Bridgehouse Museum and Riverwalk under Michigan Ave. as it looked early last month. Head downtown to check out the finished product!

The Sun-Times reports that the new section of the Chicago Riverwalk under Michigan Ave. opened yesterday. If you've ever tried to cross Michigan Ave. from the Riverwalk, you'll know this is a huge improvement over climbing the stairs up to street level, crossing the street three times (since there's no crosswalk going west), and going back down the stairs to the river. The underpass is also sure to provide much greater exposure for the Bridgehouse Museum, a little-noticed gem of a museum that was hidden on the Riverwalk on the west side of Michigan Ave. Be sure to go downtown to check it out.

The section under Wabash is still under construction, but should be completed in a month. Once these sections are complete, the Riverwalk will provide a continuous path along the Chicago River from State Street to Lake Michigan, connecting with the 18.5-mile Lakefront Path. You can learn more about Riverwalk vendors and plans for future expansion on the City of Chicago website.