This is a presentation I made at a "Lunch and Learn" session sponsored by the Friends of the Chicago River on 9/16/2010. The venue was the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum in the SW bridgehouse of the N. Michigan Ave. bridgehouse. If you are unfamiliar with this museum, I would encourage you to visit. You can learn the amazing history of the Chicago River and see the inside of a bridgehouse - from the gear room to the top floor w/ the magnificent views of the river and the neighboring bridges.

The presentation tells the story of the evolution of river crossings in Chicago. The focus of my research has been on the 18 bridges from N. Lake Shore Dr. to W. Van Buren St. While many of my comments are general, the context of my discussion is the main stem and south branch of the Chicago River between these two crossings.