Detail of railing along Ogden viaduct. Note the use of
the Municipal Device "Y"s as decoration. Image © Ron
Schramm 1992.

Ogden was removed north of North avenue in 1967. Severing the connection between Lake Shore Drive and the interstate system, the massive viaduct was left to carry sparse traffic through an area few wanted to traverse. In 1958, fifteen public housing buildings of seven, ten, and nineteen stories were constructed at Division and Sedgwick streets. Another eight buildings were added to the complex, fifteen and sixteen stories tall, in 1962. The 1962 addition was situated east of Ogden on the north side of Division, extending east toward previous public housing efforts.

These highrises, known as Cabrini-Green, were comprised largely of poor African-Americans and early on were plagued by crime, drug, and high-vacancy problems. The hopelessness and poverty that came to be associated with this area were a far cry from the ideal that Lincoln Park community leaders were trying to achieve. As writer Greg Beaubien puts it, the removal of Ogden "created a barrier at North Avenue between elite wealth in the Triangle District and crushing poverty around Cabrini-Green." Lincoln Park and Old Town had been successfully isolated by the removal of Ogden Avenue. The Near West side would follow.

Halsted Street looking north. The photo was taken just south of the Halsted/Division intersection, near the viaduct's west staircase. A detail of the intersection is shown at right. Images © Ron Schramm 1992.

View of Division/Halsted intersection, facing east on Division. The Green extension high-rises are seen clearly. Detail at right shows east staircase. Images © Ron Schramm 1992.

In 1983, Ogden avenue was closed between Clybourn and and North avenues. A baseball field for the Metro-North Career High School was built over the street.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey or Historic American Engineering Record, HAER ILL, 16-CHIG, 148-1. Aerial photograph of Division and Halsted, 1999. Ogden's path is clearly visible. The area south of Clybourn has since been developed with low-density housing.

In 1989 the city began a study to evaluate a number of things about the viaduct section of Ogden and surrounding streets. The main goal of the survey, which was completed in 1992, was to determine whether or not to remove the viaduct or rehabilitate and restore it. Five different considerations were made in the survey.

1)Data was collected regarding the trip purpose and destination of vehicles using the viaduct. This was done by collecting license plate numbers and mailing surveys to those drivers. The drivers were also asked what alternate route they would take if the viaduct were to be removed. In addition to the driver survey, traffic counts were done during peak travel hours.
2)Using the driver survey data, the authors of the study determined what impact the re-distribution of traffic would have on the remaining streets if the viaduct were to be removed. The direction and density of traffic were both considered.
3)Capacity of critical intersections was analyzed to evaluate future improvements.
4)Future conditions of land use were taken into account.
5) Cost estimates of both alternatives were compared.

The streets that were included in the study are; Halsted, Division, Milwaukee, Clybourn, Elston, Larrabee, Chicago, and North. Each street is classified according to its traffic count and status within the Strategic Regional Arterial System. Streets are grouped into one of four different classifications. A principal arterial street is federally funded and carries a minimum of 15,000 vehicles daily. These streets are intended to supplement freeway systems and carry regional traffic for trips 10 miles or longer. North and Halsted are the principal arterials in this study. Minor arterials are also federally funded, and carry around 15,000 vehicles daily, more or less. Rather than serve long term trips, minor arterials are designed to augment the principal arterial streets. Chicago and Ashland are minor arterials. The remainder of the streets listed earlier are classified as collector streets. Their function is to provide land access and distribute traffic from arterials to the lowest classification, local streets. Collector streets may be federally funded. Ogden Avenue, because of its low traffic count, around 8,000 daily at the time of this study, was classified as a collector street. In comparison, the busiest street in the study, North Avenue, carried 32,000 vehicles daily.

Bridge houses. Note the graffiti on the one at right. Images © Ron Schramm 1992.

Surveys were conducted during peak A.M. and P.M. hours in October 1989, and again in 1990. The two hours when the study was conducted were 7-8 A.M. and 4-5 P.M. The viaduct carried 890 vehicles in the A.M. hour and 870 in the P.M. Hour. Ninety percent of the vehicles using the viaduct were automobiles, only 5% were trucks. Eighty five to ninety percent of drivers surveyed lived in Chicago and were traveling to a destination within Chicago. The purpose of trips over the viaduct during rush hours was mostly (85%) for work-related activities. One third of the work related travel was bound for the Medical Center area.

The study falls very short in considering existing and future land use. It focuses solely on Goose Island as a planned industrial district, 30% of which was vacant at the time. The study assumes that this land will be occupied with similar density industrial use in the future, and generate another 2,000 trips daily. Of the three major streets traversing Goose Island, the study predicted Halsted and Division would pick up another 2,000 trips each by 2010, while Ogden, with the viaduct, would only pick up 1,000. This seems difficult to believe, as Ogden was twice as wide as both of those streets, far better suited to carry industrial traffic. This is only a minor issue, as those predictions were not made solely about Goose Island. The problem is that Goose Island is the only region to have its land use considered in the study. Lincoln Park by 1990 had undergone a process of gentrification in the twenty previous years. This process did not stop in 1990, but it seems to have been omitted in the study. The amount of traffic in Lincoln Park in 2007 is greater than this study estimated.

The roadbed of the viaduct over Goose Island, facing east with the Cabrini-Green highrises prominently visible. The Hickory Street ramp is behind the building in the left image. The level of disrepair is evident. Images © Ron Schramm 1992.

Another aspect of this study that makes little sense is the preference given to Halsted Street as a principal arterial. Streets of this classification are intended to serve long term trips. Halsted, from its beginning at Grace Street south to the Eisenhower Expressway (and beyond), is quite narrow. Additionally, it traverses a very dense area and features at least three troublesome bottlenecks. The Ogden viaduct was constructed for through traffic to avoid streets like Halsted. The idea that Halsted be preferred is absurd.

All said, the truly telling portion of the study are the cost estimates. The estimate for demolition was $14 million while the estimate for rehabilitation was $39 million. Rehabilitation would have entailed replacement of the bridge deck ($13.5 million), replacement of the electrical system for the bridges ($2.5) million, and repairs to both bascule bridges ($14 million). The rehabilitation cost estimates seem inflated. The idea that the replacement of the bridge deck would be equivalent to the cost to demolish the entire structure seems incorrect. Worse, the study assumes that both bascule bridges need to be fully operational. The Chicago river forks around Goose Island, but only one section at best needs to be passable for larger vessels. One of the bridges could have been turned into a fixed bridge, greatly reducing costs. The study does not even address the necessity for passability under the bridges. The Chicago River had seen a major decline in heavy traffic as far north as Goose Island by 1990. Perhaps both bridges could have been fixed, perhaps not, the point is that no such alternatives were considered. The conclusion of the study was to remove the viaduct.

Left: The south entrance to the viaduct just after it was closed. Image © Ron Schramm 1992. Right: Roughly the same scene in 2007.

On Tuesday, March 24, 1992, the Bridge Maintenance division of the Department of Transportation received an emergency call. Pieces of concrete were reportedly falling from the viaduct near the intersection of Halsted and Division. The viaduct was immediately closed and tradesmen began scaling remaining pieces of loose concrete. During this process, workers were fired upon from the nearby Cabrini-Green high rises. This was not the first time City workers had been shot at from these projects. A proposal was set forth to remove the northern viaduct entrance from Evergreen Street and a portion of the viaduct extending south to the river.

At the time of closure, the structure was reported to be in very poor condition. The roadbed suffered from deep cracks and holes, in addition to the falling concrete. The closure was discussed with property owners in the area and the local alderman, who agreed the viaduct should be removed immediately. Inter-office correspondence between City officials and engineers reflects the same attitude, that the viaduct was useless and should be removed. Then Acting Commissioner of the Department of Planning, Valerie Jarrett, states the apparent uselessness of the viaduct quite well. "The role of Ogden Avenue as a primary transportation route between the North and West sides of the City diminished significantly following the construction of the City's extensive expressway system." She goes on to state the usefulness of the route was even further diminished when Ogden was removed north of Clybourn avenue, when Metro-North Career Academy's baseball diamond was constructed over the right of way. The Hickory Street ramp, Ogden's only connection to Goose Island was closed in 1988, she also notes. The viaduct, she states, "is perceived by area companies as a safety hazard and visual detriment to the industrial marketability of Goose Island." Demolition began in March 1992, and the entire viaduct had been removed by 1993.

Demolition of the viaduct in progress. Images © Ron Schramm 1992.

As of this writing, Ogden avenue dead-ends before the Chicago river. South of the river to its old terminus at Randolph street, evidence of arguments made against it in Lincoln Park can still be seen. There are a large number of bad intersections with little concrete triangles, and very few good-looking buildings front on to the street. The extension, though a good idea, was not planned well. If intersections had been reconfigured at the beginning, and enough space had been made for retail establishments to front on the street, it may have survived. However, so many mistakes were made in planning and execution, that no other outcome seems feasible.

Half of the eastern bridge deck during demolition. Image © Ron Schramm 1992.

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