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| Historic bridge is back into the swing of things | |
| Dec 26, 2007 | |
| Susan Kuczka, Staff Reporter skuczka@tribune.com | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Pertains to Skokie Valley Bike Path, Skokie River, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff | |
| Buildings designed by legendary architect Howard Van Doren Shaw near the turn of the 20th Century are treasured by preservationists nationwide and locally -- from the University of Chicago's Quadrangle Club in Hyde Park to Market Square in Lake Forest. Just as precious to members of the Lake Forest Open Lands Association is a swinging bridge over the Skokie River that Shaw built more than a century ago behind his summer home on Green Bay Road in the North Shore suburb. His original structure was replaced in the 1940s, but the newer incarnations have still been a favorite of visitors. "The swinging bridge is probably the most beloved structure we own," said Loren Dixon, associate director of Open Lands, which recently invested $15,000 to have the 50-foot pedestrian path rebuilt before it crumbled from stream bank erosion. "We had to close it for a year while we tried to raise funds to restore it, and everyone kept asking when it would be reopened," she said. The bridge was originally built behind Shaw's home out of pieces of iron scrap metal. The architect's family replaced it with a wood, swinging bridge. Then his descendants donated it to Open Lands in the 1970s along with close to 50 acres that are considered one of the state's most pristine examples of pre-settlement prairie. The Shaw property abuts another 75 acres that are part of the Skokie River Nature Preserve, one of Open Lands' most popular spots among its 800 total acres. The swinging bridge, made of wood slats secured underneath by steel-coated cables and steel-reinforced concrete pylons, moves up and down as people use it to cross the Skokie River, a channel that connects to the north branch of the Chicago River. "You feel like a kid when you go over it," said Ryan London, a restoration ecologist with Open Lands. Two Open Lands supporters -- Dan Rogers III of Rogers Nursery Inc. near Lake Bluff and landscape architect Stephen Christy -- designed and built the new 5-foot wide bridge. Rogers' late father had worked on a similar restoration of the swinging bridge in the 1980s, his son said. "It has a little extra special meaning to me, and it came out great," Rogers said. Gay Georgi and Cathie Denckla, two regular visitors to the preserve, said they were glad to see the bridge back in operation. "It makes for a much nicer walk," Denckla said. |
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