The Michigan Avenue Bridge is a good starting point. Built in 1920, this drawbridge is a double-decker with a span of 220 feet. The best view is from the south bank. To get to Photo Spot 1, walk a little way to the east along  Wacker Driver, which rises well above the river. This will  allow you to look down on the bridge with the Wrigley Building in the background. If you want to get closer to the river, at the bridge there are steps down to a river-level walkway that goes east to the lake. That's on our agenda for later.

The Wrigley building is one of the architectural masterpieces of Chicago. Designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, construction started in 1919 and was completed in 1925. Its 450 feet accommodates 30 stories. On closer inspection the Wrigley consists of two buildings joined by a 14th floor skywalk. The beautiful white facade is made from a quarter of a million English glazed terra cotta tiles (Wow!) ... and then, topping it off,  there's that great clock tower.

Noticed the boat? Boat tours leave from both east and west sides of the bridge. This is a great way to see the Chicago architecture, so if you're feeling lazy, go for it!

Now that you are at the Michigan Avenue Bridge,  you can't possibly miss the bridgehouses. The one on the south-west side is not just a bridgehouse, it's a museum! Go down the steps next to the south-west bridgehouse, and at the bottom you will see the museum entrance. The museum opens at 10am. If you're too early, plan on coming back later in the day. You get climb the 5 floors inside the bridge tower, learn lots of facts about the river, and see the gears and the two 108 horse powered engines that lift the bridge. You can also peer through the windows at the top to get shots of the bridge from above.

Back on the outside, as you climb to the Michigan Avenue level, notice that half way up you can access a footpath on the lower deck of the bridge. This provides nice views of the river. Climbing back to the upper deck, the outside of the bridgehouse is ornately decorated with scenes depicting heroic themes. There is a plaque on the pavement that declares this to be the site of Fort Dearborn, built in 1803 and demolished in 1856.

OK we are done with the bridgehouse. Next walk west along the south river bank. Between Michigan Avenue and Wabash Avenue (the next bridge downstream), you have two options: the river-level path (down the steps again) or the high-level path (the Wacker Drive sidewalk).

OK, you're at the Wabash Avenue Bridge. The bridgehouses here are less ornate than their Michigan Avenue neighbors, but are still photogenic.

On the other side of Wacker Drive, just beyond Wabash Avenue, is another Chicago gem: The Jewelers Building, created for the city's diamond merchants. Designed by Thielbar and Furgard plus Giaver and Dinkleberg, it was completed in 1926, This 40 storey building positively glows late afternoon, as the last rays of the sun bounce off its terra cotta facade.

Back on the south bank of the river, continue to the State Street Bridge.

Between the State Street and Dearborn Street bridges there  is a good view of some more north bank landmarks: the twin cylindrical towers of Marina City. Designed by Bertrand Goldberg Associates, these  587 feet high towers were commissioned by the International Union of Janitors (why not?), and completed in 1967. The lower levels provide car parking, and the higher levels condominiums.  Walking towards the next bridge (Dearborn Street) you can get good shots of the towers by descending again to the river-level walkway. For close-up shots, partly cross the Dearborn Street Bridge. To avoid bridge vibrations, you may have to wait for a quiet  period when there are no cars on the bridge.

Done with Marina City? Continue along the south bank towards the next bridge (Clark Street) and beyond..

Constructed in 1928, this is one of my favorite Chicago River bridges. Designed by Edward H. Bennet, it has a span of 242 feet. The rust-colored ironwork perfectly matches the red-brick facade of the Central Office Building, and the  graceful curves and attractive rivet-laden surfaces are just begging to be photographed. If only the traffic would stop shaking the deck! Of course, the shaking stops when the lights at the southern end of the bridge are on red, but then the queue of waiting cars tends to back up across the bridge spoiling the composition. With a little patience, however, you will get that perfect shot. Note that the best lighting is when the sun is on the west-facing ironwork. If it's not, it may be a little too early in the morning. Don't worry, you will get another chance later in the walk.

Ready to go on? Keeping to the south bank, and continue along Wacker Drive to the Wells Street Bridge.

From Lake Street, turn right onto North Canal Street. This will take you to the north branch of the river. As you walk along Canal Street you will cross some railway tracks. Across the tracks, on the right, there is access to the river, giving a good view of the branch-point. There is quite a lot of river traffic, so with a little luck you can get some good boat shots.

Continue along canal street, and you will come to the Kinzie Street Bridge which crosses the north branch of the river. From here you get a great view of an old railway drawbridge, which is permanently raised. From this side, the drawbridge gets the sunlight late afternoon. If the light is right, you can get good shots of the raised bridge with the Sears Tower in the distance. The white  building to the left of the drawbridge is the Apparel Center, which was designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and completed in 1977.

Now cross the Kinzie Bridge to the north bank, and walk to the right, to the base of the raised railway bridge, and beyond. From here you can get close-ups of the raised bridge. The south-facing side gets good light for a short time early afternoon. As you get to the south-west corner of the Apparel Building there are steps that take you up a few feet. At the top you can get some more shots of the south face of the bridge, from a slightly higher viewpoint.

We are now going to head back to the Michigan Avenue Bridge, and then to the lake. Following the river on the north bank, at Franklin Bridge there are steps up to bridge level. Cross Franklin Street and walk in front of Merchandise Mart, with the river on your right. The long line of busts in front of Merchandise Mart celebrate distinguished Chicago business people. Beyond the Mart you come to Wells Street Bridge. Between Wells Street and Clark Street (two bridges upstream) there is no riverside footpath on the north bank. You can either cross to the south bank, retracing your steps along Wacker Drive, or skirt around the north side of the riverfront buildings. Whichever route you chose, you can return to walking besides the river along the north bank between Clark Street and Wabash Avenue. At this point the Trump Tower construction site cuts you off, but if you skirt around to the north side, there is a path that takes you to the Wrigley Building, giving you a good close-up view of the west face. The path goes between the two buildings of the Wrigley, under the skywalk that joins them. Now you are back at Michigan Avenue, just north of the river.

You now have another chance to visit the Bridgehouse Museum ... to do this you will need to cross the bridge and walk to the south-west corner (see Photo Spot 2).

If you have already seen the museum, or want to skip it, stay north of the river, and cross Michigan Avenue. In front of you, the skyscraper that resembles a great gothic cathedral is the 34 storey Tribune Tower. Constructed between 1922 and 1925 this architectural marvel is 463 feet tall. Look carefully at the base of the tower. Incorporated into the structure are bits and pieces from all sorts of other famous buildings around the world. The plaza to the south of the Tribune Tower is, in fact, E. North Water Street, which runs parallel to the river. To the east of the plaza is the NBC Tower, and to the south, between the plaza and the river, is the Equitable Building.

Walk east on W. North Water Street and eventually you can get back to the north bank of the river. The walk along the north bank takes you to the Centennial Fountain and two impressive condominium skyscrapers; River View I and River View II. The fountain, which is in the front of River View II, was built in 1989 to commemorate the founding of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District in 1889 (the guys responsible for reversing the flow of the river). Of the two River View buildings, I find River View II ti be the more photogenic. Designed by DeStefano and Partners, this 448 feet  32 storey skyscraper was completed 2004. The older River View I building, 27 stories high, was completed in 2000.

You can walk only a little further, beyond River View I, along the north river bank. Pause to take a look across the river Unfortunately the light for this view is best early morning, but then the light for the fountain and River View buildings is not so good. You can't win them all.

Back at the Michigan Avenue Bridge, if you still have some energy, the steps at the south east corner of the bridge lead down to a river-level walk. Heading east along this walk will give you good views of the north bank buildings across the river. The path continues under the Congress Drive and Lakeshore Drive bridges, to the Harbor Lock and Lake Michigan. At the harbor, some of the views are good early morning, and other views good late afternoon. After going under the Lakeshore Drive Bridge, take a short detour to the right, and up the ramp that takes you onto the lower deck of the bridge. This will give you a good view of the harbor.

All boats passing between the river and lake Michigan pass through the Harbor Lock, which allows the river level to be maintained below that of the lake, aiding it's reversed flow. The 80 feet wide lock, completed in 1938, has length of 600 feet and a depth of 22 feet.