Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Scenes from a hometown: Walton Island #1

Part of the same coordinated effort that completed Trygve Rovelstad’s Pioneer Family Memorial in downtown Elgin, Illinois was a rejuvenation of the downtown riverfront. A promenade along the east bank of the Fox River was built, along with a total reconfiguration of Walton Island, which began as a massive pile of debris in the middle of the river, a remnant of a Great Depression-era government work project. The Isaac Walton League directed the initial seeding and landscaping of the island.

The top photo is a twilight view of a pedestrian bridge connecting sections of the island. The smaller photo shows a family on the riverwalk enjoying the view of the adjacent Fox River dam.

It’s always nice when a pile of debris can be turned into something of value.

Click on pictures to enlarge. Images © 2005 James Jordan.

2 comments:

Cedar Waxwing said...

It's great to see that Elgin is working on making green space.

I remember going to Walton Island when I was in high school and being afraid. That was just after the small bridge linked it from the library. It was an adventure to go there, but scary.

James said...

When I moved to Elgin in 1991, the place was still a little rough - the city has taken some good strides toward making downtown a more secure place to be.