Michigan Avenue Bridge - History

History

A boulevard to link the parks on Chicago's north and south sides was proposed as early as 1891. An early plan called for a tunnel to link Michigan Avenue south of the river with Pine Street (now Michigan Avenue) north of the river. In 1903 an editorial in the Chicago Tribune proposed a new bascule bridge across the river at Michigan Avenue. Other plans suggested that the bridge should be a replica of the Pont Alexandre III that spans the Seine in Paris, or that, rather than constructing an entirely new bridge, the existing Rush Street bridge should be double-decked.

Plans for the boulevard and the construction of a Michigan Avenue Bridge were further elaborated upon in Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. In 1911 a plan was selected that included the widening of Michigan Avenue from Randolph Street to the river, replacing the Rush Street bridge with a new bridge at Michigan Avenue and the construction of a double-decked boulevard along Pine Street as far as Ohio Street. An ordinance to fund construction was passed in 1913, but was declared void by the Supreme Court of Illinois. A second ordinance was passed in 1914, but legal battles continued until the end of 1916. Construction finally started on April 15, 1918, and the bridge was officially opened in a ceremony on May 14, 1920.

The bridge is one of the contributing properties of the Michigan–Wacker Historic District, which was listed as on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1978. It was also designated as a Chicago Landmark on October 2, 1991. In 2009 the sidewalks and railings on the bridge were replaced, and the bridge was repainted; the design of the new ornamental railings was based on the original 1920 design for the bridge's railings, replacing more utilitarian ones that had been substituted at a later date.