The first bridge off Lake Michigan above the Calumet River was for many years a railroad swing bridge with a center pier. The center pier was a bar to navigation and was subsequently replaced by a vertical lift bridge for the railroad owned by U.S. Steel which operated just north of the mouth of the Calumet River until 1992. The second and third bridges, at Ewing (92nd) and 95th Streets were built by the City of Chicago in the 1950s. Both are bascule bridges which are raised when ships need to pass on the river.

Photographer: Chicago Department of Public Works
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37373)