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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. Click on images to view larger versions.

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

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