Photos
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Overview Photo taken by James McCray in August 2007 |
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North Face of Bridge Photo taken by James McCray in August 2007 |
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Closeup of Drawbridge Center Span Photo taken by James McCray in August 2007 |
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Deck View Photo taken by James McCray in August 2007 |
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General View Of Bridge From Michigan Avenue Looking West Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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View Of Bridge From Southeast Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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View Of Bridge From Southwest, Looking Northeast Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Detail Of South End Of Bridge Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Detail Of Bridge Tender's House Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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View Looking Northwest Showing Counterweight Pit, Rack And Pinion Gear (North Abutment) Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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View Looking South Showing North Bascule Leaf Framing Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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View Looking West Showing Main Drive Gear, Rack And Pinion, And S-Girder Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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East Side Of North Abutment, Drive Mechanism Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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East Side Of North Abutment-Drive Mechanism, Rack And Pinion Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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North Abutment Counter Weight Pit Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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North Abutment Electrical Room Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Northwest Bridge Tower Interior View Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record |
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Southwest Elevation That's the Trump International Hotel & Tower on the left. The white building in the center of the photo is the Wrigley Building, on Michigan Avenue. A quarter of a million glazed terra-cotta tiles cover the building and are well-maintained to keep the gleaming white image. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Oblique View Looking East Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Barrel Shot Looking Southeast Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Deck View, Looking South The building is now known as 35 East Wacker, but was originally known as the Jewelers Building. In order to prevent jewelers from being mugged while carrying gems, an automobile elevator reached all floors. Jewelers would drive in and be lifted to their office floor.
It is rumored that the tower area, just below the turret, housed an Al Capone speakeasy during the Roaring '20s. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Oblique View, Looking South Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Government Plaques Note the smaller plaque that identifies this bridge as the recipient of the 1930 AISC Award of Merit as the Most Beautiful Steel Bridge. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Northeast Elevation Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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North Abutment Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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North Leaf Truss Detail Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
Map
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- Yahoo! Maps
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- MSR Maps
- OpenStreetMap
Description
Irv Kupcinet was a well-known and popular print and broadcast journalist in Chicago. He was born on Chicago's northside and attended Northwestern on a football scholarship. A scuffle with another student led him to transfer to North Dakota. On graduation,, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1935, but an injury cut his career short. He began writing sports for the Chicago Daily Times and even did radio broadcasts of the Chicago Bears. He also wrote a column about Chicago nightlife that became known as Kup's Column in 1948 when the paper became the Chicago Sun-Times. In the early days of television, he went on with Kup's Show. His newspaper column was syndicated around the world and television show was syndicated to 70 stations around the United States.Irv Kupcinet died in 2003 at the age of 91. The Wabash Street Bridge was renamed in his honor in 1986. (The Chicago Sun-Times was printed from their facility on Wabash Street, at the northeast end of the bridge. Today it is the site of the Trump International Tower.)
Facts
- Overview
- Bascule bridge over Main Branch Chicago River on Wabash Avenue in Chicago
- Location
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1930
- Builders
- - Ketler & Elliot Co.
- Thomas Pihlfeldt
- Design
- Bascule Pratt deck truss
- Dimensions
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Length of largest span: 269.0 ft.
Total length: 345.0 ft.
Deck width: 57.0 ft.
- Also called
- Irv Kupcinet Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +41.88861, -87.62694 (decimal degrees)
41°53'19" N, 87°37'37" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/447987/4637598 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Chicago Loop
- Inventory numbers
- IL 016-6052 (Illinois bridge number)
BH 15173 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 10/2007)
- Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 78.0 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2006)
- 5,800
Update Log
- May 17, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Added Alternate Name - Irv Kupcinet Bridge
- February 4, 2008: New photos from James McCray
Sources
- James McCray - jamesinslocomb [at] yahoo [dot] com
- HAER IL-48 - Chicago River Bascule Bridge, Wabash Avenue, Spanning Chicago River at North Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL
- James Baughn - webmaster [at] bridgehunter [dot] com
- J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
