Chicago River bridges /

Windy City-based writer and businessman McBriarty offers a coffee table-sized guide to more than 170 bridges across the three branches of the navigable portions of the Chicago River (the Main Channel, South Branch, and North Branch). These divide the metropolis into northern, southern, and western sections. Color photos by Kevin Keeley and Laura Banick of extant spans contrast with black-and-white pictures of former bridges, most matter-of-factly designated by their locations (bearing avenue, drive, or street in their names.) The book provides opening dates; types (fixed, pontoon or pivot swing, rolling-lifts or other drawbridges); designers (if known); costs; and current status--all in easily read horizontal grids. The text supplies engineering details (often enhanced by design drawings), historical highlights, and occasional anecdotes. Even frequent visitors to the city will learn that not all Chicago over-water overpasses are of the iconic bascule drawbridge type (though they are the most prevalent, and Chicago has more drawbridges than any other city in the world).From its first causeway in 1832 (and its first movable bridge in 1834), Chicago's spans have run the gamut from basic functionality to industrial, architectural splendor in keeping with local building traditions. This meticulously researched compendium of the city's bridges over the Chicago River covers what the author indicates it will. McBriarty states that he does not include Calumet River, canal, or railroad bridges (though he hopes that a subsequent volume will.) The scholarly apparatus, which includes a glossary, will please both scholars and amateur enthusiasts. Comparable studies are Chicago's Bridges, by Nathan Holth (2012); the Chicago Department of Public Works-produced Chicago Bridges, by Joan E. Draper and Naomi Donson (1984); and the 2013 documentary film Chicago Drawbridges, which McBriarty coproduced with Stephen Hatch. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. F. J. Augustyn Jr. Library of Congress

McBriarty, a former businessman and consultant, documents the bridges that have spanned the Chicago River (located in the city's downtown area). He reviews 55 bridge locations and lists over 200 bridges built from 1832 to 2012. The introduction provides a history of the use of Chicago's waterways and the history of transportation in the surrounding area. Each bridge location is described with a street address, historical highlights that often include mishaps associated with the bridge, and color and black-and-white photographs or drawings. Details about each structure include the year the bridge was built, its type, design and construction companies, cost, and the bridge's current status (date of removal or still in use). Though this title is described as a "guide book," it's a large hardback art book, which many would find awkward to travel with while visiting the bridges. As a history and reference work, however, it does not disappoint. VERDICT For readers who are interested in bridge construction and history. This work will also find an audience in those who enjoy Chicago's history and architecture.-Valerie Nye, Coll. of Santa Fe, NM (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.