Bridge Named After Victim of Fatal Automobile Accident, Harvey Gordon Clark Bridge, Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois

Designed & built in 1895 by Charles L. Strobel who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1852 & Daniel H. Burnham who was born in Henderson, New York in 1846 the Jackson Park Lagoon Bridge was built just after the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Jackson Park Lagoon Bridge is 46 feet long and spans the Jackson Park Lagoon on South Lake Shore Drive.

Designer/builder Charles L. Strobel was first employed in his home town of Cincinnati with the Cincinnati Southern Railway Company where he was assistant to the chief engineer from 1874-1878. While there he co-designed the Cincinnati Southern Bridge in 1875 with the substructure still standing today and he co-designed the Kentucky River High Bridge which also is still standing and in use. Daniel H. Burnham also designed many famous buildings around the world including the Flatiron Building in New York and the Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Back to the Jackson Park Lagoon Bridge, which was rehabbed in 1995 and again in 2004 when a north approach was added. When this was filmed in July 2022, more work was being done on the bridge as the siderails were beginning to crumble.

Boat traffic under the bridge, to and from the 59th Street Harbor, is controlled by a traffic signal.

In 1991 Chicago resident Harvey Gordon Clark lost his life in an automobile accident near the intersection of 59th Street and Lake Shore Drive. After his death, a concrete barrier was installed to keep the north and southbound lanes separate. In addition, the bridge was renamed the Harvey Clark Bridge in his honor and plaques were installed on the bridge commemorating the renaming of the bridge.

GPS Location: 41º47’17.7″N 87º34’40.3″W