Built in 1914 by the Ketler-Elliot Erection Company of Chicago, the historic Chicago Avenue Bridge is scheduled for demolition and replacement with a new non-movable, concrete bridge. As part of this process as the historic Chicago Avenue Bridge was determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the City and the Chicago Department of Transportation are required by law to offer to give away the bridge to anyone interested in taking it. The underlying law was intended to protect valuable historic assets, but the offer rings hollow with the City of Chicago’s clear lack of genuine interest in seeing this iconic bridge protected, saved or reused.

“The Chicago Avenue Bridge was a pony truss bascule bridge with an elegant symmetric span of riveted steel beams which taper towards the center. The exposed riveted steel referenced a heroic industrial age when Chicago was a manufacturing powerhouse, a leader in steel production, and a world-leading bridge design innovator. The bridge was operated from an elegant bridgehouse with a pitched roof, rounded corners, a ribbon of windows, and clad in a decorative copper, now oxidized green like the Statue of Liberty. In a past era when industrial traffic on the north branch was heavy, the bridge opened and closed frequently, but today that need no longer exists.

“Chicago has more movable bridges than any other city in the world, and the city is recognized as an international innovator in the engineering of bridges.” (Maggio, GapersBlock.com, 12/2/04)

“Details and a timeline have been revealed for the construction of the W. Chicago Avenue and N. Halsted Street intersection in River West. The project comes at the same time as the adjacent Bally’s Casino received initial funding and a new design. The project is being led by the Chicago Department of Transportation.

“The second major aspect will be the construction of a new tied-arch bridge for Chicago Avenue over the river, replacing a temporary bridge erected in 2018. The white arch bridge will allow for a wider crossing as well as for a continuation of the riverwalk under both sides of the river. Other small aspects will include lighting upgrades, traffic signal modernization, and added landscaping.

“Comments on the design were being accepted until last month with engineering work entering its final phase. With financing already in place via TIF funds, construction is set to begin by the end of this year and wrap up by the third quarter of 2026. During this period, which will also see the construction of the casino, traffic will be redirected to surrounding streets.” (Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 7/15/24)

Preservation Chicago would like the remaining bridge-tender’s house, adjoining the Chicago Landmark Montgomery Ward Catalog Building to be saved and restored, even if it requires a relocation. This was one of the first of its type, constructed of reinforced concrete (much like the Montgomery Ward Catalogue Building), and was the first bridge constructed following the release of Burnham and Bennett’s Plan of Chicago, and part of the Chicago Beautiful Movement. It was therefore one of the first more decorative bridge tender houses, and set a new standard for those most recognized structures in the Downtown Area. The bridge tender house also features a unique oval reinforced-concrete base, which is thought to be the only one of its kind and therefore, urging this bridge tender house to be retained and restored.

Read the full story at Chicago YIMBY

• Details And Timeline Revealed For Chicago Avenue And Halsted Street Reconstruction, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 7/15/24
• Chicago: The Movable Bridge Capital of the World, Alice Maggio, GapersBlock, 12/2/04
• Chicago Ave Bridge 1914-2018, Chicago Loop Bridges.com
• Chicago Avenue Bridge Near Casino Site Slated For Replacement. Here’s The Plan; Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue will also be rebuilt near the site of Bally’s permanent casino along the Chicago River, Melody Mercado, Block Club Chicago, 1/25/24