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Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge

North Pond Bridge

   

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Bridge Documented: September 8, 2011

Primary Photographer(s): Nathan Holth

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Key Facts

	Bridge Name	Facility Carried / Feature Intersected	Location	Structure Type	Construction Date and Builder/Engineer
	Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge North Pond Bridge	Columbia Drive Over Jackson Park Lagoon (North Pond)	Chicago: Cook County, Illinois	Metal Deck Girder, Fixed	1895 By Builder/Contractor: Unknown

Technical Facts

Main Span Length	Roadway Width	Main Spans	NBI Number
130 Feet (39.6 Meters)	60 Feet (18.3 Meters)	1	16619431408

View Archived National Bridge Inventory Report - Has Additional Details and Evaluation

This bridge is an unusual deck plate girder that is composed of four shallow girder lines with floorbeams supporting a concrete deck system that is similar to a jack-arch deck system. The bridge is today closed to vehicular traffic and the bridge is in a severely deteriorated condition with many of the girders exhibiting areas of heavy section loss. This is most unfortunate since the bridge is listed as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and aside from the structural deterioration the bridge appears to retain good historic integrity. It has pole railings that feature decorative metal posts. The bridge sits on impressive stone abutments that feature curved wingwalls that terminate at decorative posts. Looking under the bridge at the abutments, each abutment wall has two slots or ledges that suggest that the abutments predate the existing bridge and these slots would have held the feet of a former superstructure, perhaps an arch bridge or deck truss bridge. Based on the position of these slots, it appears that this former bridge would have been a lot more narrow. An 1895 construction date was given for the current bridge in the National Bridge Inventory. The www.hydepark.org website tells a slightly different and more detailed story. It reports that the bridge's abutments date to a bridge that was built in 1884. The railings are reported to be from the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition, and may have been installed during the 1891 preparation work for the Columbian Exposition. The website finally states that the deck dates to even later. However, the exact date in which the superstructure was replaced is not mentioned. It may be that it was replaced in 1895, which would explain the National Bridge Inventory date, and if this is the case, than the railings would have been salvaged and reused on this new substructure. It is also possible that the current superstructure was built for the Columbian Exposition and dates to 1891. If the girder bridge was built in 1895 (or 1891), it would be an extremely early surviving example of this technology on an Illinois highway and thus technologically significant. Regarding the mystery of when exactly the existing plate girder superstructure was built, a review of photos of the Worlds Columbian Exposition does not immediately reveal any abutments that look exactly like the ones seen today. However, there were several deck truss bridges on the grounds for the exposition and the slots seen on the abutments of this bridge appear as though they would have accommodated such a deck truss. It may be that the abutments were widened when the current girder bridge was installed, while retaining the original narrower abutments, thus retaining the tell-tale slots. The Worlds Columbian Exposition photos of the deck truss bridges also reveal the railing design used on the bridges, and it is clear that the design of these railings are the same as those on the bridge today, seeming to prove that the existing railings do date to the Columbia Exposition. That being the case, great care should be taken to preserve the existing railings on the bridge since they are a remnant of this important event in Chicago history.

Historic Bridges of Chicago and Cook County Browse Bridges In Google Maps This special map has bridge markers colored by bridge movable type. Complete Bridge List

Chicago and Cook County are home to one of the largest collections of historic bridges in the country, and no other city in the world has more movable bridges. HistoricBridges.org is proud to offer the most extensive coverage of historic Chicago bridges on the Internet.

Chicago / Cook County Bridge News

May 15, 2013 - The Ashland Avenue Bridge over North Branch Chicago River has been recommended for Chicago Landmark designation by the Chicago Art Deco Society.

April 30, 2013 - Illinois Landmarks has included Chicago's Bascule Bridges as one of their Top 10 Most Endangered Historic Places. View The Official Page.

April, 2013 - The replacement of the outer trusses of the northern Wells Street Bridge bascule leaf is underway. The outer trusses of the southern bascule leaf has already been completed.

April 2013 - Spring Bridge Lifts Are Ongoing! The bridge lift schedule is available here.

Washington Boulevard Bridge - This bridge celebrates its 100th Anniversary on May 26, 1913! Click Here To View A Commemoration Article By ChicagoLoopBridges.com! (Alternate PDF Format)

General Chicago / Cook County Bridge Resources

Chicago's Bridges - By Nathan Holth, author of HistoricBridges.org, this book provides a discussion of the history of Chicago's movable bridges, and includes a virtual tour discussing all movable bridges remaining in Chicago today. The book includes dozens of full color photos. Only $9.95 U.S! ($11.95 Canadian). Order Now Direct From The Publisher!

View Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Overview of Chicago Bascule Bridges (HAER Data Pages, PDF)

Chicago Loop Bridges - Chicago Loop Bridges is another website on the Internet that is a great companion to the HistoricBridges.org coverage of the 18 movable bridges within the Chicago Loop. This website includes additional information such as connections to popular culture, overview discussions and essays about Chicago's movable bridges, additional videos, and current news and events relating to the bridges.

Additional Online Articles and Resources - This page is a large gathering of interesting articles and resources that HistoricBridges.org has uncovered during research, but which were not specific to a particular bridge listing.

Photos and Videos: Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge

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	Bridge Photo-Documentation Original / Full Size Photos	A collection of overview and detail photos. For the best visual immersion and full detail, or for use as a desktop background, this gallery presents the photos for this bridge in the original digital camera resolution.
	Bridge Photo-Documentation Mobile Optimized Gallery	A collection of overview and detail photos. View the photos for this bridge in a reduced size which is useful for mobile/smartphone users, modem (dial-up) users, or those who do not wish to wait for the longer download times of the full-size photos. Alternatively, view this photo gallery using a popup slideshow viewer (great for mobile users) by clicking the link below. Browse Gallery With Popup Viewer

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