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This is the swing bridge visible southwest of Kedzie Avenue, and is one of three very impressive and rare swing bridges remaining on the Sanitary and Ship Canal.
This swing bridge the flattest peak at the center of the span among the group of canal swing bridges, which makes it look shorter. It was likely built around 1897 as most of the swing bridges on the Sanitary and Ship canal appear to have been built. The McArthur Brothers and Winston and Company were the substructure contractors and the Carnegie Steel Company Limited was the superstructure contractor, which presumably means that the Keystone Bridge Company, also a Carnegie-owned company was the name that would have appeared on the bridge plaque, since this is the case with the other bridges on the canal built by this company. The bridge cost $64,961.97. The weight of iron and steel when the bridge was completed was 1,519,183 pounds.
Thanks to Tom Winkle for providing boat transportation to assist in the photo-documentation of this historic bridge.
The digging of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, originally called the Chicago Drainage Canal, was an impressive operation. The ad to the right shows a steam shovel that was used during the digging of the canal. The diagram on the left also illustrates this type of steam shovel. Steam shovels were the excavators of the past. While their function was the same as today's excavators, they were quite a bit different in appearance and operation. Below are a couple photos of steam shovels and a diagram of how a steam shovel worked.
Information and Findings From Chicago Landmarks DesignationGeneral Information Address: North of 35th St., between Pulaski and
Lawndale Avenues This Bridge Is A Designated Chicago Landmark |
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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