3-Jan-15 – Special ramps would have to be built at Marina City and just north of River City but a large dining and sightseeing cruise operator has submitted to state regulators its plan to offer “duck tours” on the Chicago River.

Entertainment Cruises, which owns 30 ships in nine locations and is based in Chicago at Navy Pier, wants to offer tours – from an amphibious vehicle – that start on land at Navy Pier (upper right corner of map), enter the Chicago River at Marina City (upper left), go west along the main branch, south down the south branch, exit at River City (lower left), and return to Navy Pier by city street.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reviewing the proposal, submitted last November on behalf of Entertainment Cruises by Alfred Benesch & Company, a structural engineering firm based in Chicago on North Michigan Avenue.

“This type of tourist attraction has been very popular in other cities, notably Boston, and promises to be a very popular way for tourists to see some of Chicago’s famous landmarks in a most enjoyable way,” writes Sara Davis, project manager for Benesch, in the proposal, details of which were made public by the IDNR on December 22.

To get the duck boats in and out of the water, one ramp would be constructed at Marina City and the other near River City, at the dead end of West Polk Street where a bridge used to be from 1910 to 1972.

The ramp at Marina City will most likely be the easier of the two projects. A steel frame, supported by the existing marina, will be assembled in the eastern-most slip to hold a deck of pre-cast concrete panels. The ramp will be 73 feet long by 25 feet wide.

(Above) The Marina City ramp would be built in the marina slip at far right, seen here from the Chicago River in 2010. Access to the marina by land is from West Kinzie Street, down an alley between Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse and Museum of Broadcast Communications.

The owner of the marina, and most of the commercial property at Marina City, is a co-applicant for the permit from IDNR to build the ramps. LaSalle Hotel Properties owns Marina City’s Hotel Chicago and 44 other hotels in 14 markets. It leases the entire marina to Jefferson Beach Yacht Sales, which will sub-lease the slip to Entertainment Cruises.

In addition to selling yachts, Jefferson Beach has a boat rental business at Marina City.

“The duck tour business should not interfere with our operation at all,” says Ron Silvia, president of Chicago Electric Boat Company. “We are hopeful it draws more attention to the growing list of activities locals and tourists can enjoy in Chicago on the river.”

Near River City (right), another complex designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg, Entertainment Cruises is negotiating with the Chicago Department of Transportation to turn an unused stretch of Polk Street into a 90 x 20 foot ramp on the east bank of the south branch.

The very end of the road would be demolished and land excavated to make a ramp that slopes downward at 16 degrees and ends six feet below the surface of the river. It will stop about where the road ends now and neither ramp, according to the proposal, will protrude into the river channel.

(Above) Aerial view, north of River City, of Polk Street, which ends abruptly at the Chicago River at left. (Below) The remains of the last bridge built at Polk Street, photographed in 2011 by Lex Vink Hoeilaart.

The ramps would be for use by Entertainment Cruises only. No vehicles would be docked at the ramps. Passengers would not board or disembark there.

The project has the approval of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service but in addition to the IDNR, it still needs permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

The proposal was submitted on November 19, 2014. Benesch estimates they will have permits and be ready to begin construction on March 2, 2015. Construction would be finished the week of May 18.

Entertainment Cruises is owned by Pritzker Group Private Capital. They operate five boats from Navy Pier, including Seadog, which offers tours of the Chicago River.

The first duck tour company started in 1946 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The word “duck” comes from “DUKW,” the name given the vehicle by General Motors Corporation, which during World War II took two-and-a-half ton cargo trucks and made six-wheel-drive amphibious vehicles out of them. “D” means the model year was 1942, “U” stands for Utility, the basic type of vehicle, “K” means the vehicle has all wheel drive, and “W” indicates it has dual rear axles.