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Division Street North Branch Canal BridgeDivision Street Eastern Bridge |
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| Key Facts |
| Bridge Name | Facility Carried / Feature Intersected | Location | Structure Type | Construction Date and Builder/Engineer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! |
Division Street North Branch Canal Bridge
Division Street Eastern Bridge | Division Street Over North Branch Chicago River Canal | Chicago: Cook County, Illinois | Metal Rivet-Connected Pratt Through Truss, Movable: Bascule (Fixed Trunnion) and Approach Spans: Metal Stringer (Multi-Beam), Fixed | 1904 By Builder/Contractor: Roemheld and Gallery |
| Technical Facts |
| Rehabilitation Date | Main Span Length | Structure Length | Roadway Width | Main Spans | Approach Spans | NBI Number |
| 1992 | 173 Feet (52.7 Meters) | 260 Feet (79.2 Meters) | 39 Feet (11.9 Meters) | 1 | 4 | 16601526637 |
Crossing the North Branch Chicago River Canal onto or off of
Goose Island, this is one of the very first highway bascule bridges built in
Chicago, constructed just a couple years after
Cortland Street. Given the
influence that Chicago's development of the bascule bridge had on bridge
construction nationwide, this prototypical example of a Chicago type trunnion
bascule bridge is nationally significant and its preservation should be given a
paramount level of priority.
Roemheld & Gallery of Chicago were both the designers and builders of the bridge. This bridge is similar to bridges like Cortland Street, but it has one very unusual and distinctive characteristic which sets it aside from these other bridges. The overhead sway/portal bracing for this bridge is composed of simple plate steel with decorative designs on them that includes an upside-down "Y" design with a circle around it that is used in Chicago to refer to the three branches of the Chicago River. The symbol became an officially designated symbol appearing in Chicago's municipal code as the "Municipal Device." Easy to miss unless you are looking for it, the symbol can be found on buildings and structures throughout the city including on a few other bridges. This Division Street Bridge however is the only bridge in the entire city that includes this design in its overhead bracing. The bridge is different from the other early bascule bridges including the bascule bridge in sight of this one also on Division Street, which have a more intricate network of built-up sections of v-laced and latticed steel for bracing. The plates with the Municipal Device symbol on this bridge are an interesting and decorative element that adds a lot to the bridge.
Some authors and historians have criticized the earliest bascule
bridges including this one as lacking aesthetics. And while indeed, bridges like
this may have not been in keeping with the aesthetic desires of the time in
which they were built, two things are clear today. First, in today's world of
simplistic bridges, bridges such as this do have aesthetic value in the context
of the modern world. The complex trusses made up of equally complex components
like built-up beams with v-lacing and lattice offer an intricate geometric
beauty that is not found in any form of modern bridge. The early bascule bridges
of Chicago, like this bridge, have very tall trusses with overhead bracing, and
this unavoidable design catches the attention of travelers and lets them know in
no uncertain terms that they are crossing a bridge. This characteristic is lost
on most modern bridges. In the context of the modern world, these elements have
a positive effect on the aesthetic qualities of the road and location they
serve. In the case of the Division Street bridge, the decorative designs found
on the overhead bracing only add to the aesthetic qualities of the bridge. These
designs are remnants of a different era of aesthetics, quite different from the
type of aesthetics found on Chicago's bascule bridges that were built in the
1920s and 1930s for example. In the late 1800s, bridges were often metal truss
bridges that lacked curved beams and did not have a very graceful design. This
did not mean that the bridges were not beautiful or lacked aesthetic qualities,
however. In this period, a more heavy reliance was placed on adornments like
finials, portal cresting, and decorative builder plaques. Generally aesthetic
enhancements to the actual bridge structure was often limited to the use of
decorative bracing which might have attractive curved designs, or cutout shapes
(like those found on the Division Street Bridge). The purpose of all these
enhancements was to accent and decorate the bridges. In contrast, in the 20th
Century, the use of concrete in bridge construction gave engineers the ability
to create bridges that had graceful arches, with decorative elements cast
directly into the concrete as well. Concrete also allowed for more streamlined
and simplistic bridge designs. This along with general changes in architectural
trends (like Art Deco) led to significant changes in what an "aesthetically
pleasing" bridge was thought to be. This focus on streamlining, curves, and a
generally graceful appearance is also evident in the later examples of Chicago
bascule bridge. The Division Street Bridge thus appears at the end of one
era of architecture and before the new era had really managed to take hold in
Chicago.
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