After the Great Chicago Fire How Did the Town Become Beautiful Again
On October eight, 1871, a fire broke out in a barn on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois. For more 24 hours, the fire burned through the center of Chicago, killing 300 people and leaving one-third of the city'south population homeless. The "Swell Rebuilding" was the try to construct a new, urban middle. Big businesses, innovative buildings, and a new style of compages were the results.
The Dandy Chicago Burn started on the evening of Oct. 8, 1871. While there is picayune doubt that the burn down started in a befouled owned past Patrick and Catherine O'Leary, the exact crusade of the fire remains a mystery. From the barn at 137 DeKoven Street, on the city's southwest side, the burn spread north and east, into the heart of Chicago's business district.
Rain put out the fire more than a twenty-four hours later, but past then information technology had burned an area iv miles long and i mile wide. The burn down destroyed 17,500 buildings and 73 miles of street. 90 g people—i in three Chicago residents—were left homeless by the fire. While only 120 bodies were recovered, it is believed that 300 people died in the blaze.
Chicago'due south summer and autumn in 1871 were unusually dry out, with only one-quaternary the normal corporeality of rain falling between July and October. Many of the city'south wooden buildings and sidewalks had dried out in the summer's intense heat.
On the first night of the fire, strong southwesterly winds fanned the flames high into the sky and created convection spirals, or "fire devils." Fire devils spit burning debris in all directions, causing more than buildings to burn.
Buildings frequently had a single layer of fireproof material on the outside, hiding the wooden structure beneath. The Waterworks, on Pino Street, was only such a edifice. Its wooden roofing shingles had been replaced with slate, merely the structure itself was pino. When a burning ember struck the roof in the offset hours of the burn down, the Waterworks was quickly destroyed. It was the chief source of water for the urban center's understaffed burn down department.
On the offset Sunday later on the fire, the Rev. Robert Collyer spoke to his Unitarian congregation outside the ruins of Unity Church on Dearborn Street. "We have not lost, starting time, our geography. Nature chosen the lakes, the forests, the prairies together in convention long before we were born, and they decided that on this spot a great city would be built." Unity Church was rebuilt the following year.
The burn down destroyed the city's business commune, but information technology left the stockyards and the new packing plants on the South Side untouched. Known every bit the "Hog Butcher of the World," Chicago'southward stockyards processed more meat than anywhere else on Globe.
Well-nigh of the wharfs, lumberyards, and mills along the Chicago River survived, every bit did ii-thirds of the grain elevators to the west. The industries surrounding agronomics and trade kept the city's finances equally stable as possible, and employed thousands of people.
Almost railroad tracks were not damaged. This allowed shipments of help to come up pouring in from across the country and around the world. Book donations nerveless in England became role of Chicago'southward first free, public library. The Chicago Public Library opened its doors on Jan. ane, 1873. Its original edifice was a water tank on LaSalle Street that had survived the burn down.
In 1956, the Chicago Fire Academy was built on the site where Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary'south barn one time stood. The schoolhouse trains new firefighters to this day.
First Phase of the Peachy Rebuilding
The rebuilding of Chicago started immediately. Sometimes, construction began even before the architect and engineers had completed the blueprint.
Later the burn down, laws were passed requiring new buildings be constructed with fireproof materials such equally brick, stone, marble, and limestone. These building materials, much more expensive than wood, are held together past a sticky, potent substance chosen mortar. The construction technique using mortar is called masonry. Masons are a skilled grouping of construction workers.
Many poorer Chicagoans couldn't afford the fireproof materials or skilled masons to rebuild. In addition, many could not afford fire insurance. (Before the fire, many people had insurance, but their policies were burned in the fire.) Without the means to rebuild or insure their belongings, thousands of people and small businesses were crowded out of Chicago.
Many other businesses simply ignored the new building laws. Wood ofttimes replaced stone, and builders busy their buildings with wooden awnings, cupolas, and cornices.
Terra Cotta
Two events stopped this phase of reconstruction. The outset was the failure of a bank, Jay Cooke and Company, in September 1873. The bank's failure triggered a nationwide depression that halted much of the Chicago construction. The second result was another, somewhat smaller burn, in July 1874. This fire destroyed more than 800 buildings over sixty acres.
After the 1874 fire, the deadening and expensive process of rebuilding with fireproof materials began. Big banks and businesses, which handled millions of dollars in acquirement every yr, dominated Chicago'southward new business district.
Terra-cotta clay emerged equally a popular and constructive edifice material. By the mid-1880s, terra cotta tiling fabricated Chicago one of the most fireproof cities in the nation.
The renovation of Palmer Firm, a luxury hotel on Monroe Street, is an example of how reconstruction efforts used terra cotta. Palmer House had opened simply 13 days before the Nifty Burn. When it looked likely that the Palmer House would be destroyed, its architect, John M. Van Osdel, buried the blueprints in a pigsty in the basement, and covered them with a thick layer of sand and clay. Sand and clay are the chief materials used in the edifice material known as terra cotta. The blueprints survived the burn down, and Van Osdel became convinced that clay terracotta tile would make an excellent fireproof material.
Terra cotta tiles became roofing materials for the new Palmer Business firm. The edifice itself was made of iron and brick. Palmer Firm, which is now part of the Hilton hotel chain, advertised itself as "The Globe's Only Fire Proof Hotel."
Terra cotta would likewise be used in the Montauk Block, on Monroe Street, ofttimes regarded as one of the globe's first high-rise buildings. The Montauk was 10 stories tall, with 150 offices. After the fire, clay tiles formed fireproof insulation around the building'due south fe frame. The Montauk was also the first building in Chicago where the construction didn't stop during the winter, and it was the beginning edifice in the earth to be built at night, using the new technique of electrical lighting.
Chicago School
Chicago'due south architects worked to meet the demands of commercial businessmen. Businessmen preferred plain-looking buildings, because putting on fancy ornaments cost more money. This streamlined style became known as the Chicago School of architecture. William Le Businesswoman Jenney, Daniel Burnham, John W. Root, Louis Sullivan, and Dankmar Adler are some of the almost well-known Chicago Schoolhouse architects.
The structure of the Domicile Insurance Building is a adept example of how the Chicago Schoolhouse architects worked with businesses to course a new way. When the New York Home Insurance Visitor relocated its business concern to Chicago, they challenged the architectural community to come up upward with a blueprint to bring natural low-cal to all parts of the building. William Le Baron Jenney came up with a solution: Steel, lighter and stronger than iron, could be used on the upper floors.
Jenney'southward Home Insurance Building, on LaSalle Street, was the commencement to brand use of a steel cage to provide a building's back up. The steel frame immune more than large windows to exist constructed on every side of the edifice. Natural light flooded the alpine construction. The partitions between offices were made of brick and terra cotta. Built in 1884, the Dwelling Insurance Building is considered to be the globe's showtime skyscraper.
Damage from the 1871 fire was estimated at about $200 million, more than than a billion dollars in today's currency.
Photo courtesy the New York Times
Unitarian Faith
"Nosotros have not lost, beginning, our geography. Nature chosen the lakes, the forests, the prairies together in convention long before we were born, and they decided that on this spot a bang-up city would exist congenital."
The Rev. Robert Collyer, speaking to his congregation after the Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed their church building
Who Started the Burn down?
There are many theories about how Chicago's Bang-up Burn down of 1871 started. It began in a barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O'Leary. Some people believe a thief knocked over a lantern while stealing milk from the barn. Years later, a human being named Louis M. Cohn confessed to starting the fire by accidentally knocking over a lantern when running away from an illegal card game. Recently, scientists accept suggested that a falling star shower ignited hay in the O'Leary befouled.
Fire Prevention Week
On the 40th anniversary of the Peachy Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Clan of North America started Fire Prevention Week. In 1925, Fire Prevention Week became a national observance. Today, the International Fire Marshals Association marks the week around Oct. ix as a fashion to educate the public virtually fire safety.
Substantive
the art and science of cultivating country for growing crops (farming) or raising livestock (ranching).
builder
Substantive
person who designs buildings or other big structures.
canopy
Noun
construction that extends above a doorway or window, to provide shade and shelter from the conditions.
bank
Substantive
organization that loans, protects, and exchanges coin to and from individuals and organizations.
barn
Noun
shelter where animals and farm equipment are kept.
pattern
Noun
detailed plan and technical drawings for the construction of a building.
brick
Noun
block of clay and sand, dried and used for construction.
business district
Substantive
geographic area where merchandise, banking, and retail industry is conducted.
butcher
Noun
person who cuts, prepares, and sells meat and meat products.
Chicago School
Noun
(1880-1910) architectural style that pioneered the pattern of skyscrapers and other commercial and industrial buildings.
congregation
Noun
group of people who worship at the same church.
convection spiral
Noun
pattern where estrus free energy travels in a widening spiral.
convention
Noun
formal meeting, usually with representatives from dissimilar regions or parties.
cornice
Noun
window feature used to hide a drapery rod.
cupola
Noun
dome-like construction on the tiptop of a edifice.
droppings
Noun
remains of something cleaved or destroyed; waste, or garbage.
depression
Noun
period of economic hardship, when employment and wages are low, and the value of businesses declines.
ember
Substantive
small piece of wood, coal, or paper still slowly burning from a burn.
engineer
Noun
person who plans the building of things, such as structures (construction engineer) or substances (chemic engineer).
expensive
Adjective
very costly.
finances
Noun
upkeep, or coin available for a specific project or goal.
burn academy
Noun
educational institution that trains professional firefighters.
fire department
Noun
professional person or volunteer organization that works to prevent and put out fires, normally in a specific geographic area.
firefighter
Noun
person who works to command and put out fires.
fireproof
Adjective
describing a substance that will not burn in a fire.
forest
Noun
ecosystem filled with trees and underbrush.
Noun
study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.
grain elevator
Noun
large storage facility for grains, equipped with lifting mechanisms.
Not bad Chicago Burn down
Noun
(1871) urban disaster that killed hundreds and destroyed nigh all of downtown Chicago, Illinois.
insulation
Noun
fabric used to go along an object warm.
insurance
Substantive
coin paid in good health to guarantee financial or concrete health if injury or damage occurs.
iron
Noun
chemical element with the symbol Fe.
John Thou. Van Osdel
Noun
(1811-1891) American architect.
Substantive
body of water surrounded past land.
library
Substantive
identify containing books and other media used for study, reference, and enjoyment.
limestone
Noun
type of sedimentary stone more often than not fabricated of calcium carbonate from shells and skeletons of marine organisms.
Louis Sullivan
Noun
(1856-1924) American architect.
lumber
Noun
precisely cut pieces of wood such as boards or planks.
luxury
Noun
expensive item.
marble
Noun
type of metamorphic stone.
mason
Noun
person who works with bricks, stone, and mortar.
masonry
Noun
structure made of rock or brick.
mill
Noun
machine used for grinding or crushing various materials.
Montauk Block
Noun
(1882-1902) loftier-rise part building in Chicago, Illinois.
mortar
Noun
sticky substance, such as cement, used to bond bricks or stones.
ornament
Substantive
decoration.
partition
Noun
structure that divides or separates.
phase
Noun
stage in a procedure or transformation.
pine
Noun
type of evergreen tree with needle-shaped leaves.
Substantive
large grassland; usually associated with the Mississippi River Valley in the United States.
property
Noun
goods or materials (including land) endemic past someone.
railroad
Noun
road synthetic with metal tracks on which trains travel.
revenue
Noun
income, or coin earned before production costs are subtracted.
Robert Collyer
Noun
(1823-1912) American religious leader (Unitarian).
roofing shingle
Noun
slice of tough material used in overlapping layers to protect a roof.
skyscraper
Noun
very alpine building.
slate
Noun
type of metamorphic rock.
steel
Noun
metal fabricated of the elements iron and carbon.
stockyard
Noun
pens or other areas where livestock are kept.
stone
Noun
slice of rock.
terra-cotta
Noun
type of brown-orange clay.
trade
Noun
buying, selling, or exchanging of goods and services.
understaff
Verb
to not utilize enough people to do the work demanded in a reasonable amount of time.
Unitarian
noun, adjective
a Christian denomination
wharf
Substantive
construction built to a higher place or alongside a torso of water, usually so boats can dock.
William Le Baron Jenney
Noun
(1832-1907) American architect.
Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/chicago-fire-1871-and-great-rebuilding/
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