Clark Street Bridge

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Clark Street Bridge
Chicago River 2023l.jpg
The bridge in 2023
Coordinates 41°53′15″N87°37′52″W / 41.8875°N 87.6310°W / 41.8875; -87.6310
CarriesVehicles, pedestrians on Clark Street
Crosses Chicago River
Locale Chicago
Characteristics
Total length346 feet (105 m) [1]
Width215 feet (66 m) [2]
Longest span215 feet (66 m) [2]
Clearance below 20 feet (6 m) [1]
History
Construction end1929
Opened1929
Location
Clark Street Bridge

The Clark Street Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, connecting the Near North Side with The Loop via Clark Street. [1]

Contents

History

The bridge in 1987 Chicago River Clark Street Bascule Bridge.jpg
The bridge in 1987
Stereoscopic image of Clark Street after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 Chicago fire views - Clark Street, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg
Stereoscopic image of Clark Street after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871

The current bridge, which was completed in 1929, [2] is the eighth bridge to span the river at this point. [3] In 1853 the bridge was struck by a steamer, called the London, and collapsed, blocking traffic on the river. The bridge was dredged and river traffic resumed on September 8, 1853. [4] In 1854, the city approved an expenditure of $12,000 to replace the bridge with a pivot bridge. [5] During the Lager Beer Riot in 1855, the bridge was pivoted to help contain the rioters. [6]

On June 26, 1907, the steamer Atlas collided with the south abutment of the bridge and sank. She was declared a total loss. [7]

The passenger ship SS Eastland was scheduled to sail from the dock at the Clark Street Bridge when she capsized on July 24, 1915, killing 844 people. [8]

In March 2012, an unidentified man jumped from the bridge and was rescued by local high school students on a field trip. He later died of hypothermia.[ citation needed ]

In 1916, Carl Sandburg wrote the poem "Clark Street Bridge." [9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Clark Street Bridge". historicbridges.org. Archived from the original on August 16, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 "Chicago River Bascule Bridge, Clarke Street, Spanning Chicago River at Clarke Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL". Historic American Engineering Record . Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  3. ↑ McBriarty, Patrick T. (2013). Chicago River Bridges. Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield: University of Illinois Press. pp. 86–94. ISBN   978-0-252-03786-3.
  4. ↑ "Column 1". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 1853. p. 3.
  5. ↑ "Clark Street Bridge". Chicago Tribune. February 11, 1854. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "Trail of the Rioters". Chicago Tribune. June 21, 1855. p. 2.
  7. ↑ "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1908". Harvard University. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Dewey - Addams - Chicago". Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2007.
  9. ↑ Sandburg, Carl (1916). Chicago Poems. Henry Holt.

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