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This is the swing bridge visible northeast of Kedzie Avenue, and is one of three impressive and rare swing bridges remaining on the Sanitary and Ship Canal, which are among the oldest and most historic in the history-rich Cook County bridge inventory.
This swing bridge is the longest of the swing bridges on this canal, and has a slightly pointier peak at the center of the span compared to the other swing bridges, which makes it look taller. It was reportedly the longest swing span ever built when completed. The McArthur Brothers and Winston and Company were the substructure contractors, while the Toledo Bridge Company was the superstructure contractor. Total cost was $110,644.85. The weight of the iron and steel in the bridge when completed was 2,511,140 pounds.
Thanks to Tom Winkle for providing boat transportation to assist in the photo-documentation of this historic bridge.
Information and Findings From Chicago Landmarks DesignationGeneral Information Address: North of the Stevenson Expressway, East of
Kedzie Ave. (Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal) 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.
Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude):
Search For Additional Bridge Listings:
Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) of this bridge.
Bridgehunter.com: View listed bridges within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of this bridge.
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