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This page covers the Baltimore Ohio Railroad / Chicago Terminal Bridge only. This is the bridge that is abandoned in the raised position. Its companion, the St. Charles Air Line Bridge has its own page here. The St. Charles Air Line Bridge offers a discussion not only of the St. Charles Air Line Bridge, but of the Chicago Terminal Bridge as they relate to each other in context.
This is the bridge that is in the raised position in the photos, the northernmost bridge. This bridge was built in 1930 after the realignment of the river. The bridge is 186 feet in length. According to Historic American Engineering Record, the bridge was built by the American Bridge Company. This bridge is no longer used and is permanently in the raised position. It is an example of a Strauss heel-trunnion bascule bridge. With a 1930 construction date, it represents the maturation of Joseph Strauss's heel-trunnion type of bascule. The design was well-established by this period, and many heel-trunnion bascule bridges had been built by 1930. The bridge therefore is not as significant as the earlier St. Charles Air Line Bridge with its unique history, but is still an extremely important historic structure, rare in a national context, and worthy of being a part of Chicago, having been designed by one of the city's most noteworthy engineers. It also makes a nice pair with the St. Charles Air Line Bridge.
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.
Additional Maps:
Google Streetview (If Available)
GeoHack (Additional Links and Coordinates)
Apple Maps (Via DuckDuckGo Search)
Apple Maps (Apple devices only)
Android: Open Location In Your Map or GPS App
Flickr Gallery (Find Nearby Photos)
Wikimedia Commons (Find Nearby Photos)
Directions Via Sygic For Android
Directions Via Sygic For iOS and Android Dolphin Browser
USGS National Map (United States Only)
Historical USGS Topo Maps (United States Only)
Historic Aerials (United States Only)
CalTopo Maps (United States Only)
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