PHOTOS | Cuyahoga River before, during, and after 1969 fire

Bettmann

(Original Caption) 11/3/1952-Cleveland,OH- Firemen stand on a bridge over the Cuyahoga River to spray water on the tug Arizona, as a fire, started in an oil slick on the river, sweeps the docks at the Great Lakes Towing Company site in Cleveland

Alfred Eisenstaedt

Aerial view of a curve in the Cuyahoga River as it travels through Cleveland, full of pollutants which will eventually go into Lake Erie, 1968. The far bridge carries traffic on Interstate 90 (I-90), the center on is the Carnegie Avenue Bridge.

Cleveland State University Library

Fire engulfs part of the Cuyahoga River on June 22, 1969

James P. Blair

CUYAHOGA RIVER, CLEVELAND, OHIO. In 1969, this river was so polluted with oily industrial wastes that its surface caught fire.

Bettman

Views of the Cuyahoga River shown here in 1970, the river is a constant fire hazard because of quantities of oil deposited in it by numerous industries in the Cleveland area.

James P. Blair

UNITED STATES - AUGUST 08. 1980: The Cuyahoga River is highly polluted from industrial development, Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, Ohio

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PHOTOS | Cuyahoga River before, during, and after 1969 fire

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