Photos
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South Face The Madison Street Bridge is also known as the Lyric Opera Bridge. The Lyric Opera Company performs at the Civic Opera House, which is on the river, occupying the block between Madison and Washington Streets with the front facing on Wacker Drive. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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South Elevation Note the black and gray building just to the north of the bridge. It is built in the space above the tracks that comprise Union Station and leases those air rights. In order to provide clearance for the tracks below the structure, and because normal columns could not be constructed to support the building, a huge truss structure above the roof of the building carries the building's load.
Like a through truss bridge that supports a deck, the truss (you can see it above the building) supports the building above the tracks. Originally built for the Morton Salt Company, the building now houses Boeing International. (Click on the link to be taken to Structurae for more information about the Boeing Building.) Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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The Civic Opera House, North of the Bridge The opera house was built by Samuel Insull, a Chicago magnate who made his fortune in railroading and electric utilities. (Insull was one of the founding partners of General Electric.) He built the opera house for his wife, Gladys Wallis, an aspiring opera singer who was not hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York.
The building features a 45 story office building and twin 22-story wings. The building resembles a large chair, and was referred to as "Insull's Throne" which faces west. Legend has it that Insull had it built with the back to New York, snubbing New York and the Met for not hiring his wife. The Lyric Opera Company purchased the building in 1996 and restored the theater, the second largest opera auditorium in the United States. Note the Washington Street Bridge just beyond the building, on the lower left edge of the photo. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Southwest Bridge Tender's House Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Southeast Bridge Tender's House The Lyric Opera Bridge is unusual in that both control towers are located on the same side of the bridge. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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South Pedestrian Walkway Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Barrel Shot Looking East Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Center Joint Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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North Face Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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North Elevation Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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West Leaf Truss Detail Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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East Leaf Truss Detail Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
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Center Joint Above the "Madison Street" sign is another view of the truss that supports the Boeing International building. Photo taken by J.R. Manning in May 2010 |
Map
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Facts
- Overview
- Bascule bridge over South Branch Chicago River on Madison Street in Chicago
- Location
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1922; rehabilitated 1994
- Design
- Twin-leaf bascule
- Dimensions
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Length of largest span: 221.0 ft.
Total length: 283.0 ft.
Deck width: 38.0 ft.
- Also called
- Lyric Opera Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +41.88185, -87.63836 (decimal degrees)
41°52'55" N, 87°38'18" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/447034/4636855 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Chicago Loop
- Inventory numbers
- IL 016-6034 (Illinois bridge number)
BH 15150 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 09/2007)
- Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 76.0 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2006)
- 9,900
Update Log
- May 10, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Added Alternate Name - Lyric Opera Bridge
- January 22, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Corrected GPS Coordinates
Sources
- J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net