"Double Dog Dare"
My family moved to Hinsdale around 1950 (404 E. First St.). My brother and I would play around the bridge and watch for the smoke that indicated a steam train was coming from Chicago - there were still a few on the CB&Q then. The "double dog dare" was to see who could stay on the bridge when the locomotive went under. I'm not sure I ever worked up the nerve - but watching the trains was great fun!
~John
My family moved to Hinsdale around 1950 (404 E. First St.). My brother and I would play around the bridge and watch for the smoke that indicated a steam train was coming from Chicago - there were still a few on the CB&Q then. The "double dog dare" was to see who could stay on the bridge when the locomotive went under. I'm not sure I ever worked up the nerve - but watching the trains was great fun!
~John
"A Grandchild"
On December 11, 1989 I had a new grandchild born at Hinsdale Hospital. I lived at 802 S Clay and I took my 2 year old grandson in the stroller to the hospital to see his new brother. I bundled him up and I walked to Oak street and I was going to push the stroller over the bridge. Well it was all ice and very cold. I decided instead of going all the way around to Garfield (no cell phones) and back I would leave the stroller in the front yard of the house on Oak and carry him in my arms over the bridge. Needless to say it was a very scary walk and when I got in the hospital I had to sit in the lobby and warm him up before I took him upstairs. My son would have felt his cheeks and never allowed me to be in charge again. We picked the stroller up and we were driven home by my son. I will never forget the experience and will always remember the bridge.
~Mary
On December 11, 1989 I had a new grandchild born at Hinsdale Hospital. I lived at 802 S Clay and I took my 2 year old grandson in the stroller to the hospital to see his new brother. I bundled him up and I walked to Oak street and I was going to push the stroller over the bridge. Well it was all ice and very cold. I decided instead of going all the way around to Garfield (no cell phones) and back I would leave the stroller in the front yard of the house on Oak and carry him in my arms over the bridge. Needless to say it was a very scary walk and when I got in the hospital I had to sit in the lobby and warm him up before I took him upstairs. My son would have felt his cheeks and never allowed me to be in charge again. We picked the stroller up and we were driven home by my son. I will never forget the experience and will always remember the bridge.
~Mary
"A Baby!"
I have lived in Hinsdale for 38 years, 20 of it on the north side of the bridge and 18 on the south side. I loved that old, rickety bridge and was proud of the skills I honed over the years to enable me to take a running start and get over the bridge when it was covered in ice or snow.
I was a labor and delivery nurse at Hinsdale Hospital for 20 years and I will never forget our ‘laboring mother on the bridge’ story.
It was early evening - the usual time of the stall at the bridge when everything comes to a standstill for a while - about 5 or 5:30 pm. One of our patients was in the car with her husband on the south side of the bridge, waiting, in vain, to cross the bridge. This was not her first baby and she was in active labor. Pain or no pain, she realized if she sat there much longer she would have the baby in the car. So.. she got out of the car and WALKED over the bridge and into the hospital. Husband is still waiting to get over that bridge. She delivered within several minutes of arriving in Labor and Delivery. Her husband ran in just as the baby was delivering. I know they will never forget that bridge and the part it played in the story of their delivery.
~Shirley
I have lived in Hinsdale for 38 years, 20 of it on the north side of the bridge and 18 on the south side. I loved that old, rickety bridge and was proud of the skills I honed over the years to enable me to take a running start and get over the bridge when it was covered in ice or snow.
I was a labor and delivery nurse at Hinsdale Hospital for 20 years and I will never forget our ‘laboring mother on the bridge’ story.
It was early evening - the usual time of the stall at the bridge when everything comes to a standstill for a while - about 5 or 5:30 pm. One of our patients was in the car with her husband on the south side of the bridge, waiting, in vain, to cross the bridge. This was not her first baby and she was in active labor. Pain or no pain, she realized if she sat there much longer she would have the baby in the car. So.. she got out of the car and WALKED over the bridge and into the hospital. Husband is still waiting to get over that bridge. She delivered within several minutes of arriving in Labor and Delivery. Her husband ran in just as the baby was delivering. I know they will never forget that bridge and the part it played in the story of their delivery.
~Shirley
"Bridge was a Part of my Childhood"
I was born and raised in Downers Grove, but my grandparents lived in Western Springs. Both my younger brother and I were, and still are to this day huge train geeks, and as you are well aware, the BNSF Railway runs right through both of those towns. My Dad would take my brother and I to go visit our grandparents, and then on our way back to Downers Grove, we would drive through Hinsdale, just so that we could go over that bridge and look for trains. Then, on nicer days, we would park the car and get out. We would walk up to the bridge and stand up there (on the pedestrian side ) and watch the traffic go by and watch the trains fly by underneath us. Then we would spend time in the neighboring park throwing a frisbee around and watching the trains go by. On really nice days we would pack a picnic lunch and spend hours there. It's strange, because it's almost like that park and that bridge were a part of my childhood. They were places where I spent time as a youth and those memories are burned into my psyche. Then, as an adult, I took up photography as a hobby, and partnered that hobby along with my love for trains. I stood on top of that bridge many times taking pictures of trains, and I have quite a few great pictures from that spot. There was just something about this bridge. I know it sounds strange to have such strong feelings about an inanimate object, but as I mentioned, I feel like that bridge was part of my childhood, and I am sad to see it go. It had charm, it had character. And those traffic lights on either side... it just added to the charm. Especially the one on the north side across from the hospital that was leaning at a 30 degree angle - it looked like at any minute it was going to fall over and roll down the embankment onto the tracks!
~Michael
I was born and raised in Downers Grove, but my grandparents lived in Western Springs. Both my younger brother and I were, and still are to this day huge train geeks, and as you are well aware, the BNSF Railway runs right through both of those towns. My Dad would take my brother and I to go visit our grandparents, and then on our way back to Downers Grove, we would drive through Hinsdale, just so that we could go over that bridge and look for trains. Then, on nicer days, we would park the car and get out. We would walk up to the bridge and stand up there (on the pedestrian side ) and watch the traffic go by and watch the trains fly by underneath us. Then we would spend time in the neighboring park throwing a frisbee around and watching the trains go by. On really nice days we would pack a picnic lunch and spend hours there. It's strange, because it's almost like that park and that bridge were a part of my childhood. They were places where I spent time as a youth and those memories are burned into my psyche. Then, as an adult, I took up photography as a hobby, and partnered that hobby along with my love for trains. I stood on top of that bridge many times taking pictures of trains, and I have quite a few great pictures from that spot. There was just something about this bridge. I know it sounds strange to have such strong feelings about an inanimate object, but as I mentioned, I feel like that bridge was part of my childhood, and I am sad to see it go. It had charm, it had character. And those traffic lights on either side... it just added to the charm. Especially the one on the north side across from the hospital that was leaning at a 30 degree angle - it looked like at any minute it was going to fall over and roll down the embankment onto the tracks!
~Michael
"Oak Street Bridge Photos"
Photos courtesy of Michael C. Brown, Jr.
https://flic.kr/p/963vvF
https://flic.kr/p/8MJzwR
https://flic.kr/p/6GCDQu
https://flic.kr/p/6arSNU
https://flic.kr/p/8TVpNA
https://flic.kr/p/6anJKr
Photos courtesy of Michael C. Brown, Jr.
https://flic.kr/p/963vvF
https://flic.kr/p/8MJzwR
https://flic.kr/p/6GCDQu
https://flic.kr/p/6arSNU
https://flic.kr/p/8TVpNA
https://flic.kr/p/6anJKr
"Spooky Bridge"
As long time residence, the Linda McElherne family had crossed the old Oak Street Bridge many times. It was the shortcut through the Village since my children were the tiniest, and were seated in infant and toddler car seats. However, my oldest son, James, (nicknamed ‘Jamie’) never enjoyed crossing the century-old frame structure, and so by the age of three he had christened it with the title, “Spooky Bridge.” His three siblings and I soon followed in unison, and for all the years that followed, the bridge kept that name in our family travels.
Years later, as an art teacher I gave my middle school students the opportunity to select a bridge to engage in engineering concepts, drawing, and color enhancement. Independently, the students could select any noteworthy bridge from the Chicago area. To my delight, I would learn that a few other local families, too, had dubbed Oak Street Bridge as “Spooky Bridge.” And affectionately, those students selected it to study its construction, form, and color carefully.
~Linda
As long time residence, the Linda McElherne family had crossed the old Oak Street Bridge many times. It was the shortcut through the Village since my children were the tiniest, and were seated in infant and toddler car seats. However, my oldest son, James, (nicknamed ‘Jamie’) never enjoyed crossing the century-old frame structure, and so by the age of three he had christened it with the title, “Spooky Bridge.” His three siblings and I soon followed in unison, and for all the years that followed, the bridge kept that name in our family travels.
Years later, as an art teacher I gave my middle school students the opportunity to select a bridge to engage in engineering concepts, drawing, and color enhancement. Independently, the students could select any noteworthy bridge from the Chicago area. To my delight, I would learn that a few other local families, too, had dubbed Oak Street Bridge as “Spooky Bridge.” And affectionately, those students selected it to study its construction, form, and color carefully.
~Linda
"The Magic Bridge"
In the late 1960s my family went often to visit my sick grandmother in "Hinsdale San" (now Adventist Hinsdale Hospital). During breaks outdoors for fresh air, we often walked to see the bridge, which was fascinating to my older sister and me because of the stoplights. To my four year old understanding, the only way one light could be red and the other green at the same time was that it was magic! To this day, we still call it "The Magic Bridge".
~Karla
In the late 1960s my family went often to visit my sick grandmother in "Hinsdale San" (now Adventist Hinsdale Hospital). During breaks outdoors for fresh air, we often walked to see the bridge, which was fascinating to my older sister and me because of the stoplights. To my four year old understanding, the only way one light could be red and the other green at the same time was that it was magic! To this day, we still call it "The Magic Bridge".
~Karla
"Final Drive"
Video courtesy of Real Housewives of Hinsdale
Video courtesy of Real Housewives of Hinsdale
"Oak Street Bridge Photos"
Photos courtesy of Jim Slonoff
"My First Trip Over the new Oak Street Bridge"
Photos courtesy of Sara Clarkson
"My First Drive over the new Oak Street Bridge"
Video courtesy of Ronald Marcin-taken Dec. 1 shortly after the bridge opened to the public