A trip down the Chicago river - With pics!

Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
In Chicago there are two yards on the Southern branch of the Chicago river. By law they must be navigable to all boat traffic which includes sailboats. Up to twice a week bridges can be scheduled to lift by those two yards

We finally launched last month. I was storing at one of the two yards on the Southern part of the Chicago River. To get to Lake Michigan we had to pass through 27 bridges. The journey started out in an industrial corridor on the south side, straight through downtown and finally finished at the lock between the river and the lake.
One of the more memorable parts was the death stares the workers gave us from the Lake Shore Drive bridge.
"Yes, you just stopped Chicago's most iconic street for half a dozen little sailboats", ran through my head as we approached. The death stares on their faces was so overly dramatic that we couldn't help but smile and wave to them :biggrin:

Seeing downtown from the river is something that I always wanted to do but never had the opportunity to do until now. Here's a link to some photos we took. I'd suggest zooming in on the Canal Street sign on the bridge

Bridge Lift 2021
 
Mar 2, 2019
433
Oday 25 Milwaukee
We have several lift bridges in Milwaukee . All we have to do is call the bridge tender and wait a few minutes .. Lot's of grumpy faces from the bicyclist ,pedestrians and car drivers . There is a swing bridge on the southern most river ,the Kinnickinnic that needs to have a railroad bridge moved first
 
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Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
@Timm R Oday25 According to The Chicago Tribune it costs about $11,000 for every bridge run and is a traffic nightmare downtown so they don't have bridge tenders standing by. We encountered a couple of bridges in Michigan City. Amtrak had a swing bridge and the staff was great and friendly. The municipal bridge was operated by a grumpy curmudgeon. Putting a cute blonde on the mic seemed to get the bridge lifted a bit faster

@All U Get Yes it is. Although I'm not sure how far into the northern and southern branches the die goes
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,048
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Photographs captured a building that once had the largest in the world floor area under one roof, or so it was said, and it was owned by the Kennedy clan for over 5 decades and was the backbone of their wealth, funding their political ambitions. Name it!
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
Photographs captured a building that once had the largest in the world floor area under one roof, or so it was said, and it was owned by the Kennedy clan for over 5 decades and was the backbone of their wealth, funding their political ambitions. Name it!
The Merchandise Mart?
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,048
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Ding ding! My grandfather told us he spent a lot of time in that building during WWII. He owned a factory in Chicago and during the war the Mart was filled with government agencies. He spent his time gaining contracts to supply various products that were needed for the troops, such as ammunition feeders and counters (he always talked about). He said that he always talked so much that he thinks they gave him contracts just to get him out of their offices.
 

capta

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Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
Last time I went from Chicago to NO there was one bridge on the Illinois with only 17' of clearance, no ifs, ands or buts and no other route that was better. Is that still the case?
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
Last time I went from Chicago to NO there was one bridge on the Illinois with only 17' of clearance, no ifs, ands or buts and no other route that was better. Is that still the case?
The Great Loop Association gave a presentation at the boat show a few years back. They said there was one railroad bridge that was stuck at a height of about 20 and the railroad had no intention of fixing it. That's supposed to be the lowest bridge on the whole trip. I think it's on the Illinois river
 
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Jan 1, 2006
7,040
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
The trip was really up the Chicago River since the river was reversed in flow. It used to flow into Lake Michigan but the lock was built so that the river didn't flow into the lake.
 
Jan 13, 2009
391
J Boat 92 78 Sandusky
The Franklin Street Bridge near the Merchandise Mart has a plaque with my great grandfathers name on it. Joseph E Flanagan- a Chicago politician at the time who was instrumental in getting that bridge built.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,048
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Love the photos! One photograph features a prominent statue. What is the statue, where is it featured, what is the significance and why does it have no face?
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,048
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Well, I'm not sure if nobody is interested in my little game of hidden trivia or if the statue hasn't been found by anybody. So I'll provide a hint ... the statue is plainly seen atop a building in Photo #15! If you go on google maps and zoom down to street level and land in the middle of the LaSalle Street Bridge, you can look straight down the street facing south and the building and statue will come into view.
 
Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
The trip was really up the Chicago River since the river was reversed in flow. It used to flow into Lake Michigan but the lock was built so that the river didn't flow into the lake.
What if I traveled in reverse? At one point the wind kicked up so much that I went through a bridge in reverse. Might as well have the wind straighten my bow out instead of push it off to the side

Well, I'm not sure if nobody is interested in my little game of hidden trivia or if the statue hasn't been found by anybody. So I'll provide a hint ... the statue is plainly seen atop a building in Photo #15! If you go on google maps and zoom down to street level and land in the middle of the LaSalle Street Bridge, you can look straight down the street facing south and the building and statue will come into view.
I don't see the statue in the pics but here's a clue for those that are interested



I don't think a lot of people have been clicking on the dropbox link since nobody has said anything about the Canal Street bridge. Here's a few pics:
merch mart.jpegpic 15.jpegnavy pier.jpegmerch 2.jpegcanal street.jpeg
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,048
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
What if I traveled in reverse? At one point the wind kicked up so much that I went through a bridge in reverse. Might as well have the wind straighten my bow out instead of push it off to the side


I don't see the statue in the pics but here's a clue for those that are interested



I don't think a lot of people have been clicking on the dropbox link since nobody has said anything about the Canal Street bridge. Here's a few pics:
View attachment 196427View attachment 196428View attachment 196429View attachment 196430View attachment 196432
You just posted the picture ... it's the second one above. Ceres stands atop the Chicago Board of Trade building. You are looking at the back side of her in that photo. The building is on Jackson at the very end of LaSalle, so the building and statue is prominently displayed. It was at one time the tallest building in Chicago when it was built in the 1930's, I believe. Ceres is the Roman God of Agriculture, which was/is the focus of trading in the CBOT. It was and maybe still is the largest commodities trading market in the world (as opposed to stock trading) due to Chicago being the center of the agricultural markets in the US. The building was designed in the art deco style that was popular in the 30's. The artist whom made the statue once indicated during an interview that she has no face because that is the art deco style, and also because the statue is so high above the city that nobody could see the face anyway. So it seems that there are mixed reasons why Ceres has no face in this statue!

@Project_Mayhem , I did look at the photos of the Canal St bridge, but I did not see what the significance was that you mentioned could be seen by zooming in. (edited) ok, now I see ... the C has been blacked out :facepalm: I'm fascinated by architecture, you are focused on other details ... :banghead: It is a fine example of a steel bascule bridge, for which Chicago is famous. Chicago has the greatest collection of bascule bridges in the world.
 
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Sep 24, 2018
2,549
O'Day 25 Chicago
I'm not sure if it fell off, it was purposely taken off or if someone blacked it out. Either way, we got a good laugh out of it :)

I learned a lot of fascinating things about the bridges when I did some research beforehand. Probably the most fascinating thing is that thermal expansion can have such a drastic effect that the bridge leafs wont close on hot days. They have to hose them off sometimes.

I would say the bridge that I admire most is the Canal Street Railroad bridge. It's a magnificent piece of engineering that to this day, is nearly silent! It uses chains as a dynamic counterweight to offset the weight of the cables that "change length" as the bridge raises and lowers. Quite creative!
Amtrak/PRR 1915 South Branch Bridge (Canal Street)
 
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