The Schiller Woods magic water pump is a public water pump at Schiller Woods Forest Preserve in Schiller Park, Illinois, near Chicago. Its water is believed by many local residents to have magical properties, improving health and vigor. [1] [2] Some believe that the pump's water extends the life of anyone who drinks from it regularly, leading to the nickname "Chicago's fountain of youth". [3] [4]
The current pump was installed in 1945, replacing earlier versions that date to the 1930s. [3] [5] As early as 1957, the pump drew press attention for its popularity. [5] A 1950s Forest Preserve superintendent noted that the well was so well-used that "when the handle is broken, everyone in the [office] knows about it within an hour". [5] The pump handle was briefly removed in 1974 due to impurities in the water, but restored in 1975 after the water cleared. [6]
Some regular drinkers of the pump's water, a good many of whom are Catholic members of Chicago's large Polish community, believe that the pump was blessed by Pope John Paul II when he visited Chicago in 1979, but there is no evidence to support the notion. [3] [7] The Schiller Woods magic pump is the most-used of over 200 pumps maintained by the Forest Preserve department of Cook County, necessitating yearly repairs. [4] In 2024, a local brewery made a small batch of beer called 'Regeneration Station' using the pump's water. [8]
Due to the pump's popularity its water is tested regularly by the Forest Preserve authorities, who say it is safe to drink. [9] The pump's water is drawn from a natural aquifer 31–85 feet (9.4–25.9 m) deep and is untreated. [3] [4] Compared to Chicago tap water, it has less copper and scant iron, with slightly higher pH and high levels of dissolved minerals. [3] [4] A Forest Preserve manager speculated in 1986 that the aquifer's heavy use may make its water less stagnant than that of similar pumps. [7]
Many aficionados believe that the pump's water is actually drawn from far afield; theories include Lake Superior (about 630 miles (1,010 km) north), Lake Huron (around 370 miles (600 km) east), or a secret supply of water reserved for the wealthy. [3] In the 1950s, a Forest Preserve staff member stated that they believed the pump's water came from Lake Superior, but by the 1980s, officials began describing it simply as well-water from the aquifer below. [5] [7] The water, often described as holy, has been compared to that of Lourdes for its purported healing power, ability to confer strength, and contribution to a long life. [3] [7]
About a quarter of habitual users of the pump do not ascribe it any magical powers and simply prefer the taste of its water. [3] [4] For instance, in the 1950s, one drinker, a bartender by trade, explained straightforwardly that "it makes a better highball". [5] A few drinkers state that it is similar to water used in mountain spas in Poland. [3] [4]
A nearly identical pump is located about 500 metres (0.31 mi) north-northwest, also on Forest Preserve land, and draws from the same aquifer, but is shunned by magic pump devotees. [3] [7] [9]
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km) that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center. Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chicago Portage is a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile.
Northbrook is a suburb of Chicago, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States, on the border of Lake County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,222.
Schiller Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census.
Mettawa is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 533. The village maintains trails for pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian usage. Five forest preserves of the Lake County Forest Preserve District are located within village boundaries.
The Ogallala Aquifer is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. As one of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately 174,000 sq mi (450,000 km2) in portions of eight states. It was named in 1898 by geologist N. H. Darton from its type locality near the town of Ogallala, Nebraska. The aquifer is part of the High Plains Aquifer System, and resides in the Ogallala Formation, which is the principal geologic unit underlying 80% of the High Plains.
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is recharged from the surface; it may discharge from the surface naturally at springs and seeps, and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called groundwater hydrology.
The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property and landmark in the Old Chicago Water Tower District in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built to enclose the tall machinery of a powerful water pump in 1869, it became particularly well known when it survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, although the area around it was burnt to the ground.
Lincoln Park is a 1,208-acre (489-hectare) park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue, on the south, to near Ardmore Avenue on the north, just north of the DuSable Lake Shore Drive terminus at Hollywood Avenue. Two museums and a zoo are located in the oldest part of the park between North Avenue and Diversey Parkway in the eponymous neighborhood. Further to the north, the park is characterized by parkland, beaches, recreational areas, nature reserves, and harbors. To the south, there is a more narrow strip of beaches east of Lake Shore Drive, almost to downtown. With 20 million visitors per year, Lincoln Park is the second-most-visited city park in the United States, behind Manhattan's Central Park.
An Italian beef is a sandwich, originating in Chicago, made from thin slices of roast beef simmered and served au jus on French bread. Common toppings are a choice between spicy giardiniera or mild bell peppers. The entire sandwich is traditionally dipped in the juice the meat is cooked in before serving with a side of French fries.
Brookfield Zoo Chicago, also known as the Chicago Zoological Park, is a zoo located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois. It houses around 450 species of animals in an area of 216 acres (87 ha). It opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recognition for using moats and ditches instead of cages to separate animals from visitors and from other animals. The zoo was also the first in America to exhibit giant pandas, one of which has been taxidermied and put on display in Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. In 1960, Brookfield Zoo Chicago built the nation's first fully indoor dolphin exhibit, and in the 1980s, the zoo introduced Tropic World, the first fully indoor rainforest simulation and the then-largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world.
The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it is the source of drinking water for two million people, and is the primary water supply for agriculture and industry in the aquifer's region. Additionally, the Edwards Aquifer feeds the Comal and San Marcos Springs, provides springflow for recreational and downstream uses in the Nueces, San Antonio, Guadalupe, and San Marcos river basins, and is home to several unique and endangered species.
Lake Forest Academy is a co-educational college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located on the North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, about 30 miles north of Chicago. As of the 2019–2020 school year, the school enrolled 435 students, with the students coming from 13 states and 35 countries. This school is among the most selective boarding schools in the United States. The current head of school is Christopher O. Tennyson. The school is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), and the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB).
The Chicago Botanic Garden is a 385-acre (156 ha) living plant museum situated on nine islands in the Cook County Forest Preserves. It features 27 display gardens and five natural habitats including Mary Mix McDonald Woods, Barbara Brown Nature Reserve, Dixon Prairie, the Skokie River Corridor, and the Lakes and Shorelines. The garden is open every day of the year. An admission fee has been approved to start in 2022, not to exceed $35.
Site A was a research facility near Chicago where, during World War II, research on behalf of the Manhattan Project was carried out. Operated by the University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory, it was the site of Chicago Pile-2, a reconstructed and enlarged version of the world's first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1. The first heavy-water reactor, Chicago Pile-3, was also constructed at this site. Research was carried out under contract to the United States' Office of Scientific Research and Development. After the war, the site became the first home of Argonne National Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center.
The Des Plaines River Trail is a recreational multiuse trail that follows the course of the Des Plaines River through most of Lake and part of Cook County in northeast Illinois in the United States. This trail connects with the North Branch Trail and Green Bay Trail.
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped natural areas and for outdoor recreation. The Forest Preserve District encompasses approximately 70,000 acres of land or approximately 11% of the land in Cook County, which contains the city of Chicago and is the most densely populated urban metropolitan area in the Midwest. The Forest Preserves also owns the lands on which the Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden operate.
Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the equilibrium yield of an aquifer. Groundwater is one of the largest sources of fresh water and is found underground. The primary cause of groundwater depletion is the excessive pumping of groundwater up from underground aquifers. Insufficient recharge can lead to depletion, reducing the usefulness of the aquifer for humans. Depletion can also have impacts on the environment around the aquifer, such as soil compression and land subsidence, local climatic change, soil chemistry changes, and other deterioration of the local environment.
A well is an excavation or structure created in the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn up by a pump, or using containers, such as buckets or large water bags that are raised mechanically or by hand. Water can also be injected back into the aquifer through the well. Wells were first constructed at least eight thousand years ago and historically vary in construction from a simple scoop in the sediment of a dry watercourse to the qanats of Iran, and the stepwells and sakiehs of India. Placing a lining in the well shaft helps create stability, and linings of wood or wickerwork date back at least as far as the Iron Age.
The Mayfair Pumping Station is a historic structure on Northwest side of Chicago, United States. Located at 4850 W. Wilson Avenue, the pumping station has served as the archetype for similar pumping stations worldwide.