Cable Piano Factory Bridge
and Johansen’s Island

Indiana Street to Ohio Avenue across the Fox River
in historic downtown St. Charles, IL

This pedestrian bridge, the oldest dedicated foot bridge in Kane County, was constructed in 1904 so that workers who lived on the east side of the Fox River could more easily get to work at the Cable Piano Factory located on the west side of the river. The island was manmade by Thure Johansen, the first superintendent of the Cable Piano Factory, for factory workers to enjoy on breaks.

THE LATEST

On September 24, 2024, work began assessing the 1904 Cable Piano Factory Bridge coring the bedrock to determine its composition so that the engineers can know if the bridge's current footings can be repaired or need to be replaced.

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On August 26, 2024, the city of St. Charles Government Services committee met to discuss hiring an engineering firm to give the city options on the future of the Cable Piano Factory pedestrian bridge (which the city is incorrectly labeling as the Indiana Street Pedestrian bridge): repair, rehabilitate, replace, or demolish.

Visit our blog, “Assessing the 1904 Cable Piano Factory Bridge” for more on this story.