Little House on the Bridge by Chipka
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
A few weeks ago, Corey and I went wandering around Chicago's Chinatown. We took pictures. We had lunch in an oddly comforting local'srestaurant that had the look and feel of an authentic Communist cafeteria, complete with cheap furnishings, plastic chopsticks and the sing-song cadence of Cantonese meandering through the air. As that day aged, we went in search of the metallic enigma that had haunted us (in different ways) over a long span of years. I remember seeing those imposing bridge towers for at least a decade, and for a decade, never associating them with something I could see up close.
As we left the tourist-core of Chinatown (you'll be seeing more pictures from that day later) we meandered through an intriguing array of cul-de-sacs, until we entered a park that bordered the Chicago River's south branch. It was there that we found our most illusive quarry. At the time, neither of us knew that it was the Canal Street Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge, though we were right in our guess that Amtrak made extensive use of the structure. An actual Amtrak train was our first clue.
The bridge, as a whole is incredibly fascinating! I love its twin towers, angled strangely so that a photographer can never actually capture them head on. (You have to be lashed to the front of a train, like some strange mast-head/hood ornament to get that shot.) But there are so many other details. The most intriguing of these details, for me, is the strange little house perched on top of the bridge span. It might be a wheel house, a cable house, or some such utilitarian structure. It might even be the house where the bridge captain (is that what those guys are called?) might live while he's on duty. Who knows? I'm sure someone does, but knowing isn't such a necessity. I simply like the diminutive little house, constructed of rusty, corrugated metal, and stained by now-erased tags of graffiti. Of course, now I wonder who put those graffiti tags there, and who got the lucky job of removing them?
For two other views of this bridge, you can check out my first post of this bridge HERE.
And for CoreyBlack's moody take on the same bridge, you can click RIGHT HERE.
As always, thank you for viewing and reading and commenting, and hopefully you're all having a great start to the week.
Comments (22)
Awesome shot, Never been to china town, your very lucky :)
I love these railroad bridges too; your shot is moody in its own right, almost the same mood as the railroad bridge at the locks (where I went last Saturday on an ill-advised shoot--freezing cold, raining and windy!) This looks a bit warmer, though. Great capture!
interesting structure
Great picture
fascinating...
Very nicely captured!!
You found a fantastic place to stand and observe this old bridge! Well, several places, actually. This gives a real sense of the wheel-house (or whatever). Excellent work!
Excellent image of the bridge and worn little house Chip! It certainly tells a story my friend!!! Love the angle! :)
When I was a kid, our draw bridge had a tiny bridge tender's shack. It was the only way on or off the island and boats had the right of way in those days. Wonderful capture with the rocks and trees in the foreground. Thanks for the memory. Dana
Great picture!
I gotta say I really look forward to seeing your photography. You always seem to choose the most amazing scenes to shoot.
Yes that is fascinating to see a little house there :-) I think I saw it on your first shot. I thought it was made of wood then, but I see now it is of matal and that is also a bit more logic. LOL ! What a marvellous find and capture.
As always another amazing capture my friend.Thanks for your kind comments on my uploads.
Maybe the bridge troll lives there, though I think it might be too big a house for him. I love this shot, with the POV, and the trees and the grass in the foreground--just makes it all the better!!
Really interesting, and a great pic!
love these industrial monuments
Superb shot!
Wonderful image!!!!!! Great shot!!!!
love the shot.
How fascinating, what ever it is used for. Wow it must get cold there on that bridge in the winter.. Nice story..
I really like this shot! The cloudy day, the rusty metal, the fascinating little house, the wonderful geometric shapes, the two huge fans that at first looked like mini Volkswagens (Which would have been an interesting puzzle), the boats and their reflections, the sign "No Wake" (Nautical term?) and the masts showing through the bridge. I like this a lot! Wonderful narrative! Thanks for the links!
Great shot of an interesting and unusual subject! That bridge is really neat. I've been to Chicago a couple times, but never had an opportunity to wander about. I must put it on my list of things to do. Well done!