The Milford Theater was located in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago at 3311 North Pulaski Road.  It was opened in 1917.  It was built for the Ascher Brothers Circuit.  The architect was Henry Newhouse.   There was a single screen.  Seating capacity was 1150 seats.    Initially, it showed silent films and featured a theater organ.  

        In 1950, the Milford became part of the Balaban and Katz Chain.  In the 1960’s and the early 1970’s, it showed Polish language films.  In the 1970’s, it featured budget second run movies. In the 1980’s, it experimented with showing Spanish language films.

     There apparently was a Milford Ballroom that was a part of the theater building complex.

     The Milford Theater closed its doors in 1990.  It was destroyed by a fire.  It was eventually torn down in 1994.

The DesPlaines Theater is located in DesPlaines, Illinois at 1476 Miner Street.    It opened in August, 1925 as a vaudeville and movie theater.    It was built for the Polka Brothers Firm.  The architect was William Betts.

The foyer of the building was Spanish Moorish Style.  The auditorium was Spanish Renaissance style.  There was one screen.   The capacity was 1,018 seats.   There was an orchestra pit.    The stage was large.  A Geneva style organ was installed in 1925.  The exterior of the buildings was art deco style.

In 1935, the building was purchased by Balaban and Katz.  It was converted to a first run movie venue.  It was remodeled by the firm of Pereira and Pereira.

In 1982, a fire caused substantial damage to the building.  The theater was reopened after a few years.  It was converted to a two screen facility with two auditorium each having 275 seats.

It was renovated in 1998.  The theater featured first run Indian films.    It closed in 2003.  It reopened in 2006 again featuring East Indian Films.  It closed in 2007.  In 2008, it reopened for for a special showing of High Musical 2.  It then operated as a performing arts venue and a movie theater.

In 2010, it was converted back to a one screen one auditorium venue.  It operated with programs including live theater, Bollywood Movies,  and independent features.   The theater closed in 2014.

In 2017, the city of Des Plaines  considered eminent domain proceedings to forcibly acquire the Des Plaines Theater.    In August of 2018, the city purchased the theater from Dhitu Bhagwakar for $1,257,500.  The Rivers Casino was also involved in the project agreeing to provide 2 million dollars for improvements in the theater building.

     Charles Comiskey was born in Chicago on August 15, 1859.  He attended public and parochial schools in Chicago.  He attended Saint Mary’s College where he played in the baseball team.

     He played on many Chicago area baseball teams.  He first was a pitcher but later moved to the first base position.

     He worked as a player and a manager with Saint Louis Brown Stockings, the Chicago Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds.

     He left Cincinnati in 1894 to purchase the Western League Baseball Club in Sioux City, Iowa.  He moved the club to Minneapolis.

     The Wilmette Theater is located in Wilmette, Illinois at 1122 Central Avenue  It was built as a movie venue in 1914.  It was originally called the Central Theater.  The architect was Barry Weinstein. As originally built, there was one screen.  In 1989, it was converted to two screens.

     Operators of the venue included Commonwealth Amusement and Suburban Theater.

     In 1950, the theater was purchased by Encyclopedia Britannica Films.  In 1966, Richard Stern purchased the theater. He operated it for 40 years.  Around 2006, there was a plan to close the theater and use the building as a furniture store.  Before this could happen, it was purchased by two local families.  The have run it since.   Currently recent films, classics and independent films are shown.

     The upstairs of the theater building is being used by Actors Training Center.

     The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge crosses the Mississippi River on old US 66.  It is south of the I 270 Bridge.

    The bridge was built as a private venture toll bridge.   The projected cost was 1.2 million.  The builders were: the American Bridge Company of New York, Barter Brown, and the Union Bridge and Construction Company of Kansas City.

     It was originally projected to be a straight bridge over the Mississippi.  However, due to a few circumstances, it has a 24 degree bend.

     Work commenced at both ends of the bridge in 1927.  It concluded in 1929.  It officially opened on July 5, 1929.

     The bridge is made of 11 Warren truss sections.  The 3 longer sections span the river.  There are  3 shorter sections on the Missouri side.  There are 5 shorter sections on the Illinois side.  The bridge supports are massive concrete piers  the tops of which are 55 feet above the water.  Total construction costs were $ 2.5 million        

     The private venture that built the bridge went bankrupt in 1931.  Bridge ownership reverted to the city of Madison in 1939.  The bridge became US 66 in 1936.  In 1955, US 66 was transferred to I 270.  The Chain of Rock Bridge became US 66 Bypass.  The bridge closed to traffic in 1968.    It reopened as a pedestrian bridge on June 5,1999.

   The bridge total length is 5,353 feet.  Width is 24 feet. 

    .  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 12/1/2016.

After 1940, a series of lock and dams were in place in the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and Alton.     These facilitated barge traffic in this region.   There remained a short segment of the River north and east of Saint Louis with limited navigation due to rock ledges and shelves.

To solve this problem, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed an 8.4 mile canal to bypass this area.  The canal runs from just south of the mouth of the Missouri River to just north of downtown Saint Louis.   The area of the canal is in a region where bedrock  is close to the surface.  The canal could only be dug to a limited depth.  To solve  this limitation, a dam  was built in the Mississippi River just south of the entrance of the canal.    This allowed for an extra 3 feet of depth in the Chain of Rocks Canal.

There have been two bridges crossing the Missouri River near Saint Charles.  These have also been known as the Saint Charles Rail Bridge.   The first was built in 1868-1871.  The bridge had undergone substantial modification during it  lifetime.    The  initial bridge was a bridge with Trellis  and  Fink trusses.    During 1880–1884, the bridge was upgraded.  The original trusses were replaced with Whipple through truss spans.  The girder approach spans  were replaced.  Additional  piers were added on the the east.

There were multiple builders including:  American Bridge Company of New York, Charles Shaler Smith of Pittsburgh,  Detroit Bridge and Iron Works,  Edge Moor Bridge Works of Wilmingston,  Delaware, Kellogg and Maurice Bridge Company of Athens, Pennsylvania, Keystone Bridge  Company of  Pittsburgh, Phoenix Iron Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Company.   The largest span measured 318 feet.  Total bridge length was 2,928 feet.    Deck width was 18 feet.    The bridge was used by North Missouri railroad and the Wabash Railroad

The  bridge was taken down.  It was replaced by a new bridge about 1/2  mile north.

The second bridge was built in 1936.     It was built by the Wabash R.R.  The contractor was American Bridge Company, Mt. Vernon Bridge Company of Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

Engineers were Modjeski, Masters, and Chase.

It is the largest bridge over the Missouri River.  It has five main piers.   Total length is 7,876.  Cantilevered Span is 1,645.   Length of the largest span is 624 feet.   There is one track.  Height above the ground is 86 Feet.   The east approach 3,945 feet.  West approach is 2,860 feet.    Style is cantilevered Warren Through Truss and deck girder.   In the past, it was used by the Wabash Railroad.  Currently it is used by the Norfolk Southern RR

The bridge spans the Missouri River, Missouri Highways 94, and 141 and an abdandoned railroad grade.

Unless otherwise indicated, all text and photos are copywrighted.

The Discovery Bridge is a pair of Warren through truss bridges crossing the Missouri River on  Missouri 370 between Saint Charles and Bridgeton.   It was built in 1992.

Bridge type is  steel through truss , concrete deck.     The largest span measures 625 feet.    Total length is  3,455.2 feet,  Width is 54.8 feet.  (3 lanes per span).  Height above the water is 68 feet.

Inspection Report ( July, 2015)

Overall condition rating                                              Fair

Superstructure condition rating                               Satisfactory       (6 out of  9)

Substructure condition rating                                   Good                   (7 out of 9)

Deck Condition Rating                                                Good                   (7 out  of 9)

Sufficiency Rating:  87.5 out of 100