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by Ron Becker, Class of 2019

Chicago has a reputation as a very walkable and bikeable city. Partly this is an accident of its geography, its flatness, but also the result of the grid system superimposed on it in the 1830 plat. Chicago is considered an almost perfect grid. That grid is broken up by the undulating lake shore, the river, Indian trails that have become diagonal streets, grand parks, and railyards. To overcome some of these obstacles, Chicago has built a number of pedestrian bridges. This article will look at a dozen of these bridges and show how they have added usefulness and beauty to the city.

One of the newest of Chicago’s pedestrian bridges, the Flyover, was opened in May of 2021. It was built to alleviate a choke point on Chicago’s very popular Lakefront Trail. The final section is cantilevered off the east side of the Du Sable Lake Shore Drive Bridge.  

Providing access to the lakeshore and Burnham Park for south side Chicagoans, three modern bridges have been built in recent years: the tall suspension 35^th Street and the serpentine 41^st and 43^rd Street bridges.

Built in 1940 and providing access between Lincoln Park and North Avenue Beach, the Lincoln Park Passerelle is notable as a WPA (Works Progress Administration) project.   

As part of the 2010 development of the Lincoln Park Nature Walk and Ecosystem, the existing bridge over the Lincoln Park South Pond was refurbished and renamed the Lester E. Fisher Bridge, honoring the long- time director of the Lincoln Park Zoo. The Peoples Gas Education Pavilion designed by Studio Gang is also part of the Nature Walk.

The 1989 Pritzker Medalist Frank Gehry designed the BP Pedestrian Bridge and the adjoining Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. It was completed in 2004 and spans Columbus Drive connecting Millennium Park to Maggie Daley Park. It is another snake-like form.

Near the BP Pavilion Bridge is the Nichols Bridgeway, or Skywalk, designed by the 1998 Pritzker Medalist Renzo Piano. It connects Millennium Park with the third floor of his Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was completed in 2009.

Since the 606 Trail, a rails-to-trails project and Chicago’s version of the High Line, has by one count 37 bridges, it is almost mandatory to include one. The original 100 plus year old bridge over Milwaukee Avenue had a span that was supported from underneath by steel piers and concrete abutments. The new bridge used portions of the original span and supported them by a single span tied-arch suspension bridge that allowed the removal of the old steel piers. The trail opened in 2015.

Opened in November of 2010, the Lincoln Village Bridge provides the missing link to close the gap between the east and west sides of the 6.7-mile North Shore Channel Trail. The North Shore Channel is a canal built between 1907 and 1910 to provide additional flow to reverse the Chicago River.

The over 1,000-foot-long Riverview Bridge, named for Chicago’s long-gone amusement park, connects green spaces between the Clark and California Parks. Suspended on concrete piers over the North Branch of the Chicago River, it creates and preserves habitat for fish and wildlife. Opened in 2020, it is yet another example of the bio-morphic designs seemingly favored for pedestrian bridges.

My last pedestrian bridge is perhaps the oldest and shortest. The Japanese Garden in Jackson Park is on an island that held the Ho-o-den or Phoenix Palace from the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The space has undergone many changes, and, in 1935, a Japanese stroll garden was installed that included the Moon Bridge. The bridge was recently removed because of fire damage but should be re-installed shortly.

Happy Trails!

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