IC/C&NW Bridge near the mouth of Chicago River

(Satellite, lost)

Jeff Bransky posted
Has anyone ever seen a photo of the railroad bridge, depicted east of Michigan Avenue, on this 1895 Rand McNally Chicago Map?
David Daruszka At one time there was a railroad swing bridge that connected the Illinois Central yards on the south side of the river with the Chicago & North Western yards on the north side. I have never been able to discover when it was removed, and both maps accurately depict the bridge.

John Hammond commented on Jeff's posting
Here's an enlargement

Brendan Morse commented on Jeff's posting
 I found this from 1893. Also found a couple photographs that may or may not be it.
John Hammond I looked at several maps and it appears to be gone prior to 1910, so it had a life of less than 20 years.
[Higher res]

Jeff Bransky  commented on Jeff's posting
Great find! That hand drawn map is showing the same bridge and tracks as the Rand McNally. This clip from the large 1916 Reinckemap Chicago Central Business Section Map does not show the bridge. So, if it ever actually existed, it was gone by 1916, including the track configuration on the north bank. Incidentally, the Rush Street Bridge appears on both hand drawn maps but this one shows it a bit more accurately on an angle instead of oriented due north. The Rush Street Bridge was removed in 1920 when the Michigan Avenue (DuSable) Bridge was opened (started in 1918).

Two of the four images posted by Brendon Baillod with the comment:

This rare, iconic Chicago woodcut engraving arrived today.  It is a highly sought view titled "Birdseye View of Chicago as it was before the Great Fire." It is unsigned but is one of the most elaborate woodcuts I've seen and must haven taken considerable time to execute.  It appeared as a two page fold-out centerpiece in the October 21, 1871 edition of Harper's Weekly Journal of Civilization.  I acquired the full original issue.

This view shows nearly every building and feature of the harbor and includes dozens of exquisitely rendered, stylized Great Lakes vessels.  The view shows major labeled features as well as all the bridges and harbor features.  It is extremely useful as a reference for early photographic views, but it also an exceptional piece of artwork in itself.

I had to scan it in 4 images and stitch them together so there are a few small alignment anomalies, but the image is otherwise an excellent rendering.  Be sure to click on the images and zoom them, as the blow ups reveal additional detail.

Anthony Yelch: How’d they do it? Balloon?

Brendon Baillod: Anthony Yelch You would think, but no. Birdseye artists actually walked the streets, making sketches of the city and getting a general idea of the layout. In this case, they probably also had access to earlier birdseye views as well. However, in cases when they didn't, they would literally reconstruct the view in perspective using ground-based notes and details of each street, building and feature. It was a massive undertaking.

Brendon Baillod shared

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