Reason to risk plunging into Lake Michigan:

The view of downtown from the Hoan

At 120 feet above the Milwaukee River, the Hoan Bridge bests the Marquette Interchange by 10 feet.

Built in the mid-1970s for $75 million, the 1.9-mile bridge named after former Mayor Daniel Webster Hoan, has had more than its share of publicity.

Not only were its downtown ramps used in the making of “The Blues Brothers” film, in December 2000, a crack in a steel girder forced its closing until it was repaired a year later - after a section was imploded.

Its historic significance - and amazing view of downtown Milwaukee - make the Hoan the best reason to risk plunging into Lake Michigan, says Dave Schlabowske, Milwaukee program manager for the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, a group that has lobbied for a bike path on the bridge.

“It’s obvious that any view gets better the higher you get,” he says. “The closer you get to the lakefront, the view gets better.”

Not only do you get a view of the lake, Schlabowske also mentioned the bird’s-eye view you get of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Santiago Calatrava addition.

“Soon, you’ll get a view of Pier Wisconsin, the Denis Sullivan (schooner),” he says. Pier Wisconsin is a $46 million nautical education center planned for the lakefront.

Another Milwaukee landmark viewable from the Hoan is the Allen-Bradley clock tower, said to be the largest four-sided clock in the world.