View looking west from Oak Street Beach towards N Lake Shore Drive.
Photo taken by Joe Herrington in July 2008
BH Photo #133618
(From HAER) This pedestrian bridge, or passerelle, is the only one spanning North Lake Shore Drive, a major commuter route through Chicago's Lincoln Park. The strikingly modern welded steel arch with concrete approaches was constructed with U.S. Works Progress Administration sponsorship, unusual because the WPA is better known for bridges designed in a rustic mode and built with manual labor. The Lincoln Park passerelle gained national recognition in the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition, "Built in USA, 1932-44," and is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
A photo of this great-looking, historic bridge is featured as the background picture for Bike The Drive, when Lake Shore Drive is closed to cars and opened to bicycles for a Sunday morning. It is regarded as an iconic bridge by Chicagoans, making the prospect of losing it controversial. http://www.bikethedrive.org/
Do not mistake it for a MOB
Even if you are a bridge snob
The thumbnail is quite misleading
To preserve the bridge we are pleading
For this bridge is not a MOB
This attractive pedestrian bridge is now endangered, if not doomed, because it does not comply with ADA.
I believe you have received incorrect information. The bridge described and shown in the photo is not the 'Oak Street Beach Footbridge'. Oak Street Beach is accessed by pedestrian tunnels underneath Lake Shore, (formerly Outer), Drive. The bridge pictured, also known as The Passerelle, allows pedestrian access to North Avenue Beach, over one half mile north of Oak Street Beach. North Avenue Beach is also accessible by pedestrian and traffic tunnels.
There is a flex joint in the middle of the bridge. Pin connected, I believe. During the 1976 Lake Front Bi-Centenial fireworks display, I've seen that joint maxed out from the weight of shoulder to shoulder crowds on it. The two sides of the beams were touching each other. It was bending in the middle that much. Looked scary to me. But that was all those years ago and it's still standing. Must be a very tough bridge.
Deck completely replaced in 2016. If the city spent that much on rehabilitation, this iconic bridge probably won't be demolished and replaced anytime soon. We can hope.