River Esplanade Park is one of three new parks developed in the mid-1980s to provide recreational space for Cityfront Center, a mixed-use development north of the Chicago River. In 1988, the Chicago Dock and Canal Trust donated 1.3 acres of under-utilized industrial property to the Chicago Park District to create this pleasant riverside esplanade. A paved plaza with ornamental railings, benches, and plantings, River Esplanade Park provides an ideal place to sit and watch boats pass by or stroll along the river. The park stretches both east and west from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's centennial fountain and water cannon, designed in 1989 by Lohan Associates.