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Chicago has an enormous number of railroad overpass bridges (grade separations) but only a very small number stand out among this large population for having considerable attention given to the aesthetic quality of the bridge by the inclusion of noteworthy architectural detailig. The Damen Avenue Bridge is one of the best examples of a beautifully designed railroad overpass. With one steel span over the street and two small concrete spans over each sidewalk, the bridge has elaborate architectural details on the concrete above the sidewalk. Over the street, the ornamental steel railings which have a strip of detailed concrete running below them are the highlights for this portion of the bridge. Both the railing and the detailing over the sidewalk is unlike the details found on other "aesthetic" overpasses in Chicago. The piers of the bridge as well as the abutments and retaining walls are also nicely decorated, even if more subtly and using a design found on a few other Chicago overpasses. The handsomely designed bronze plaque mounted on the abutments also follows a design found on a couple other of Chicago's nicer looking overpasses. As the plaque indicates, this bridge was built using Depression era federal funding programs, which adds to the historic significance of the overpass. The overpass retains excellent historic integrity and is one of the finest railroad overpasses in Chicago. Parallel to this bridge immediately to the north and sharing the same retaining wall system is another plate girder overpass. While this bridge has a few nice looking aesthetic details, it does not have the elaborate design seen in this bridge. A few photos of this additional bridge are included in the photo gallery.
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Main Plaque FEDERAL WORKS AGENCYPUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION JOHN M. CARMODY FEDERAL WORKS ADMINISTRATOR FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES S. DAMEN AVENUE IMPROVEMENT 1940 BUILT BY THE CITY OF CHICAGO EDWARD J. KELLY, MAYOR BOARD OF LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS WORK COMMENCED UNDER JAMES P. BOYLE, PRESIDENT WORK COMPLETED UNDER MICHAEL F. MULCAHY, PRESIDENT WILLIAM W. LINK, VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERS
ARTHUR ENGH CHIEF ENGINEER CONTRACTORS
BRENNAN MCNICHOLS CONSTR. CO. APPROACHES
SEC. S. DAMEN AVE - 0606 - C. S. |
Chicago and Cook County are home to one of the largest collections of historic bridges in the country, and no other city in the world has more movable bridges. HistoricBridges.org is proud to offer the most extensive coverage of historic Chicago bridges on the Internet.
General Chicago / Cook County Bridge Resources
Chicago's Bridges - By Nathan Holth, author of HistoricBridges.org, this book provides a discussion of the history of Chicago's movable bridges, and includes a virtual tour discussing all movable bridges remaining in Chicago today. Despite this broad coverage, the book is presented in a compact format that is easy to take with you and carry around for reference on a visit to Chicago. The book includes dozens of full color photos. Only $9.95 U.S! ($11.95 Canadian). Order Now Direct From The Publisher! or order on Amazon.
Chicago River Bridges - By Patrick T. McBriarty, this is a great companion to Holth's book shown above. This much larger book offers an extremely in-depth exploration of Chicago's movable highway bridges, including many crossings that have not existed for many years. Order Now Direct From The Publisher! or order on Amazon.
View Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Overview of Chicago Bascule Bridges (HAER Data Pages, PDF)
Chicago Loop Bridges - Chicago Loop Bridges is another website on the Internet that is a great companion to the HistoricBridges.org coverage of the 18 movable bridges within the Chicago Loop. This website includes additional information such as connections to popular culture, overview discussions and essays about Chicago's movable bridges, additional videos, and current news and events relating to the bridges.
Additional Online Articles and Resources - This page is a large gathering of interesting articles and resources that HistoricBridges.org has uncovered during research, but which were not specific to a particular bridge listing.
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