Clark Street Bridge

Clark Street Bridge
Clark Street Bridge, 1987
Carries	Motor Vehicles, Pedestrians
Crosses	Chicago River
Locale	Chicago
Total length	346 ft (105m)[1]
Width	215 ft (66m)[2]
Longest span	215 ft (66m)[2]
Clearance below	20 ft (6m)[1]
Construction end	1929
Opened	1929
Coordinates	41°53′15″N 87°37′52″W / 41.8875°N 87.6310°W / 41.8875; -87.6310

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

History

State Street Bridge (foreground), Dearborn Street Bridge, Clark Street Bridge, La Salle Street Bridge, Wells Street Bridge, & Franklin Street Bridge

The current bridge, which was completed in 1929,^[2] is the third bridge to span the river at this point. In 1853 the original 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.^[3] In 1854, the city approved an expenditure of $12,000 to replace the bridge with a pivot bridge.^[4] During the Lager Beer Riot in 1855, the bridge was pivoted to help contain the rioters.^[5]

The Eastland was supposed to sail from the dock at the Clark Street Bridge on July 24, 1915 when it capsized.^[6]

In popular culture

In 1916, Carl Sandburg wrote the poem "Clark Street Bridge". ^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Clark Street Bridge". historicbridges.org. http://www.historicbridges.org/truss/clark/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-28. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Chicago River Bascule Bridge, Clarke Street, Spanning Chicago River at Clarke Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL". Historic American Engineering Record. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.il0629. Retrieved 2007-05-28. 
3. ^ "Column 1". Chicago Tribune: pp. 3. 1853-09-09. 
4. ^ "Clark Street Bridge". Chicago Tribune: pp. 2. 1854-02-11. 
5. ^ "Trail of the Rioters". Chicago Tribune: pp. 2. 1855-06-21. 
6. ^ "Dewey - Addams - Chicago". http://inquiry.uiuc.edu/cil/edit_list.php?cilid=343&listid=307. Retrieved 2007-03-08. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Sandburg, Carl (1916). Chicago Poems. Henry Holt. http://books.google.com/books?id=_kEDAAAAYAAJ.