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Cortland Street Bridge

West Clybourn Place Bridge

   

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Bridge Documented: August 12, 2006 and May 2009

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
	Cortland Street Bridge West Clybourn Place Bridge	Cortland Street Over North Branch Chicago River	Chicago: Cook County, Illinois	Metal 14 Panel Rivet-Connected Pratt Through Truss, Movable: Bascule (Fixed Trunnion) and Approach Spans: Metal Stringer (Multi-Beam), Fixed	1901 By Builder/Contractor: American Bridge Company of New York, New York and Engineer/Design: City of Chicago

Technical Facts

Rehabilitation Date	Main Span Length	Structure Length	Roadway Width	Main Spans	Approach Spans	NBI Number
1997	128 Feet (39 Meters)	217 Feet (66.1 Meters)	36 Feet (11 Meters)	1	4	16601126625

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

View Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Documentation For This Bridge

HAER Data Pages, PDF

Excerpts From The 1901 Annual Report of the Department of Public Works

View A Historical Article About The Bridge Substructure

View A Historical Biography of Ralph Modjeski

Chicago is today known by bridge enthusiasts as the bascule bridge capital of the world, and this bridge is where that legacy started. The design of this bridge is that of trunnion style bascule bridge. Built from 1901 to 1902, this was in fact the first Chicago style trunnion bridge ever built. The design only became known as the "Chicago" type bascule bridge when Chicago proceeded to populate nearly every movable bridge crossing in the city with this type of bridge over the decades to come. Trunnion bascule bridges rotate up around a giant axle called the "trunnion." This design proved superior to the competing design of a rolling lift bascule, which lifts by rolling back on a short track. The rolling lift design introduced shifting dead load on the abutments, which wore out the abutments quickly in Chicago because Chicago abutments were more susceptible than abutments in other places because the land was essentially swampy and somewhat unstable.

With the Chicago bascule bridge in its infancy and city engineers perhaps occupied enough with just designing the overall structure of the bridge, the first generation bascule bridges like the Cortland Street Bridge have a somewhat cluttered and clunky appearance compared to the graceful, curved, and uncluttered appearance of the second generation bascules where engineers spent more time making the bridges aesthetically pleasing. This is not to say that the first generation bascule bridges are ugly, indeed in today's world of plain and simple bridges, their complex geometry is perhaps equally as beautiful in its own unique way. Where the later bridges would have a beauty that could be described as graceful, these first generation bridges have a beauty that could be described a geometric art. The complex patterns of triangles and curves created by the beams and trusses of this bridge give the eye much to study. Further, the first generation bridges were embellished with non-structural decorations in a way later bridges were not. For example, the Cortland Street Bridge has decorative finals placed on the top of the top chord. In addition, the placement of the plaques up in the sway bracing and on the truss members allows the plaques to have a dual function as an decorative enhancement as well. The plaques on the bridge are not the simple square bronze plaques seen on later generation bascule bridges; rather they are fancy shaped decorative plaques proudly mounted for all to see. In contrast to all of this however, the bridge-tender's tower is much more simple than the fancy stone towers seen in later generation bridge, and is instead a simple wooden building.

This bridge's truss superstructure was built by the American Bridge Company, Lassig Plant. The American Bridge Company would have been a brand new company at the time. As one of the first bridges built by the fledgling company that would become one of the leading bridge builders of the 20th Century, the Cortland Street Bridge gains additional historical significance. The Fitzsimons and Connell Company were the substructure contractors.

The bridge no longer raises for boats, which is all too obvious due to the i-beam that was bolted on the middle of the span to lock the bridge closed.

The truss superstructure of this bridge is in good condition, and like many Chicago bascule bridges features rivets that have been replaced with bolts on select portions of the bridge. Original railings appear to have been replaced by pole railings on the bridge itself, although beautiful ornate railings that feature lattice on the bottom and a gothic arch-like design above are present on the approaches, which likely were originally present all the way across the bridge. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1983, and a plaque added to the bridge announces that the bridge was restored in 1997. The bridge was also repainted sometime between 2006 and 2009. It is good to see that this extremely important historic bridge is being maintained and preserved.

Be sure to view the excerpts from the 1901 annual report of the department of public works. It has an interesting discussion of the bridge.

 

Above: These three views show the bridge after around a year of operation. Above: F. W. Blocki was the Chicago Commissioner of Public Works when the Cortland Street Bridge was built. Above: Although the City of Chicago's engineers were largely responsible for researching and identifying the fixed trunnion bridge as the bascule bridge of choice for Chicago, they did hire of Board of Consulting Engineers to assist. This board consisted of Byron B. Carter, Ralph Modjeski, and someone cited in Historic American Engineering Record as "F. L. Cooley," a historical July 6, 1902 issue of The Railway Age as "E. L. Cooley", and more likely who was really Lyman Edgar (L. E.) Cooley who was a consulting engineer for the Sanitary District. Ralph Modjeski stands out among that group, since he became famous and is considered one of the country's greatest bridge engineers. Above: Photos taken in 1904, a few years after the construction of the bridge, show some of the internal machinery and electrical equipment.

  

City Plaque 1901 CARTER H. HARRISON MAYOR F. W. BLOCKI COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS JOHN ERICSON CITY ENGINEER

Superstructure Plaque 1901 AMERICAN BRIDGE CO LASSIG PLANT CONTRACTORS FOR SUPER STRUCTURE

Substructure Plaque 1901 THE FITZSIMONS AND CONNELL CO CONTRACTORS FOR SUB STRUCTURE

Rehabilitation Plaque 1997 BRIDGE RESTORED NORTH RIVER INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR RICHARD M. DALEY MAYOR

Information and Findings From Chicago Landmarks Designation General Information Address: 1440 W. Cortland St. Year Built: 1902 Architect: John Ernst Ericson Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 24, 1991 This structure marked a major advancement in the design of movable bridges. The first of its kind completed in the United States, this Chicago-type, leaf-lift (trunnion bascule) bridge became an international model for structures spanning navigable waterways. It also established Chicago as the leader in this form of civil engineering. This Bridge Is A Designated Chicago Landmark Visit The Chicago Landmarks Website

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: Cortland Street Bridge

Available Photo Galleries and Videos

Click on a thumbnail or gallery name below to visit that particular photo gallery. If videos are available, click on a video name to view and/or download that particular video.

 

	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
	2009 Bridge Photo-Documentation Original / Full Size Photos	Additional overview and detail photos, taken shortly after a repainting project. 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.
	2009 Bridge Photo-Documentation Mobile Optimized Gallery	Additional overview and detail photos, taken shortly after a repainting project. 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
	Bumpercam: Westbound Crossing: Rush Hour Full Motion Video	Note: The downloadable high quality version of this video (available on the video page) is well worth the download since it offers excellent 1080 HD detail and is vastly more impressive than the compressed streaming video. Streaming video of the bridge. Also includes a higher quality downloadable video for greater clarity or offline viewing.

View and Link To Maps

 

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