A Freak Michigan Avenue Bridge Accident Occurred in Chicago on September 20, 1992.

The closure of the Michigan Avenue bridge threw a monkey wrench into downtown traffic on Monday, and there was little relief in sight. Mayor Richard M. Daley, who visited the scene, said he didn't know when the Bridge would reopen.

Meanwhile, crews planned to brace the southeast leaf of the span, one of four comprising the Bridge, to ensure it was stable enough to allow removal of debris.

The southeast leaf sprung open unexpectedly Sunday afternoon, sending a construction crane plummeting to the street and slightly injuring six people. The crane crashed through Michigan Avenue to Lower Michigan. The span rose so violently that it ripped off its structural mounts and twisted down and back into a concrete counterweight pit.

The Raised South Leaf of the Michigan Avenue Bridge in Chicago.

The Bridge has been undergoing a two-year reconstruction in a $31 million ($58 million today) project was scheduled for completion by late November. The southeast leaf was the last segment to be renewed.

Because of the work on the leaf and removal of some heavy steel, it has become unbalanced, officials said. But it was unknown how it became unlocked, permitting it to spring up.

Officials said a section of nearby Wacker Drive from Wabash to Stetson Avenues that was closed after the accident could reopen on Tuesday.

Jesus Lopez escaped serious injury Sunday when a leaf of the Michigan Avenue bridge suddenly sprang up, causing a 70-foot crane to come crashing to the street, damaging his car and others, and injuring six people.

"We were waiting for the bridge to come down so we could go back to work," said Lopez, a bridge maintenance worker. Lopez was parked on the south side of Wacker Drive, sitting in the driver's seat of his Ford Escort, when the southeast leaf of the Bridge unexpectedly rose, and the crane sitting on the Bridge came barreling down. Its cab became wedged in the gap between Wacker Drive and the Bridge. The boom, the crane's moveable post, toppled across Wacker Drive. Two traffic light poles, a crossing gate, and a Chicago police patrol car were damaged.

The huge iron ball and hook attachment to the end of the cable that runs along the boom bounced off the asphalt of Wacker Drive, leaving about a 4-inch crater and smashing through the rear driver's side window of Lopez's car, mangling the door, roof, read quarter panel and back seat.

"I guess I was just lucky," Lopez said, patting a silver cross that hung from his neck and trying to catch his breath. "I'm glad I wasn't sitting in the back seat."

The six who were injured were passengers on a CTA bus. All of them were treated for "bumps and bruises" at area hospitals and released. According to police, Michigan Avenue from Randolph Street to Ohio Street was closed to vehicle traffic.

The accident led to an acknowledgment on the part of the city that none of its inspectors had the experience or training to determine the proper balancing of weight on a bridge under construction.

The contracting team working on the Michigan Avenue bridge during the freak accident bears full responsibility for the costly mishap, experts hired by the city. The investigators exonerated the city bridgetender on the scene when the span's southeast section suddenly flew open. And on December 3, 1992, Chicago Transportation Commissioner J.F. Boyle Jr. asserted the man was "absolutely blameless."

The unnamed employee, a 12-year veteran, insisted to investigators that he did not activate the switch that normally operates a lock on the 1,700-ton bridge section. But even if he hit the switch inadvertently, the contractors were supposed to have disconnected it.

The three unsafe conditions were found by engineers included:

• Two locks-6 1/2-inch thick steel bars located under the rear of the leaf and designed to secure it in the "down" position were bent instead of straight, robbing them of strength.
• Motors that engage and disengage the locks were left fully operational.
• Electrical circuitry connecting lock motors with controls in the bridgetender's tower was fully connected, while safety features were bypassed.

Though the "unsafe construction procedures" set the stage for the accident, it had not been determined what actually triggered the Bridge's release. Possibilities include a structural failure of the rear locks or a mechanical or electrical disengagement of the locks. For the bridgetender to fully disengage the locks, he would have had to press control for eight seconds.

The investigation had gone to the point where they could go no further.

sidebar

The Michigan Avenue Bridge was renamed the "Du Sable Bridge" in October of 2010 to honor the "Father of Chicago," Jean Baptiste Pointe de Sable (the "du" of Pointe de Sable is a misnomer. It is an American corruption of "de" as pronounced in French. "Jean Baptiste Point du Sable" first appears long after his death) a French Haitian and the city's first non-native settler.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Train Runs Into Open Bridge on September 21, 1941; Engine Stops Short of Plunging into the Chicago River.

The Midnight Special, Chicago & Alton train to St. Louis, Missouri, carrying about 100 Pullman passengers, ran into an open bridge on Sunday, September 21, 1941, at 21st Street and the south branch of the Chicago River. The bridge had been opened to permit a freight boat to pass. There were automatic signal lights guarding the approaches to the bridge.

Nearly half of the locomotive went beyond the end of the bridge approach and slanted perilously over the water. Had it gone a few feet farther the engine would have fallen off the track and plunged into the river.

The train had left Union Station at 1 o'clock a.m. At about the same time a boat, tentatively identified as the Canadian freighter, "Lavaldoc," was clearing the railroad bridge, which is owned by the Pennsylvania system. The bridge was still raised as the Alton train approached. The engineer jammed on the brakes, and brought the train to a stop but not until the small front wheels and the first drive wheels had left the rail ends. No one was injured, police said. Four sleeper cars were detached and taken back to Union Station.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The History of the Morton House Restaurant that was in Morton Grove, Illinois.

The Morton House, formerly the "St. Cloud House" at Miller's Mill, had been thoroughly renovated and refurnished in 1869. They offered room and board for $5 per week and $6 for suites. The area attracted Roadhouses, pickle farms, and rose gardens.

The Morton House opened in October 1869 as a stagecoach stop and saloon (grocery). The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad track was laid through what would become the Village of Morton Grove in 1872. The whistle-stop (later station) at what had been Miller's Mill was named Morton Grove to honor one of the railroad's New York financiers, Levi Parsons Morton, who became the 22nd Vice President of the United States from 1889 to 1893 for President Benjamin Harrison. Morton Grove became well-known as a stagecoach stop. The village was formally incorporated as Morton Grove on December 24, 1895.

The little frame building grew with the railroad, adding more rooms. It had become a tradition with the Morton House (on today's Lincoln Avenue at Lehigh, just south of Dempster) that when the Milwaukee Road train would approach the crossing near the restaurant, the bartender would rush out with his lantern, signal the train to a stop and serve the engineer a beer. The practice continued for years until modern high-speed trains made it impossible.

In the U.S., during the 17th to 20th centuries, Saloons, Ordinaries, Taverns, Groceries, Public Houses (Pubs), Doggeries and Hotel Bars would issue tokens that could be used in payment for future drinks.

sidebar

How tokens worked. When buying a round of drinks for friends, the bartender would give a token to those patrons already having a drink and collect the full sum from the round-buyer. The owner would collect the money immediately, and the drinkers would have a token for later use. The token cost less to produce than the value of the drink, and there was a significant profit to the bar owner. Sometimes, people would take the tokens home and forget to bring them back, which was pure profit. This is why saloon owners loved tokens. They were found in virtually every drinking establishment. 

Tokens were also used as change when the price of a drink was odd. For example, in the frontier, drinks were two for a bit (25¢) or (12½¢) for one drink. Thus, tokens exist in one-bit denominations. Early tokens were usually made of brass or tin.

It has been an Inn, a country store, and an ice cream parlor through the years. In 1936, it was purchased by Emil and Otis Dohl and converted into a popular family-type restaurant serving German and American Fare. 

Dohl's Morton House, 6401 Lincoln at Lehigh, just south of Dempster.

The original frame house, a landmark in the northwest suburban community for over half a century, burned down in 1953. It was rebuilt and enlarged, opening on December 4, 1954.

Dohl's Morton House

The dining rooms just go on and on. 3 rooms seat about 25 people, each on the main floor. These could be closed into smaller spaces or opened to accommodate a large crown. They were entirely private for parties. Downstairs was the warm and attractive Anchorage room with a bar accommodating 125 persons. The main dining room could seat 275 diners.

Dohl's Morton House

Dohl's Morton House

Dohl's Morton House

When the Dohl family retired in 1968, the Morton House was sold to Ray Castro and Edison Dick, and considerable remodeling was done. They left the name of the restaurant, "The Morton House." 

In April of 1970, Dohl's Morton House was acquired by the famous Jacques French Restaurant, 900 N Michigan Avenue, Chicago. They kept the Dohl name.

In June 1972, the Hoffman Brothers, Kenneth & Howard, lifetime residents of Morton Grove, purchased the restaurant. In 1975, Hoffman's remodeled the restaurant. Incidentally, as a Morton Grove fireman, Howard Hoffman was one of the men who fought the Morton House fire in 1953.

Hoffman's Morton House - Copper Hooded Fireplace Dining Room.

Hoffman's Morton House became famous for its tableside Chateaubriand service.

The 1973–1975 recession differed from many previous recessions where high unemployment and high inflation existed simultaneously and took about 5 years to recover. Restaurant operators began cutting corners to try to keep prices down. It was soup or salad at the Morton House, not soup and salad.

Hoffman's Morton House hosted the Fourth Annual Morton Grove Oktoberfest on September 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, and 26, 1976. The flexible walls of a giant tent adjoining Hoffman's Morton House will shake with the nightly musical performances, Yodelers, sing-alongs, dancing, and more.

Howard Hoffman died at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston on July 17, 1985.

The restaurant property was sold, and the equipment and fixtures were auctioned off on March 7, 1991. It's the end of a 122-year legacy.

The Grand Opening of the new Morton House Condominiums happened on January 02, 1993. For $161,900 to $189,900 ($393.000 in 2023), you get a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, in-unit laundry, elevators, and heated parking.

VISIT OUR DOHL'S MORTON HOUSE SOUVENIR SHOP

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

---

On Sunday, March 12, 2023, I received this email with a picture regarding the Morton House Restaurant:

I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed reading your March 28, 2021, article about "The History of the Morton House Restaurant that was in Morton Grove, Illinois."

My great-great-grandfather was Frank Navroth, who immigrated from Germany around 1879 and settled in Cook County, Illinois. I was researching my family tree and only had a note that said Frank Navroth had opened a pub. 

I came across the Friday, June 3, 1921 edition of The Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois) that mentioned Mrs. Fred Egloff, who was formerly Miss Navroth from Morton Grove and whose father conducted the business, now the Morton House. With this bit of information, I was able to locate your article.

I recently came across another distant cousin who shared the attached picture of the Morton House, which shows Frank Navroth, second from the right holding up a beer stein. In the background on the right, you can see part of a painted sign that read: "Frank Navroths Grove"

Julia (Kluge) Navroth is holding a baby in front of the open door. Cecilia (Navroth) Egloff stands next to Julia on her left. Kate (Navroth) Ruitno stands on the right next to the group of children. 

C. Peppel