Chicago Drawbridges and 10 Buildings that Changed America - two new Documentaries this week

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Tonight at 9:00 p.m. on WYCC - Channel 20, there will be another showing of a fine new documentary, Chicago Drawbridges created by Stephen Hatch and Patrick McBriarity.  A companion piece to the book, Chicago River Bridges, scheduled to be published by the University of Illinois Press this October, Chicago Drawbridges chronicles “the importance of the bridges in the making of the Windy City, from the very first wood footbridge, built by a tavern owner in 1832, to today’s iconic structures spanning the Chicago River.”  You can check out a preview on the documentary's website here.''

Then, this Sunday, May 12th at 9:00 p.m., WTTW and PBS stations nationwide will debut 10

Buildings That Changed America, written and directed by Dan Protess.  Geoffrey Baer takes his architectural overviews national to visit a Top Ten list that ranges from Thomas Jefferson's University of Virgina to Frank Gehry's Disney, with stops at the Seagram, the Wainwright, Trinity Church, Robie House and others in between.  The photography looks exemplary, as is an impressive roster of talking heads that includes Gehry, Tim Samuelson and Phyllis Lambert.  An interactive mobile website is promised to come live this Wednesday, and you can check out a preview of the documentary here.