Chicago - Late 1800s
The late 1800s were a noteworthy time in Chicago's history - from tragedy, great population growth, improved infrastructure, and vital technological advancements - it was a period of great change and eventually triumph. We'll be taking a trip back in time today to this great American city, starting in the 1860s when Chicago was a vibrant, growing Midwestern city. The Chicago Custom House & Post Office was one of the first impressive governmental buildings built in the heart of Chicago - but unfortunately they wouldn't last long.
October 8th, 1871 marked the date of one of the worst disasters in U.S. history - the Great Chicago Fire. A long, dry summer, coupled with prevalent wooden housing - not to mention a number of blazes in the days beforehand which exhausted the city's resources - led to a large conflagration that killed approximately 300 people and left more than 100,000 homeless.
After the devastating fire, only a couple buildings in the city center were left standing - the Chicago Water Tower and the nearby pumping station. Over the years, they've become a Chicago icon - symbolizing the city's resilience.
Although much of the city center was completely razed, the important stockyards and lumberyards on Chicago's west side remained intact - which played a role in the city's quick recovery. With plenty of help from the surrounding region, the late 1870s saw a flurry of construction - with greatly improved building codes to insure a safer future. Soon afterwards, city's population experienced a period of unprecedented growth.
With the city center getting more and more crowded, there was nowhere to go but up - which led to some important advancements during the 1880s that revolutionized building design across the globe. The 10 story Home Insurance Building - seen here under construction in late 1883 - is widely believed to be the world's first steel-framed skyscraper, utilizing the skeleton construction method. City inspectors were so concerned with the height that construction was often stopped for frequent evaluations - believing that it would topple over - but the building would be fully completed without a hitch by 1885.
The 1890s brought even more change to the city - with electric trolleys gradually replacing cable cars as they proved to be the much more efficient option. Eventually, they would be seen all across Chicago, and street scenes in the heart of the city soon looked similar to the postcard below. With transportation options continually improving (even more so with the Chicago "L" first opening in the mid 1890's), the city's population continued to climb.
By the turn of the century, Chicago had grown to a size of over 1.7 million residents - making it the world's fifth largest city at the time. Although its buildings would soon be surpassed in height, its legacy from the late 1800s continues to lives on.
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-korver
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