1928, Carved limestone
Gift of William Wrigley, Jr. to the B.F. Ferguson Monument Fund

LOCATION:
Michigan Avenue Bridge
Michigan Ave. at the Chicago River

Chicago’s first settlers lived along the banks of the Chicago River where the Michigan Avenue Bridge now stands. The sculptural relief panels on each of the four bridge-houses celebrate Chicago’s early history. The Discoverers portrays French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, and René Robert Cavalier-Sieur de LaSalle and Henri Tonti, who explored the Mississippi River. The Pioneers depicts early settler and fur trader John Kinzie, who purchased his log cabin in 1804 from Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable while leading a group through the wilderness. Defense pictures a scene from the Fort Dearborn Massacre of 1812. Fearing a British attack, the Fort’s inhabitants are shown being led to safety by a Native American scout. Regeneration commemorates the devastation caused by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the subsequent rebuilding of the city.