May 14, 2010 – The influence of the Michigan Avenue Bridge on the development of downtown Chicago was noted by city officials and preservationists who gathered Friday morning to commemorate the bridge’s 90th birthday.

“We opened it in 1920 and it was with much fanfare, marching bands, and canons were shot off,” recalled 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly outside the McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum. “Here we are, 90 years later, to commemorate the value of this bridge to the city’s central business district and our downtown tourism economy.”

The city’s first movable bridge with a two-level roadway opened on May 14, 1920 after three years of construction. It was designed by Edward H. Bennett (1874-1954) who co-authored with Daniel Burnham the 1909 Plan of Chicago.

The bridge is also seen as an influence on the Chicago Riverwalk, which opened on May 25, 2009, and the Chicago River itself, which has evolved in recent years from an area that was fenced-off and polluted for decades.

“All of the people here today,” said Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends of the Chicago River, “were part of the transformation and the kind of thinking that transformed this river from a back alley way into this beautiful natural recreational and treasured resource we have today.”

30 years after Friends of Chicago River was founded, says Frisbie, “everybody turned around and started looking at the river. The fences are down, the sewage problems are getting cleaned up, and we’re all working together to insure that there’s great public access. There’s 70 species of fish in the Chicago River, 60 species of birds that rely on it. There’s muskrats, beavers, minks along the banks. It’s alive with activity, on and under the water.”

(Above) Friends of the Chicago River executive director Margaret Frisbie speaks at a news conference Friday morning with city officials and the Michigan Avenue Bridge looking on. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Live entertainment, at least once a week, will be part of the riverwalk experience starting this year. Brendan Daley of the Chicago Park District announced “Thursday night specials” that will include food and drink specials at many of the riverwalk cafes.

And John Chikow, President and CEO of The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, announced a new Chicago Riverwalk council has been formed, as part of the GNMAA, “to put our marketing muscle behind marketing the riverwalk as one of the great destinations that the city has to offer.”

The McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum, located in the southwest tower of the bridge, will open Saturday for its fifth season.

 Web site: McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum