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34-472: The location is significant in the early history of Chicago, connecting on the north near the 1780s and 1790s homestead site of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and on the south the early 19th century site of Fort Dearborn . Events from the city's past are commemorated with sculptures and plaques on the bridge, and exhibits in the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum—housed in one of

68-559: A combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural, and social values. Once a site is designated as a landmark, it is subject to the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance, which requires that any alterations beyond routine maintenance, up to and including demolition, must have their permit reviewed by the Landmarks Commission . Many Chicago Landmarks are also listed on

102-609: A museum, with its entrance off the Chicago Riverwalk . The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum is a 5-floor, 1,613-square-foot (149.9 m) museum that opened on June 10, 2006; it is named for Robert R. McCormick , formerly owner of the Chicago Tribune and president of the Chicago Sanitary District. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation was the major donor that helped to provide

136-682: 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

170-568: 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

204-478: Is 80 to 90 feet (24 to 27 m) below the water level. On the south side of the river one of the freight tunnels of the Chicago Tunnel Company had to be re-routed to make room for the tailpit. The counterweights are composed partly of concrete and partly of a concrete composite with rivet punchings; each of the four counterweights weighs 1,595 short tons (1,447 t). The Michigan Avenue Bridge

238-489: Is divided into two along the axis of the bridge such that it functions as two parallel bridges that can be operated independently of one another; at the time of construction bridges over the Chicago River were frequently struck by vessels, and this duplex arrangement allows for leaves damaged in such a collision to be opened for repair without needing to completely close the bridge to traffic. The counterweights are below

272-411: Is made of steel. The bridge can carry about 30,000 people daily. The bridge abutments and the facing of the bridge tender houses are made of Bedford stone . There are four bridge tender houses: the northwest and southeast bridgehouses house the controls for operating the bridge; the northeast and southwest bridgehouses are purely decorative. Two 108 horsepower (81 kW) motors open and close each of

306-659: The Benjamin F. Ferguson Monument Fund, and are by Henry Hering : Defense depicts Ensign George Ronan in a scene from the 1812 Battle of Fort Dearborn ; Regeneration depicts workers rebuilding Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The bridge is also bedecked with 28 flagpoles, usually flying the flags of the United States, Illinois and Chicago. On special occasions other banners may be displayed. The southwest bridgehouse has been converted into

340-640: The London Guarantee Building and 333 North Michigan . The neighboring bridges are Columbus Drive Bridge to the east and Wabash Avenue Bridge to the west. The bridge is situated in a historically significant area. The northern end of the bridge covers part of the Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Homesite , which is commemorated by a National Historic plaque in Pioneer Court . The southern half of

374-613: The National Register of Historic Places , providing federal tax support for preservation, and some are further designated National Historic Landmarks , providing additional federal oversight. The Mayor and the City Council appoint a nine-member Commission on Chicago Landmarks to develop landmark recommendations in accordance with a 1968 Chicago city ordinance. The commission considers areas, districts , places, buildings, structures, works of art, and other objects within

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408-537: The Potawatomi tribe, he established a permanent homestead and trading post near the mouth of the Chicago River in the 1780s. 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

442-891: The United States Secretary of the Interior for historical significance. All of those and a number of other districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Not all Chicago Landmarks have been listed on the National Register, and not all Registered Historic Places (not even all of those that are further designated National Historic Landmarks) have been designated Chicago Landmarks. No Chicago Landmarks are classified as any other type of National Park System protected area including National Parks , National Monuments , or National Preserves . The charts below detail these designations for

476-650: The bridge tender houses —detail the history of the Chicago River. The Michigan Avenue Bridge has a north–south orientation, spanning the main stem of the Chicago River between the Near North Side and Loop community areas of Chicago. Its northern portal lies at the foot of the Magnificent Mile , between the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower . Its southern portal is at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive , overlooked by

510-402: The historic preservation movement initially sought to ensure the survival of individual buildings of special significance. However, the movement has evolved to include districts and neighborhoods and even encompasses distinctive areas of the natural environment. Preservation is now an integral element of urban planning and design. Three trends led to popular support of the formalization of

544-496: The $ 950,000 cost of the formation of the museum. It is run by the Friends of the Chicago River, and includes exhibits on the history of the Chicago River and the bridge. Visitors are also allowed to access the bridge's gear room; during the spring and fall bridge lifting, visitors can see the bridge gears in operation as the leaves are raised and lowered. Due to its small size and tight access stairway, only 79 people are allowed inside

578-540: The 1780s, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable located his home and extensive trading post. This home is generally considered to be the first permanent, non-native, residence in Chicago , Illinois. A National Historic Landmark , the site of Point du Sable's homestead is now partially occupied by and commemorated in Pioneer Court , off DuSable Bridge at 401 N. Michigan Avenue in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois . Point du Sable likely settled near

612-463: The 3,750-short-ton (3,400 t) bridge leaves. Originally the bridge was staffed 24 hours a day, and opened up to 3,000 times a year to allow ships through, but since the 1970s bridge lifting has been scheduled in the spring and fall, when the bridge is raised twice weekly to allow sailboats to pass between Lake Michigan and inland boat yards where they are stored for the winter. In 1928, sculptures depicting scenes from Chicago's history were added to

646-617: The City of Chicago and a private donor erected a large bronze bust of Point du   Sable by Chicago-born sculptor Erik Blome. In October 2010 the adjacent Michigan Avenue Bridge was renamed DuSable Bridge in honor of Point du   Sable. Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago , Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting

680-579: The City of Chicago for nomination based solely on whether each meets two or more of the following criteria: Once the commission has determined that a candidate meets at least two of the above criteria, the group may provide a preliminary landmark designation if the candidate "has a significant historic, community, architectural or aesthetic interest or value, the integrity of which is preserved in light of its location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and ability to express such historic, community, architectural or aesthetic interest or value." In Chicago,

714-506: The bridge passes over the site of Fort Dearborn , which was constructed in 1803. The Fort is commemorated by a large relief above the entrance of the London Guarantee Building, and brass markers positioned in the sidewalks on the south side of the bridge delineate the posited outline of the original blockhouse . The historical significance of the location has been used as the basis for a number of proposals to rename

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748-513: 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. Michigan Avenue Bridge is a double-leaf, double-deck, fixed counterweight , trunnion bascule bridge. It was engineered by the Chicago Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering; Edward H. Bennett

782-501: The bridge. In 1921 the Chicago Historical Society suggested that the bridge should be named Marquette – Joliet Bridge , and in 1939 it was proposed to rename the bridge as Fort Dearborn Bridge . These proposals were not adopted. In October 2010, the bridge was renamed DuSable Bridge in honor of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , Chicago's first permanent resident. A fur trader of African descent who married into

816-680: The city of Chicago-designated sites and the National Historic Landmarks. Download coordinates as: For consistency, the list below uses the name from the Chicago Landmark website. Neighborhood names and boundaries are consistent with the Community areas in Chicago . S. Giles Avenue (odds); 3800 through 3848 S. Calumet Avenue (evens); 3831 through 3847 S. Calumet Avenue (odds); 310 E. 38th Street As noted in

850-495: 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

884-669: The home became the property of John Kinzie . In 1834 the land owned by Kinzie was platted and sold. The "Kinzie addition" to Chicago, which is assumed to be coterminous with Point du Sable's estate extended from the banks of the Chicago River north to Chicago Avenue, and from State Street east to Lake Michigan . A commemorative plaque, struck in 1937, was installed on a marble block at Pioneer Court after its 1965 dedication. It reads, "KINZIE MANSION / Near this site stood Kinzie Mansion, / 1784-1832, home of Pointe Du Saible, / Le Mai, and John Kinzie, Chicago's / "first civilian," here

918-417: The level of the lower deck and when the bridge is opened they swing down into 40-foot-deep (12 m) reinforced concrete tailpits that descend 34.5 feet (10.5 m) below the surface of the river. Each of the two tailpits is supported on nine cylindrical foundation piers. One of these piers was sunk to bedrock , 108 feet (33 m) below the river surface, the other 17 piers are sunk to the hardpan , which

952-574: The mouth of the Chicago River sometime around the 1780s and sold the property in 1800. He lived here with his wife, Kitihawa, and children. The 1800 bill of sale was rediscovered in 1913 in an archive in Detroit, Michigan . The property included a house, two barns, a horse drawn mill, a bakehouse, a poultry house, a dairy, and a smokehouse . Their house was a 22-by-40-foot (6.7 m × 12.2 m) log cabin filled with fine furniture and paintings. Following Point du Sable's departure from Chicago,

986-611: The movement in response to extensive and far reaching destruction of Chicago's environment: In 1957, Chicago City Council 5th ward alderman Leon Despres began the landmark preservation movement in Chicago, by adopting the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House . This led to the formation of the City Landmarks Commission, who chose 39 buildings as "honorary" landmarks. That body evolved into the present Commission on Chicago Landmarks which

1020-477: The museum at any one time. In July 2019, the museum welcomed its 250,000th guest. Chicago Tribune cultural arts writer Steve Johnson called the museum's gear room, where the DuSable Bridge mechanics can be viewed working, "a little chamber of heaven for infrastructure nerds." Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Homesite The Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable Homesite is the location where, around

1054-440: The outward-facing walls of the four bridgehouses. The sculptures on the northern bridgehouses were commissioned by William Wrigley Jr. and made by James Earle Fraser : The Discoverers depicts Louis Joliet , Jacques Marquette , René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti ; The Pioneers depicts John Kinzie leading a group through the wilderness. The sculptures on the southern bridgehouses were commissioned by

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1088-432: Was born in 1805, / the city's first white child Ellen Marion Kinzie". While the plaque is correct that Ellen Marion Kinzie was the first white child born in the city, Du Sable's granddaughter, Eulalie Pelletier, was the first non-native to be born in the city, in 1796. Pioneer Court was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and listed as a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976. At this site in 2009

1122-562: Was empowered by Despres's 1968 city ordinance to select and protect 12 important buildings as the inaugural official Chicago Landmarks. Although the movement was unable to save either Louis Sullivan 's Garrick Theater in 1960 or Sullivan's Chicago Stock Exchange Building in 1972, the efforts spawned the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois in addition to the municipal Commission. Many landmarks have been designated with National Historic Landmark status by

1156-416: Was the consulting architect and William A. Mulcahy the chief engineer of construction. At the time of construction it was believed to be the first double-deck bridge ever built to have roadway on both levels; faster non-commercial traffic using the upper deck and slower commercial traffic that served the various industries and docks in the vicinity of the river using the lower deck. Each of the bridge's leaves

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