Everything about The Michigan Avenue Bridge totally explained
The
Michigan Avenue Bridge is a
bascule bridge that carries
Michigan Avenue across the
Chicago River, the boundary between the
Loop and
Near North Side community areas, in downtown
Chicago. It lies at the foot of the
Magnificent Mile, between the
Wrigley Building and
Tribune Tower to the north and the
London Guarantee Building and
333 North Michigan across
Wacker Drive to the south, and a quarter of a mile north of the
Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District.
The bridge was built from 1917–1920 as two parallel bridges that operate independently of one another. It was designed by architect
Edward H. Bennett, and is an early example of a fixed trunnion bascule bridge, which later became widely known as a "Chicago style bascule". The bridge features friezes including
Wheeler Williams' "Tablets to Pioneers". When the bridge was completed it was the main link between the north side and downtown. It is a double-deck double-leaf bascule with a main span length of 220 feet. Between April and November each year the bridge is raised about 100 times; two 108-horsepower motors open and close each of the 3,750-ton bridge leaves.
On
June 10 2006 the McCormick Tribune Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum opened in the southwest tower of the bridge. The museum is operated by the Friends of the Chicago River and allows visitors access to the bridge gear room. During "bridge lifts" the two periods during the year when bridges on the Chicago River are raised to allow groups of small boats onto the lake in Spring, and then back into the river during Fall, one can see the bridge gears in operation as the leaves are raised and lowered.
This bridge is seen in the 1980 film
The Blues Brothers as the East 95th Street Bridge. The bridge is also seen in the 1996 film
Chain Reaction.
The bridge was built as part of
Daniel Burnham's
1909 Plan of Chicago to replace the bridge at the foot of
Rush Street. The bridge was designated a
Chicago Landmark on
October 2 1991.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Michigan Avenue Bridge'.
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