Saturday, March 19, 2022

Hohman Avenue Bridges over Grand Calumet River and a Gasometer in Hammond, IN

(Satellite

It is hard to believe that this river was once navigable. But at one time, all of the bridges across it were movable. This bridge was originally a swing bridge.
Rod Sellers posted, cropped
This is a bit of a change of pace. This photo is described as "92nd Street Bridge (?), Trolley Car (South Chicago/Hammond), Black and White, Blank, c. 1905." but I do not think this is accurate. Any thoughts?

Bob Lalich commented on Rod's post
I am nearly certain that the bridge in this photo was Hohman Ave over the Grand Calumet River in Hammond. Paxton Lumber was south of the river on the west side of Hohman Ave, as seen in this 1915 Sanborn map.

Swing bridges were considered a navigation hazard because of the pier in the middle of the river so it was replaced by a bascule bridge in 1910.
Bob Lalich commented on Rod's post
The streetcar line that ran on Hohman Ave was the Hammond, Whiting & East Chicago Ry. They connected to Chicago Surface Lines at 106th and Indianapolis. The swing bridge in the above photo was replaced by a bascule bridge in 1910. Construction of the bascule bridge is seen here - source and photographer unknown.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Rod's post
That bridge is close enough to the state line that a 1939 Illinois aerial photo covers it. You can see the bridge's counterweight on the north side. It appears that only the foundation is left for the two gas holders. That surprises me because most of the gas holders are still standing in these photos.
Bob Lalich: Dennis DeBruler - the gas holders in question here were part of a manufactured gas facility. By 1938, a large natural gas pipeline from Texas to the Chicago region had been completed and much larger gas holders were in use for storage. Small gas plants like the one here were no longer needed.

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