Franklin Street Bridge, Bascule bridge in Chicago, United States.
Franklin Street Bridge is a bascule bridge over the Chicago River, linking the Near North Side to The Loop. It carries four lanes of northbound traffic and has sidewalks on both sides for pedestrians.
The bridge was built by the Ketler-Elliott Company and opened in October 1920, when the city was expanding its downtown road network. It was considered one of the most advanced crossings in Chicago at the time of its opening.
The bridge sits within the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, a protected area along historic waterways. Walking across it, you can see how the Chicago River still shapes the daily flow of the city around it.
Pedestrians can use the sidewalks on either side and will find the crossing most comfortable outside the morning and evening rush hours. Both riverbanks nearby offer a good angle to observe the bridge structure from below.
The bridge was used as a filming location for Batman Begins in 2005, standing in for part of the fictional Gotham City. Visitors who know the film can spot some of the same angles from the riverbank that appeared on screen.
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