Lost/Western Avenue Bridge over the West Fork of the South Branch

(Satellite, the river is long gone. See topo maps below)

The Western Avenue bridge over the CS&SC was a few blocks south of this bridge.

Lawrence Shoop posted
A Submerged Ship from the early 19th Century Discovered near Western ave Bridge Chicago River was Drained and Filled in 1905.
Dennis DeBruler It was filled in during the late 1920s. (https://www.petelit.com/2013/03/the-lost-west-fork.html and https://www.chicagotribune.com/.../ct-xpm-1996-12-12...)

A higher resolution copy:

Calumet412
Raymond Kunst posted

In 1894, photographers set out to document the reversal of the Chicago River and its effect on the region, an engineering feat known at the time as the eighth wonder of the world

Two authors collected the photographs and turned it into a book called The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed its River and the Land Beyond.

Below is a photo of a boat being unearthed in 1905 near the Western Avenue Bridge on the West Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River.

Mary Ann: Raymond Kunst - I just ordered this book from Abe Books! Thanks so much for sharing this one.

Raymond Kunst shared

MWRD posted on Mar 8, 2022
A view to the northeast showing barge traffic on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near the Western Avenue bridge in Chicago, Illinois, on July 31, 1922. 

 

MWRD posted
The Western Avenue bridge on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal opened for passing boat traffic on August 23, 1916.

William Lafferty: Another great image of Chicago’s maritime history. The Standard Contracting Company of Cleveland, founded 20 October 1904, was a major marine contractor on the Great Lakes. Faced with financial difficulties in 1911, former Ohio congressman and Cleveland lawyer James H. Cassidy was appointed receiver for the firm, which the following year named a new tug built at its Cleveland yard in Cassidy’s honor. The vessel measured 82 x 22.2 x 12.3. 110 gross and 61 net tons, powered by second-hand machinery, a fore & aft double compound steam engine, 15-34 x 20 inches supplied by a firebox boiler, 9.4’ x 16.’ On 5 April 1915 Cassidy disappeared while the books for several firms for which he was receiver were being audited, including Standard Contracting, Cassidy leaving behind, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “.. a wife, mother, friends, and a pile of debts.” I won’t go into detail but suffice to say he returned to Cleveland in 1919 after a stint in Cuba and paid off his debts and shortages with interest. He died in 1926 at New York, a prosperous broker. After Cassidy’s disappearance Standard Contracting sold the tug in 1915 to its primary competitor, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Chicago, that renamed it in 1947 James A. Dubbs in honor of the firm’s Cleveland Division manager. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock dismantled the vessel at Cleveland in 1957.

In the foreground is the Sanitary District’s inspection launch Robert R. which I’ve discussed here before. The Cassidy is being used to turn the new bridge before its equipment was installed and running, using the lines we see trailing off both ends of the bridge. Close to the river bank the lines would be transferred to land and pulled by man or machine to complete crossing, and the process reversed when the bridge was opened.

USGS 1901 Chicago Quadrangle @ 1:62,500

If it was filled in during 1905, it is disappointing that the West Fork still shows on a 1929 topo map.

USGS 1929 Englewood Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

USGS 1953 Englewood Quadrangle @ 1:24,000