McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum - Museum in Chicago - 99 Chicago Riverwalk, USA

Wonderful gem of a museum. See the bridge mechanism and 5 floors of the tower full of river and water related history. Most excellent. It is free, so pay it forward and donate a few bucks.

Interesting little museum that gives you some insight into the development and reclamation of the river and an up close look at the bridge machinery. A very worthwhile 30 - 40 minutes (if you read everything!)

I mean why wouldn't you want to see the inside of a Chicago river bridge house? The museum is the bonus. If you are on the Riverwalk and the museum is open you should do this. Just remember that there is no elevator and it's mostly a stairwell kind of thing.

Vertical history at its finest. Take a trip from the stygian depths of the gear room, where the massive counterweight sits poised to descend below the waters of the Chicago river, to 5 stories above. A history of the development of Chicago from water level is delivered via pithy quotes from contemporary visitors to the boggy swamps that were soon supplanted by the developing and drier city reaching for the skies. It's a vertical museum and the space is limited. There are a lot of stairs. The surprising views from the tiny windows throughout are a delight.

It’s cheap and quick, but not very exciting to be honest. As you walk through the tower, you see a lack of maintenance. Dust, spider webs, broken exhibits, etc. It seems like whoever is running this museum hasn’t actually walked through it in quite some time. Anyway, get your tickets on Groupon for a discount and only go here if you’re ok with climbing lots of stairs. Wouldn’t really recommend it, but if you’re bored, give it a shot.

Cool little museum with some outstanding history. You could easily kill 30 minutes in here and it’d be worth it. The machinery required to lift the bridges is just spectacular, I kinda wish it was lit better. Still, fantastic place. If it’s open, stop in.

Stairs Stairs Stairs! Thankfully there are seats on every level. Great mini museum if you need to fill time while waiting. No elevators so not wheelchair friendly or people who have mobility issues. The views are worth the huff and puff. The entrance is on the River walk on the southwest side of the bridge.

My favorite sort of museum is the sort that both curates history and IS a piece of living history itself. The Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum fulfills both of these criteria. As both a history major and lifelong Chicagoan I still learned an enormous amount of things I'd never known before, especially about the ecology of the river. Seeing the gears on the bottom floor is fascinating and the view from the top floor is spectacular. Our tour guide was supremely informative, engaging, and enthusiastic, providing detailed answers to every question we asked. I still wouldn't go swimming in the Chicago River but now I feel safe knowing I won't get toxic waste poisoning if I accidentally fell in. I went while still on crutches from a hip injury, and while the stairs were a bit of a challenge there were plenty of places to sit and rest on each floor of the museum. A great place to bring a friend from out of town and to explore at any time!