North Meets South, Spanning the Chicago River

As an element of Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago, the Michigan Avenue Bridge was to serve as an extension of the city's already burgeoning Michigan Avenue business district. Burnhams's plan for the bridge even included a lower level to manage commercial traffic. The Michigan Avenue Bridge, modeled after the Seine Bridge in Paris, was completed in 1920 and provided a necessary link to Chicago's continuing economic success. The bridge connected the busy south Michigan Avenue to what was once known as Pine Street, thus making the city's North and Northeast sides more accessible to the rest of the city. This continuous thoroughfare quickly gave rise to such landmarks as the Tribune Tower, Wrigley Building, Drake Hotel and the Palmolive Building. In 1991 the bridge was designated a Chicago landmark by the Commission of Chicago Landmarks.