Adopt A River Downtown celebrates its latest success with the installation of the Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel. The Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel is the first pilot project funded by the river improvement fund created by the Adopt A River Downtown program.

What is the Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel?
The fish hotel isn't really a hotel at all but a kind of island that is built the same way boat docks are made so that it floats. Once constructed the island is fixed with coconut fiber, which is filled with native plants that local fish and insects like. Then underwater there are boxes called fish cribs that provide places for fish to hide. The result is a floating garden that provides shelter, food, protection, and beauty in the river.

How Does it Work?
The plants are planted at two different levels. Some just above the water's surface and some two feet below to mimic what a natural river is like. The island itself is attached to the wall by upright poles so that when the water rises and falls, which is a regular occurrence in urban areas like Chicago, the island can rise and fall with it.

How Big is It?
The perimeter is made from polyethylene Can-Dock and is 10' wide, 42' long, and hangs 9' deep. There are four 5' x 5' fish cribs suspended from the dock: one is 1' below the surface, two are 2' below the surface, and one is 4' below the surface. Then there is 150 square feet of coconut roll fiber with more than 215 plants of 20 different varieties planted in it. The planting area also includes logs that might attract turtles. The whole area is surrounded by chicken wire to prevent garbage from floating in and to keep ducks and other birds from eating the plants. The reflectors allow boaters to see the Fish Hotel at night. The hotel was designed to be out of the way of passing boats and can be made in any size or shape depending on where this kind of new habitat might be needed.

See also the Fish Hotel website and Friends of the Chicago River Newsletter