How Great Was the Devastation of the Chicago Fire - Activity #2 Resources

How Great was the Devastation of the Chicago Fire - Activity #2 Resources

Located southeast corner of Lake and Dearborn. Tremont House was five stories, built of brick, had 260 rooms, and it was among the largest buildings to be lifted when Chicago raised its grade beginning in the 1850s. The rebuilt Tremont House opened in 1873. Six stories tall, it stood until 1937 when it was demolished and replaced by a parking garage that was itself replaced in 1987 with the Theatre District Self-Park.

Tremont House

Sherman House was completely destroyed by the fire. A new Sherman House was built on the corner of Clark and Randolph streets. It was completed in 1873. The 1873 Sherman House was followed in 1911 by the Sherman Hotel. Since 1985 the entire block formed by Clark, Randolph, LaSalle, and Lake streets has been the site of the James R. Thompson (State of Illinois) Center.

Sherman House

The combined Court-house and City Hall was built in 1853 and occupied, as City Hall and the Cook County Building do now, the entire downtown block formed by Randolph, Clark, Washington, and LaSalle streets. It housed virtually all city and county offices. By the time of the fire a clock and 10,849- pound bronze bell had been added. The bell rang for 5 hours sounding the alarm until it fell through the collapsing building. After the fire city administration operated in temporary offices until 1885, when the new City Hall and Cook County Courthouse was Court-house completed in the same block as the old one.

The Chamber of Commerce dedicated its new building on August 30, 1865. The Board of Trade was located in the Chamber of Commerce from 1865-1871. The Chamber of

Commerce was rebuilt in time for its chief

tenant, the Board of Trade, to move back in on the first anniversary of the fire—October 9, 1872. In 1885 the Board would move into its own building at Jackson and LaSalle.

Board of Trade

Located on Dearborn and Monroe. The Post Office occupied the main floor and basement. Federal offices were on the second, and the top floor was reserved for the federal courts. This was one of several "fireproof" buildings that would be destroyed. Subsequent federal centers have been located in the block formed by Adams, Dearborn, Jackson, and Clark streets.

Post-office

The first Rush Street bridge was constructed in 1857. It was destroyed in an accident in 1863 and replaced the next year. The Rush Street bridge is pictured as seen from the State Street Bridge. Both bridges were lost to the fire. A final Rush Street swing bridge was completed in 1872. It was taken down with the completion of the double-level Michigan Avenue Bridge in 1920, which provided a major new link between the South and North divisions.

Rush-street Bridge

Owner Uranus S. Crosby wished to build a grand theater to advance the arts in Chicago. The theater was scheduled to open on April 17, 1865, but this was postponed because of the assassination of President Lincoln on April 14. After a few years of financial troubles Crosby renovated the theater and scheduled a re-opening for October 9, 1871. It was destroyed by the fire and not rebuilt. Crosby's Opera House was located on block 37.

Crosby Opera House

The first Palmer house was located on the northwest corner of State and Quincy streets. Pictured here is the second Palmer House, which opened a few blocks north in 1871. The second Palmer was destroyed by the fire. Its destruction provided a useful lesson. In order to protect his plans, architect reportedly

buried them in a basement pit covered with sand and clay. Their survival supposedly helped lead the way to the use of clay tile in fireproofing. The third Palmer House opened in 1875. It was replaced in the mid-1920s by the current building.

Palmer House

Built in 1856 along Michigan Avenue south of Van Buren Street Terrace Row caused a stir. The price of these four-story limestone-faced residences ran very high—from $18,000 to $30,000.

The residences were destroyed in the fire and

not rebuilt.

Terrace Row

Dedicated in March of 1867, the waterworks featured the limestone Water Tower and Pumping Station on either side of Pine Street (now Michigan Avenue) at Chicago Avenue, and a two-mile tunnel beneath the lake, at the end of which was an intake known as the “crib.” City engineer DeWitt Cregier wrote, "... at about 3 o'clock in the morning of the 9th of October the pumping works became an utter wreck, nothing but the naked walls of the building and the broken and blackened skeletons of three engines were left to mark the spot..." The water tower survived the fire Water-works and is still standing today.

The first Briggs House was erected in 1856 and located on the northeast corner of Randolph and Wells streets. It was one of the many structures in the area that were raised several feet a few years later along with the grade of the streets. The Briggs House was rebuilt on the same spot by 1873 and stood there until 1928.

Briggs House

The home of the O'Leary family located at DeKoven and Clinton (south of Taylor street) escaped destruction. The infamous barn behind the house and most of the animals within it—a horse and the five cows that provided the milk that Catherine O’Leary sold locally—were not so fortunate (a calf was saved). By the 1880s the O'Leary cottage was gone, and a brick and stone house stood in its place. The Chicago Fire Academy is now located on the site.

Beginning of Fire (O’Leary Cottage)

Driven out of their homes, many North Division residents looked for refuge near the lake in Lincoln Park. Maps from 1871 show it extending from a little above Wisconsin Street to about Webster Street. Those approaching the park from the south and southwest had to pass through the city cemetery, which was located just below of the park. At the southeast corner of the cemetery was the potter’s field, where the indigent were buried.

Lincoln Park (City Cementary)

LARGE MAP Title: Bird's-eye-view of Chicago as it was before the great fire. Drawn by Theodore R. Davis URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g4104c.pm001495

EXTENSION Photos of Chicago after the fire: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004678818/

SOURCES Tremont House: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-61955

Sherman House: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-63067

Court-House: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-64281

Board of Trade: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-63073

Post-office (and Custom House): http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-29596

Rush Street Bridge: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-63087

Crosby Opera House: http://www.greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-64360

The Palmer House: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-39580

Terrace Row: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-64156

Water-works: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-06859

Briggs House: http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-61958

Beginning of Fire (O’Leary Cottage): http://greatchicagofire.org/item/ichi-02741

Lincoln Park (City Cementary): http://greatchicagofire.org/landmarks/city-cemetery-now-southern-end-of-lincoln-park