ended the shipping industry of the canal. Following 70 years of disrepair and neglect, the I and M Canal region was recognized by Congress in 1984 when it was designated the country's first National Heritage Corridor, preserving it as a link between past and present., The canal ran through Joliet on the west side of the Des Plaines River. Meaning 'flat terrain' in French, the Des Plaines has played a vital role for centuries in the areas now known as Joliet and Will County. The Des Plaines, along with the canal, spurred Joliet's industrial growth, helping to launch its era of stone and its age of steel, creating thousands of new jobs for immigrants.