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Clark Street Bridge

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Clark Street Bridge
The bridge in 2023
Coordinates41°53′15″N 87°37′52″W / 41.8875°N 87.6310°W / 41.8875; -87.6310
CarriesVehicles, pedestrians on Clark Street
CrossesChicago River
LocaleChicago
Characteristics
Total length346 feet (105 m)[1]
Width215 feet (66 m)[2]
Longest span215 feet (66 m)[2]
20 feet (6 m)[1]
History
Construction end1929
Opened1929
Location
Map
Interactive map of 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]

History

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The bridge in 1987
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]

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  • In 1916, Carl Sandburg wrote the poem "Clark Street Bridge."[9]
  • The opening dream sequence of the Chicago-based TV show The Bear, where Carmy Berzatto releases a live bear from a cage, takes place on the Clark Street Bridge.[10][11]

See also

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References

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  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". Retrieved March 8, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ Sandburg, Carl (1916). Chicago Poems. Henry Holt.
  10. ↑ Roeper, Richard (June 21, 2022). "The Bear: Darkly funny Chicago restaurant show demands to be devoured". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ "The Bear - Movies Filmed in Chicago - One-Shot Wednesdays". Chicago Movie Tours. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
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