Great Chicago Fire

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Great Chicago Fire
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Bell-ringer

• 1) On the back of the handout we will be
  completing about the Great Chicago Fire, answer
  the following
• A What do you ALREADY KNOW about the fire?
• B What do you WANT TO KNOW about the fire?

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The fire took place onOCTOBER 8-10, 1871
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BEFORE THE FIRE..
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Chicago had grown steadily before the firehere
is the city in 1820,1854, and 1857
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By the 1860s, Chicago was a bustling city, known
for numerous businesses and a busy port
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By 1871, on the eve of the Great Chicago Fire,
Chicago was also a sizable city with over
300,000 people
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Sowhy was Chicago almost destined to have a
huge fire?

• Buildings, bridges, sidewalks, and just about
  everything else was made out of wood
• Hay and tar roofs made the city even more
  flammable
• The summer and fall had been dry and hot, with
  very little rain

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The day before the Great Chicago Fire, there had
been another huge fire it held the record for
Chicagos biggest fire..for ONE DAY
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The firemen were very tired from fighting this
fire, which would make them slower to respond
when a huge fire broke out again on October 8
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On Sunday night, OCTOBER 8, 1871..The
GREAT CHICAGO FIRE broke out in Mrs. OLearys
barn
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The barn was located on DeKoven Street near
Jefferson and Taylor
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Did a cow kick over a lantern?
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Thats what the legend says.but it might just
have been a story created by newspaper men
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On the day that the fire started, there was a
watchman at the top of the citys Courthouse
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Here is what he would have seen to the NORTH and
EAST of the Courthouse
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Here is what he would have seen to the SOUTH and
WEST
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When he saw a fire burning to the south and
west, he set off the alarm, and firemen raced to
fight the fire.but he misjudged where the fire
was, and they went to a place a mile away
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DURING THE
FIRE...
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At first the people did not panic because they
saw so many fires but when they realized how big
it was, THEY RAN FOR THEIR LIVES
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Chicago burned!
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Why did the fire spread so quickly?

• The watchman misjudged the location of the fire,
  and that wasted time
• Firemen were exhausted from fighting the fire
  that took place the night before
• There were 20 mile per hour winds
• All the dry wood everywhere gave the fire lots of
  things on which to feed

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Fleeing across the river did not help, since the
fire followed, destroying bridges and almost
everything else in its path
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THE FIRE SPREAD QUICKLY

• Mapping the Fire Inside the Burning City     
• Fire
• A. O'Leary barn 830
• B. Bateham's Mills
• C. Parmelee's Stables
• D. Gas Works Conley's Patch
• E. Court House
• F. Wright's Stables
• G. Polk Street
• H. Northwestern Elevator
• I. Galena Elevator
• Time of Starting
• 830 pm, October 8
• 1000 pm, October 8
• 1130 pm, October 8
• 1200 midnight, October 8-9
• 1220 am, October 9
• 130 am, October 9

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It would eventually burn its way as far north
as Fullerton Avenue, destroying an area FOUR
MILES LONG and ONE MILE WIDE
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Mass panic began as people realized the fire
was spreading further and further
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(No Transcript)
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Not everyone panicked some people just calmly
left the city

• This drawing was made by a boy named Justin
  showing how his family marched out of Chicago
• Hes the one leading the goat

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300 people died, and over 90,000 (about 1/3 of
the citys population) were left homeless
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Some fled to Lincoln Park, which had
recently been a cemetery, or jumped into the
lake for cover
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AFTER THE FIRE..
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The fire finally ran out of things to burn, and
rain put out the remaining flamesbut Chicago was
a mess!
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The Courthouse, from which the fire was first
spotted, was in ruins
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In most cases, only the shells of buildings
remained
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This was the view from the southwest corner
of Dearborn and Monroe
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The Van Buren Street Bridge and Union Depot in
ruins
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BEFOREAND AFTER

• POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE

• BOOKSELLERS ROW, STATE STREET NEAR MADISON

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BEFOREAND AFTER

• PALMER HOUSE, STATE AND MONROE STREETS

• RUMSEY HOUSE, RUSH AND HURON

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BEFOREAND AFTER

• ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT HURON AND CASS (NOW
  WABASH)

• PINE STREET (NOW MICHIGAN AVENUE) LOOKING TOWARD
  THE WATER TOWER

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SEVERAL BUILDINGS DID SURVIVE
THE FIRE.ONE WAS THE OLEARY BARN, AND HERE
ARE SOME OTHERS
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THE OGDEN MANSION (ON WALTON BETWEEN DEARBORN
AND CLARK) WAS SAVED BY PEOPLE PUTTING WET
CARPETS ON IT. THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY STANDS THERE
TODAY.
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THE LIND BLOCK (Randolph and Market, now Wacker
Dr.) survived
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THE NIXON BUILDINGat the northeast corner of
Monroe and LaSalle.

• After the disaster it was adorned with the
  inscription, "This fireproof building is the only
  one in the city that successfully stood the test
  of the Great Fire of October 9, 1871.
• It was made partly of iron and brick, which might
  have helped save it.

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THE WATER TOWER

• This is probably the most famous structure
  still standing today that survived the fire

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(No Transcript)
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The Bellinger House in the Lincoln Park
neighborhood survived the fire and is still
standing today as well
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COPINGANDREBUILDING
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General Sheridan was put in charge so that
people would stay controlled soldiers
patrolled the streets
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LEAVE CHICAGO OR STAY?

• About 30,000 people left Chicago after the fire
  using free railroad passes like this one

• Most people chose to stay
• Area churches helped those who were homeless

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• The mayor banned smoking until water service
  could be restored

• The price of bread was kept at 8 cents by law so
  that greedy people would not overcharge those in
  need for basic food supplies

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The nation tried to help Chicago

• Why? Because other places had also experienced
  tragedy in their histories.AND
• More importantly, Chicago was a growing city with
  businesses such as meatpacking that impacted the
  whole country

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People all over the country tried to help
Chicago this flier is from Cleveland, Ohio,and
the goods are from New York City
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Queen Victoria of England gave us books to help
found our public library
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Ladies in particular founded relief and aid
societies, but much of the distribution was based
on merit
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Some people in other parts of the country
thought Chicago deserved the fire because of our
vice and the Norths burning of the South in the
Civil War
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BUT THE CITY WOULD NOT LET ANYTHING GET IN
THE WAY OF REBUILDING.
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State and Madisonpeople started rebuilding
businesses pretty quickly

• Damages from the fire were estimated at over 250
  million
• Despite this, people had hope for a good future,
  and over 3000 buildings were constructed in the
  year after the fire

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Temporary buildings were put up on Michigan Avenue
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The first store in the burnt district sold
apples, grapes, cigars, and cider.
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This real estate agent seemed to embody the
spirit of Chicago.
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People even got married and preachers held church
services in the midst of the ruins
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The Palmer House was rebuilt, and Palmer dared
people to come and try to set it on fire
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CHICAGO WAS ON ITS WAY AGAIN TO BECOMING A
WORLD-CLASS CITY
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Chicago in 1898bigger and better than before!
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The worlds first skyscraper was built here
because important architects came to help rebuild
the city after the firethis paved the way for
the city we know today.
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Today, on the spot where Mrs. OLearys barn
stood, you will find the Chicago Fire Academy and
a sculpture commemorating the fire.
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SOME PEOPLE COMPARE CHICAGO TO THE
PHOENIX A MYTHICAL BIRD THAT DIES IN A FIRE
AND IS REBORN STRONGER THAN BEFORE. WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
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Exit Slip

• On the back of the handout where you put your
  bell-ringer, now answer this question
• C What are the most important and/or interesting
  THINGS YOU LEARNED about the fire?