DOWNTOWN — Miss the river dyeing on Saturday? Now you can watch it anywhere (with internet) in 79 seconds.
Chris Biela braved freezing temperatures for five hours to shoot the time-lapse video of the annual Chicago St. Patrick's Day tradition. He shot the aerial footage from the top of the LondonHouse hotel at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive, and also took some close-ups closer to the river.
"It was very challenging from the roof; you’re exposed to the outside weather, wind," Biela said. "It was 19 degrees, I was freezing."
That temporary pain produced a nifty video, though, that shows the river dyeing and all associated pageantry.
The tradition began in 1961, after St. Patrick's Day Parade Chairman Stephen Bailey noticed the special orange dye city officials used to detect waste in the river changed the color of the water to a perfect emerald green.
The exact formula of the powder is kept secret. Fifty pounds of the powder is dumped into the river from one boat, while a second boat trails behind to mix the dye into the water.
