Hosted by the Chicago-Midwest Chapter
Chicago ICAA would like to invite you to join us for our virtual weekly sketching exercise. This week's subjects are the Chicago Bridgehouses. This is an image and some history on the Michigan Avenue Bridge:
The Michigan Avenue Bridge is the first double-deck, double-leaf, fixed trunnion bascule bridge ever built. First conceived by architect Daniel Burnham in his 1909 “Plan for Chicago,” the Michigan Avenue Bridge was designed as a gateway between Chicago’s north side and south side. Edward Bennett designed the bridge and its four bridgehouses following the Beaux-Arts style and in keeping with Burnham’s concept. Engineers Hugh E. Young, Thomas Pihlfeldt and William A. Mulcahy were instrumental in its construction, which began in 1918.
The bridge was opened for traffic in 1920. The bridgehouses final ornamental touch was added in 1928, when bas-relief sculptures depicting scenes from Chicago history were installed.
The Michigan Avenue Bridge has indeed become a much-used connection between Chicago’s north and south, just like Burnham had envisioned. Today, thousands of people traverse the bridge daily. The bridge, along with its bridgehouses, was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1991 by the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. In 2010, the bridge was officially renamed DuSable Bridge in honor of Chicago’s first permanent resident, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, whose homesite abuts the northern end of the bridge.
Please forward a jpg file of your sketch to [email protected] by Sunday evening following the sketch date and we will include on our ICAA Instagram account on Monday morning. Please include your Instagram handle in the email in order to tag your sketch. Post to your Instagram account using: #icaachicago #connectingthroughsketching #classicalarchitecture #classicismathome #virtualsketching