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Happy 65th birthday, State Street Bridge!

Photo by Jim Phillips

(Above) State Street Bridge, looking north from near Wacker Drive. Photo by Jim Phillips.

May 19, 2014 – Currently the gateway to Phase II of the Chicago Riverwalk, the State Street Bridge turns 65 on May 28.

Did you know…?

  • The 307-foot-long bridge is officially known as Bataan-Corregidor Memorial Bridge. It was dedicated in 1949 in honor of Chicagoans who were prisoners of war after the surrender of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War Two.

  • The bridge was rededicated in 1998 with a plaque to honor all Filipino and American veterans who fought side-by-side in the battle.

  • This six-lane 72-foot-wide movable bridge is the second widest in downtown Chicago.

  • It is the latest of five bridges that have spanned the Chicago River at State Street for 150 years.

  • The bridge was awarded an Honorable Mention by the American Institute of Steel Construction for a “most beautiful bridge” competition for bridges built in 1949.

    • Source: Jim Phillips, Chicago Loop Bridges.

    Photographer unknown

    (Above) A previous version of the State Street Bridge in 1910. The building at left is the Green Fruit Auction Company where Marina City is now located. It was in a two-story brick building owned by The Chicago & Northwestern Railroad.

    (Below) Skyline Queen approaches State Street Bridge from the west in the late afternoon of August 9, 2012.

    Photo by Steven Dahlman

    More info…