History
This is the second bridge built on this site. The previous bridge was a swing design which was characterized by a mid-river pier for the swing span. The current (1902) bridge removed the requirement for the mid-river pier, leaving more room for ships.
While the machinery of the current bridge is intact, the bridge is no longer able to open and the leaves are clamped together in the center.
The bridge was originally crossed by streetcars, in addition to other traffic. Streetcars, running on what was then line 73-Armitage, crossed the bridge for the last time on February 25, 1951, and the following day the bridge was temporarily closed for repairs and the Chicago Transit Authority substituted buses for streetcars east of the bridge, subsequently abandoning the remainder of the Armitage Avenue streetcar line in June. Electric trolley buses also crossed the bridge, starting on February 1, 1953, when they replaced the motor buses on route 73. Trolley buses operated until October 15, 1966, when the route was converted to diesel buses.
The Cortland Street Bridge is currently still used for two-way vehicle traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic.
Read more about this topic: Cortland Street Drawbridge
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