The Friday Flashback: Bridges Over Bubbly Creek

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 11, 2008 3:30PM

There are sixty bridges spanning the Chicago River throughout the city, as we found out last month at the annual B News neighborhood pub quiz. We know about the larger bridges downtown, and we stop to stare at them when the spans are raised to allow boats to pass. However, the majority of bridges spanning the river are smaller ones allowing traffic to pass between neighborhoods. We tend to overlook those bridges. This is one of them.

You're looking at the 35th Street Bridge in 1911, during the height of the stockyards boom. The bridge connected Bridgeport with neighboring McKinley Park to the west. It also spans the infamous Bubbly Creek. Today the only slaughterhouse still in operation is Chiappetti Lamb and Veal; if that name sounds familiar it's because Steve Chiappetti, whose family is behind the company, is also the chef at Viand.

The area around Bubbly Creek is also home to the massive Bridgeport Village townhome complex. Bridgeport and McKinley Park are both hot residential destinations, with property values and construction thriving.

Just don't swim in the water.

DN-0056538, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.