page_title: DuSable Bridge
section_title: McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum
hierarchical_section_title: DuSable Bridge / McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum
caption_attribution_description: Entrance to the McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum, Michigan Avenue Bridge, Chicago, Illinois
context_page_description: The DuSable Bridge is a bascule bridge that carries Michigan Avenue across the main stem of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. The bridge was proposed in the early 20th century as part of a plan to link Chicago's south side and north side parks with a grand boulevard. Construction of the bridge started in 1918, it opened to traffic in 1920, and decorative work was completed in 1928. The bridge provides passage for vehicles and pedestrians on two levels. An example of a fixed trunnion bascule bridge, it may be raised to allow tall ships and boats to pass underneath. The bridge is included in the Michigan–Wacker Historic District and has been designated as a Chicago Landmark.
  The location is significant in the early history of Chicago, connecting on the north near the 1780s homestead site of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable and on the south the early 19th century site of Fort Dearborn. Events from the city's past are commemorated with sculptures and plaques on the bridge, and exhibits in the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum—housed in one of the bridge tender houses—detail the history of the Chicago River.
context_section_description: The southwest bridgehouse has been converted into a museum, with its entrance off the Chicago Riverwalk. The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum is a 5-floor, 1,613-square-foot (149.9 m²) museum that opened on June 10, 2006; it is named for Robert R. McCormick, formerly owner of the Chicago Tribune and president of the Chicago Sanitary District. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation was the major donor that helped to provide the $950,000 cost of the formation of the museum. It is run by the Friends of the Chicago River, and includes exhibits on the history of the Chicago River and the bridge. Visitors are also allowed to access the bridge's gear room; during the spring and fall bridge lifting, visitors can see the bridge gears in operation as the leaves are raised and lowered. Due to its small size and tight access stairway, only 79 people are allowed inside the museum at any one time.
  In July 2019, the museum welcomed its 250,000th guest. In October 2019, Chicago Tribune cultural arts writer Steve Johnson called the museum's gear room, where the DuSable Bridge mechanics can be viewed working, "a little chamber of heaven for infrastructure nerds."
caption: Entrance to the Bridgehouse Museum
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