Clark Street Bridge

Clark Street Bridge
File:Chicago River Clark Street Bascule Bridge.jpg Clark Street Bridge in 1987.
Coordinates
Carries	Vehicles, pedestrians on Clark Street
Crosses	Chicago River
Locale	Chicago
Characteristics
Total length	346 feet (105 m)
Width	215 feet (66 m)
Longest span	215 feet (66 m)
Clearance below	20 feet (6 m)
History
Construction end	1929
Opened	1929

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

History

File:ChicagoRiver.jpg

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

The current bridge, which was completed in 1929, is the eighth bridge to span the river at this point. 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. In 1854, the city approved an expenditure of $12,000 to replace the bridge with a pivot bridge. During the Lager Beer Riot in 1855, the bridge was pivoted to help contain the rioters.

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

In March of 2012, an unidentified man jumped from the bridge and was rescued by a local high school on a field trip. He would later die of hypothermia.

In popular culture

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

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Illinois

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons