Bridgehouse

Bells ring out. The gate goes down.  Slowly, the street cracks evenly in half, as giant gears arch each side 90-degrees over the river. Chicago has 60 drawbridges, the most of any city in North America.  43 are operational. Chicago is surpassed only by Amsterdam as the city with the most drawbridges in the world. 

 I love the outer masonry and the weathered green patina of the bridgehouse in this shot and the polished metal work of the street railing. 

A walk along Wacker Drive provides an opportunity to see the evolution in design of these bridges,. No two are the same. There are Chicago Type, Souble Leaf, Trunnion, and Bascule Bridges. In less than two miles, there are 18 movable bridges.