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Wabash Avenue Bridge

Cook County, Illinois

Photos 

Overview

Photo taken by James McCray in August 2007

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BH Photo #111191

Map 

Street View 

Description 

Irv Kupcinet was a well-known and popular print and broadcast journalist in Chicago. He was born on Chicago's northside and attended Northwestern on a football scholarship. A scuffle with another student led him to transfer to North Dakota. On graduation,, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1935, but an injury cut his career short. He began writing sports for the Chicago Daily Times and even did radio broadcasts of the Chicago Bears. He also wrote a column about Chicago nightlife that became known as Kup's Column in 1948 when the paper became the Chicago Sun-Times. In the early days of television, he went on with Kup's Show. His newspaper column was syndicated around the world and television show was syndicated to 70 stations around the United States.

Irv Kupcinet died in 2003 at the age of 91. The Wabash Street Bridge was renamed in his honor in 1986. (The Chicago Sun-Times was printed from their facility on Wabash Street, at the northeast end of the bridge. Today it is the site of the Trump International Tower.)

Facts 

Overview
Bascule bridge over Main Branch Chicago River on Wabash Avenue in Chicago
Location
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1930
Builders
- Ketler-Elliot Erection Co. of Chicago, Illinois
- Thomas G. Pihlfeldt
Design
Bascule Pratt deck truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 269.0 ft.
Total length: 345.0 ft.
Deck width: 57.0 ft.
Also called
Irv Kupcinet Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.88861, -87.62694   (decimal degrees)
41°53'19" N, 87°37'37" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/447987/4637598 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Chicago Loop
Average daily traffic (as of 2014)
4,600
Inventory numbers
IL 016-6052 (Illinois bridge number)
BH 15173 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of September 2017)
Overall condition: Poor
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 59 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Bascule (1,077)
Built 1930 (1,754)
Built during 1930s (11,819)
Chicago River (41)
Chicago River Movable Bridges (47)
Chicago, Illinois (335)
Cook County, Illinois (464)
Deck truss (1,773)
HAER documented (1,108)
Have street view (27,212)
Illinois (4,759)
 Ketler-Elliot Erection Co. (12)
Movable (3,023)
Navigable waterway (2,165)
Open (40,026)
Owned by city (5,579)
Pratt deck truss (361)
Pratt truss (9,453)
Span length 250-500 feet (1,199)
Thomas G. Pihlfeldt (4)
Total length 250-500 feet (5,292)
Truss (33,277)

Update Log 

  • October 3, 2020: New photo from Tyler
  • June 21, 2018: New photo from John Bernhisel
  • March 7, 2016: New photo from Royce and Bobette Haley
  • February 3, 2016: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
  • July 11, 2014: New photos from Andrew Raker
  • October 8, 2013: New Street View added by J.P.
  • September 30, 2012: New photos from Steve Conro
  • May 17, 2010: Updated by J.R. Manning: Added Alternate Name - Irv Kupcinet Bridge
  • February 4, 2008: New photos from James McCray

Sources 

  • James McCray - jamesinslocomb [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • HAER IL-48 - Chicago River Bascule Bridge, Wabash Avenue, Spanning Chicago River at North Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL
  • James Baughn - webmaster [at] bridgehunter [dot] com
  • J.R. Manning - thekitchenguy [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
  • Wikipedia
  • Steve Conro - sconro [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Douglas Butler
  • J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Andrew Raker
  • Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Historicbridges.org - by Nathan Holth
  • John Bernhisel - Johnmbernhisel [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Tyler
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Comments 

Wabash Avenue Bridge
Posted September 8, 2007, by Tom Staley (thomass [at] nc [dot] rr [dot] com)

Photo taken Sept. 7, 2007.