Bridge Tenders

Bridge Tender Cal Bennett in interior of Bridge Tender's House, 95th Street Bridge, 1987

Photographer: Ron Gordon
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37388)

Cal Bennett tended the bascule bridge over the Calumet River at 95th Street in 1987.

See also: Calumet River; Bridges

Bridge tender house, Halsted Street Bridge,1957

Photographer: Stella Jenks
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37389)

The bridge tender’s house is a small frame structure to the side of the Halsted Street Bridge in 1957. The bascule bridge required a tender to raise and lower the bridge leaves as ships required passage through the river.

See also: Bridges

Gustav Massman, Bridge Tender, 1985

Author: Kenan Heise,
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-38032)

Gustav Massman was a longtime bridge tender in Chicago. For many years, he was in charge of the Halsted Street Bridge on Goose Island. His obituary offers a glimpse of life as a bridge tender in twentieth-century Chicago.

See also: Near North Side; Chicago River