Canal Street Railroad Bridge by Chipka
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Description
Corey and I wandered around yesterday, looking for new parts of Chicago to photograph...to chronicle, as we both feel that much of this city will be gone. My friend Stas feels the same way. He returned to Moscow, and expressed the thought that if he ever made a return to the USA or Chicago, there'd probably be nothing left. That's disturbing in a way, but it's also quite telling. At least in terms of Chicago, reconstruction and modernization are the two buzzwords. Tear things down if they get too old, or if they aren't in the rich people's neighborhoods. If they're in the rich people's neighborhoods, tear them down quickly...unless, of course, they're mansions.
So, in urban-chronicler mode, Corey and I trudged around the few tight blocks of Chinatown-South. We ate in a gem of a restaurant, "Seven Treasures Cantonese Cuisine." It's not a fancy restaurant. It looks like a no-frills Communist cafeteria: where you don't order drinks because tea (in a bland, utilitarian pot) comes just as soon as you sit down. Seven Treasures is full of old men reading Chinese-language newspapers and eating noodles with plastic chopsticks. These old men carry their own stories, and they probably involve wives with short-cropped hair, enjoying endless games of Mah-Jong and gossip.
As the day aged, we left Chinatown proper, in search of the mysterious twin towers we'd seen for years but could never accurately locate. They are the end-towers of a railroad bridge, and one of the few authentic lift bridges along the Chicago River. They are hulking, industrial monstrosities, beautiful in that they're so clearly functional and lacking in any form of artistic grace. They were built to do a job and nothing more...but there has always been a strange sort of beauty in such brutal efficiency. And so, after learning how to get to the towers (delivering dental equipment to obscure suburbs DOES have its advantages, I suppose) I reveled in the idea of getting a closer look at this beast. We took a rather circuitous route to the bridge. It exists in a weird sort of urban cul-de-sac, a barrier between the "pretty" parts of the city and the "functional" neighborhood along Canal Street. You can't really get to it, unless you're on a train, crossing it...or a boat going under it. It is possible, to get fairly close through Chinatown...close enough to count the rivets holding the bridge together.
The bridge itself was completed in 1915. It's span is 272.8 feet. The towers are 195 feet. Navigational clearance is listed at 130 feet. And for those of you on Earth, where they use the Metric System, the span is 82.14 meters. The towers are 59.43 meters. Navigational clearance 39.6 meters. And in both US-American and Terran reckoning, this thing weighs a whole heck of a lot!
I'd like for this bridge to be the official vertical lift railroad bridge of the Renderosity Ninjas (Photographic and Non-Photographic Ninjas alike.) You never know when a vertical lift railroad bridge might come in handy...and well...it's infinitely fun to photograph. I won't even begin to guess how many captures of it Corey and I got!
As always, thank you for viewing and reading and commenting; your views and comments always mean so much!
Comments (23)
bimm3d
interesting and wonderful photo!!!
auntietk
What a cool thing! You know, I've never seen one of these in operation. Must be fun to watch it work! That's what I want to shoot ... a series, as it raises and lowers. Yikes! That would be way fun!
kgb224
Majestic capture my friend.Thank you for sharing this picture and your thoughts my friend.
whaleman
More of Chicago! I love the reflections!
beachzz
i officially give this the title of "Official Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge Of The Renderosity Ninjas". It is so declared and by my order, I deem it to be. Go forth and create, Ninjas, seek out your subjects-- shoot them, paint them, render them. It is done.
billcody
Never seen a bridge construction like this before! Maybe there were bridges like this in Germany, too, they were smashed in Worldwar Ii and later replaced. This fine old buildings can be found in eastern Germany where they had no money to tear them down and replace them with new but faceless buildings. A wonderful catch! Old, rusty, but full of history!
Xantipa
Superb..good work ...so emotional..
Meisiekind
My oh my - what a fascinating contruction and your narrative, as always, mind blowingly fascinating! Great work Chip!
durleybeachbum
'Delivering Dental Equipment'! Is there something you've not told us? A most curious object, a real tribute to form and function.
ladyraven23452
you have a great eye for so meney things that we as people just let pass us by keep up the great work.
MrsRatbag
I like the industrial feel of this over the dark water; there's an air of bleakness about it that appeals to me. Well done!
bmac62
Oh, good. You said in a previous comment that you'd try for this photo. As you know, I by dumb luck got it too...but looking down from the 99th floor of the Willis (?) Tower...that just doesn't sound right but you know the spot:) You've become quite a Ninja yourself...you could have taken this with a wet suit on and your diving tanks on your back.
romanceworks
I like the look of this photo, as if taken years ago, and yet it is current. Interesting, along with your musings. CC
marybelgium
excellent !
tamburro
Amazing capture!!!!!!
MrsLubner
Coming from Cleveland I can say this has that same steel mill quality to it - the color, the textures, the oppressed nature of the area... a gritty feel to this! Excellent.
A_Joker_B
Top work!
blondeblurr
I am sure this would make a great addition, for any book of historical value, for future generations to drool about, when it is all said and done and a new Chicago will have emerged.(without the Frank Sinatra-feel to it, sorry I couldn't resist) Thanks for the metric conversion info, it helps! Beautiful reflections, disturbed only by the flow of the water... BB
mariogiannecchini
Struttura imponente , grande luce e bellissimi riflessi ! Un 'ottimo lavoro ! Imposing structure, great light and beautiful reflections! A great job!
helanker
OH! These rough constructions make me float back to my childhood. I lived not far from the big harbour of Copenhagen, at the time when there was a Really Harbour with alot of Very noicy Coal Cranes and other cranes. I can still hear them screem, when turning and see them far in the horizon as huge monsters against the sky. This is a great shot, Chipka and rather charming with the little wooden house on the bridge :-)
elfin14doaks
Ah yes then it shall be the Official vertical lift bridge of the Renderosity Ninjas. Now we all have to meet there to officiate it LOL. Oh yea then we have to have a celebration and then anniversaries..... this could be cool. You may be on to something here.
myrrhluz
It often amazes me how much beauty can be found in utilitarian, industrial buildings. Great capture here, of the symmetry, rustiness and looming nature of this bridge. The water softens it into a lovely wavy reflection. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing. There is great evidence in it, of the joy you two find in setting out exploring and capturing. Wonderful descriptions and social commentary.
KatesFriend
This is quite a sight. Hard to believe that his is within a major city like Chicago as it looks so very rural in some ways or perhaps overgrown is a better term. The house-like structure on top of the span is very intriguing. You're right, there is a simple brute force approach to this bridge. The rust though suggests that its useful life may be nearing its end as its owns don't seem to be much concerned about its slow erosion. I have to say that it is a long time since I've seen a lift bridge with my own eyes. Many of the ones in Ontario were torn down when I was a boy. There are some around the Welland Canal area. I suppose there was and is no alternative to them as the big ocean going vessels use that corridor to move from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. Ships which no doubt make their way to Chicago in due coarse.