Location: Chicago
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The 7 Best Bridges in Chicago, Illinois (IL)
The windy city is a cornucopia of modern art, fine dining, cutting edge comedy, and die-hard sports fans. Snap a photo of your reflection in the silver Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park before heading to Grant Park to get hit with the refreshing spray of Buckingham Fountain. There are dozens of museums and theater companies in Chicago, so a cultural experience is never hard to find. You’re sure to laugh your head off at the Second City Theater, the professional launch pad of many famous comedians.
Restaurants in Chicago
1. Bridge Over South Pond
2. Michigan Avenue Bridge
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 969 reviews
The view from the bridge is one of the best vistas the city has to offer.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Michigan Avenue Bridge, which was renamed the Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Bridge in 2010 in honor of the Founder of Chicago and the city's first permanent non-Indigenous settler, is a bascule bridge that carries Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. Opened in 1920, it provides passage for vehicles and pedestrians on two levels and carries more traffic per day than any other bridge in Chicago. The location is significant in the early history of Chicago, connecting on the north side near the 1780s homesite of Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable and on the south the early 19th century site of Fort Dearborn. Officially, it is a double-leaf, double-deck, fixed counterweight, trunnion bascule bridge, the first of its type ever constructed. The steel structure can carry about 30,000 people daily. The southwest bridgehouse has been converted into a museum, the five-floor, 1,613-square-foot McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, with its entrance off the Chicago Riverwalk. It includes exhibits on the history of the Chicago River and the bridge. Visitors are allowed to access the bridge's gear room in the spring and fall to see the bridge's lifting gears in operation. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a Chicago Landmark in 1991.
3. BP Pedestrian Bridge
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 42 reviews
Reviewed By RCSColumbus - Columbus, United States
As you walk across this stunning pedestrian bridge designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry you can't help but be impressed by the quality of the construction materials and the way they're used to create the gentle curves that define this work of art. Proof that something as practical as a footbridge can also be unique and beautiful. Every curve offers an interesting photo opportunity.
4. Dearborn Street Bridge
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Of all the bridges that span the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, the Dearborn Street Bridge has been acclaimed American's most beautiful steel bridge. Built in 1962, it connects the Near North Side to The Loop. It is 342 feet long and 56 feet wide and is the fourth bridge to be constructed at the site. The 1834 Dearborn Street Bridge was the first movable bridge built in Chicago, when the population was 350, and was the primary crossing point over the Chicago River for the original town. It dismantled in 1839. A swing bridge was installed in 1888 and was replaced by a rolling lift bascule bridge in 1907, then by the current bridge, which features a single bridge tender house on the southeast corner of the bridge. Today, it carries north-bound traffic from The Loop, across the river, to the Near North Side.
5. Clark Street Bridge
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 11 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The Clark Street Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, connecting the Near North Side with the Loop. The crossing has been in use for more than 170 years. The first bridge at the Clark Street crossing was a floating bridge built in 1840. Construction of the current bridge in 1929 marked the end of the swing bridge era on the Main Branch of the Chicago River. What is a bascule bridge? Also referred to as a drawbridge, it is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. This is the eighth bridge to span the river at this point. One was struck by a steamer and collapsed. One was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire. On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland was scheduled to sail from the dock at the Clark Street Bridge when it capsized. The bridge is 346 feet long and 215 feet wide with a clearance below of 20 feet.
6. Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge
7. 95th Street Bridge
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
The first bridge built on 95th Street in Chicago's South Side neighborhood was a hand-operated swing bridge constructed in the 1880s. In 1899, it split in two over the center pier and fell into the river. Construction on the replacement bridge was started in 1901, one of the first Chicago-type bridges. It opened to traffic in 1903 and was in service for 50 years. Planning for the current 95th Street bridge began in 1950. Construction began in 1955 and it opened in 1958. The clearance under the six-lane bridge is 21 feet, allowing more vessels to pass under the bridge without having to raise it. Despite its longevity as an industrial span, the bridge would hardly be remembered if not for its memorable appearance in the cult-like 1980 motion picture The Blues Brothers. Located at 3261 East 95th Street, east of the Calumet Fisheries, between South Houston Avenue and South Avenue North, at Calumet Harbor, spanning the Calumet River, the metal mesh bridge is now informally named after the leading characters, Jake Blues (played by John Belushi) and his brother Elwood (played by Dan Aykroyd). In the movie, Jake is released from prison only to be picked up by Elwood in a refitted police cruiser called the "Bluesmobile." To prove how powerful the car is, as they approach traffic at the foot of the 95th Street bridge caused as the span is raising its sections to allow a boat to pass, Elwood guns the engine and the brothers drive straight at the bridge, using it as a ramp to jump the vehicle across the river--and on into cinematic glory. Today, there are no plaques or commemorative markings to note the incident. However, the adjacent Calumet Fisheries eatery displays photographs of the film shoot. Of course, you can drive across the bridge. But duplicating the Blues Brothers' vehicular leap isn't encouraged.
