“Jackson Park’s Darrow Bridge is one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ public assets, according to an annual list released by Preservation Chicago.

“Published last Tuesday, the nonprofit’s list includes seven structures across the city. It’s released annually with an aim to ‘mobilize the stakeholder support necessary to save them from demolition.’

“The bridge was built in 1880 ahead of the World’s Columbian Exposition, making it the oldest structure in the park. Connecting the east and west parts of the park north of its lagoons, the bridge is both a Chicago Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Though the bridge is not at imminent risk of demolition, access to it has been blocked off since 2013 due to decades of deterioration. Talks of repairs have been underway for years, though no signs of restoration are in sight.

“Long neglected by CDOT and Chicago Park District, the historic bridge has suffered major deterioration, and has been fenced and cut-off from public use for over a decade,’ reads a 2024 letter from the neighborhood’s Clarence Darrow Bridge Preservation Coalition to the city’s department of transportation.” (Hyde Park Herald, 3/12/25 )

Read the full story at Hyde Park Herald

• Darrow Bridge named one of Preservation Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ structures, Hyde Park Herald staff, Hyde Park Herald, 3/12/25
• Community Members Organize to Preserve Historic Jackson Park Bridge: The Chicago Department of Transportation’s Clarence Darrow Bridge replacement project raised concerns among community members who hope to conserve and repair the nearly 150 year-old bridge, Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Maroon, 8/5/24
• Is Jackson Park ready for its future? A closer look at plans to reopen the Darrow Bridge, revamp the Garden of the Phoenix and more; Marc Monaghan, Hyde Park Herald, 10/5/23
• Hyde Park Stories: Darrow Bridge, Patricia L. Morse, Hyde Park Herald, 3/6/23
• On centennial of the Scopes trial, Chicagoans honor Clarence Darrow at Jackson Park bridge named in his honor, Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 3/13/2025
• Clarence Darrow’s spirit summoned anew as bridge repairs draw funding; Max Blaisdell, Hyde Park Herald, 3/14/25
• Honor Clarence Darrow 100 Years After ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ At His Namesake Bridge; The famously agnostic attorney and Hyde Park resident fought a Tennessee law that banned teaching evolution in a case that drew national attention a century ago, Maxwell Evans, Block Club Chicago, 3/14/25
• Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge / Columbia Bridge, a Preservation Chicago 2025 Chicago 7 Most Endangered