Bridgehouse Museum Kicks Off 20th Anniversary Celebration

The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum launched its 20th anniversary celebration on June 4 with a special Happy Hour Speakers Series event that highlighted both the remarkable transformation of the Chicago-Calumet River system and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for its future.

More than 80 guests gathered on the museum's Riverwalk plaza for a discussion titled "Riverfronts of This Century," featuring Adam Flickinger, planning director at Friends of the Chicago River, and Richard Wilson, City Design Director with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Hosted by The Otter Society, Friends' premier member organization, the event explored how riverfronts continue to shape urban life and how Chicago can build upon decades of river restoration success.

While celebrating the river's dramatic recovery, Flickinger and Wilson emphasized that significant opportunities remain to revitalize riverfronts across the region by embracing five contemporary principles for waterfront design and planning.

These include:

  • Prioritizing nature and creating habitat that allows wildlife to thrive;
  • Addressing the growing impacts of climate change by capturing and cleaning stormwater before it reaches waterways;
  • Ensuring all communities have access to welcoming riverfront spaces;
  • Designing places that reflect the unique cultures, identities, and ecologies of surrounding neighborhoods; and
  • Creating riverfront destinations that inspire joy, beauty, play, and wonder.

The event marked the beginning of a summer-long celebration recognizing two decades of education, advocacy, and public engagement at one of Chicago's most unique cultural institutions.

Located inside the southwest bridgehouse of the DuSable Bridge at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River, the Bridgehouse Museum opened in June 2006 as one of the first attractions on the Riverwalk and has since welcomed more than 400,000 visitors from around the world. Occupying five floors within one of Chicago's iconic bridgehouses, the museum offers visitors a firsthand look at the engineering of a working movable bridge while telling the story of the Chicago-Calumet River system and its ongoing ecological recovery.

The museum stands as the cultural anchor of the Chicago Riverwalk. For many guests, it provides their first introduction to the river's transformation from an industrial waterway to a thriving urban ecosystem for people and wildlife.

The anniversary celebration continues June 25 with the next Happy Hour Speakers Series event, featuring Reuben Keller, PhD, who will present "Native and Invasive Crayfish of Chicago."

Special thanks to Goose Island Beer Co. and the Fletcher Family for sponsoring the series and making these programs possible.

Party and special event rentals are available all season long, and can be arranged by calling Josh Coles, museum director, at (312) 939-0490, ext. 28 or via email at jcoles@chicagoriver.org.

Guided tours of the museum are offered Wednesdays through Sundays from June through October at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. To reserve a tour, call (312) 977-0227.