The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km2) of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. The fire began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center. A long period of hot, dry, windy conditions, and the wooden construction prevalent in the city, led to the conflagration. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago and then leapt the main branch of the river, consuming the Near North Side.
In Old Chicago is a 1938 American disaster musical drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys". The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of the cow which started the fire, and Tyrone Power and Don Ameche as her sons. It also stars Alice Faye and Andy Devine. At the time of its release, it was one of the most expensive movies ever made.
The Peshtigo fire was a large forest fire on October 8, 1871, in northeastern Wisconsin, United States, including much of the southern half of the Door Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The largest community in the affected area was Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which had a population of approximately 1,700 residents. The fire burned about 1.2 million acres and is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, with the number of deaths estimated between 1,500 and 2,500. Although the exact number of deaths is debated, mass graves, both those already exhumed and those still being discovered, in Peshtigo and the surrounding areas show that the death toll of the blaze was most likely greater than the 1889 Johnstown flood death toll of 2,200 people or more.
Michigan Avenue is a north-south street in Chicago that runs at 100 east on the Chicago grid. The northern end of the street is at Lake Shore Drive on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Gold Coast Historic District. The street's southern terminus is at Sibley Boulevard in the southern suburb of Dolton, but like many other Chicago streets, it exists in several disjointed segments.
CatherineO'Leary was an Irish immigrant living in Chicago, Illinois, who became famous when it was alleged that an accident involving her cow had started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Born Catherine Donegan, she and her husband, Patrick O'Leary, had three children, one of whom, James Patrick O'Leary, ran a well-known Chicago saloon and gambling hall.
The Midway Plaisance, known locally as the Midway, is a public park on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is one mile long by 220 yards wide and extends along 59th and 60th streets, joining Washington Park at its west end and Jackson Park at its east end. It divides the Hyde Park community area to the north from the Woodlawn community area to the south. Near Lake Michigan, the Midway is about 6 miles (10 km) south of the downtown "Loop". The University of Chicago was founded just north of the park, and university buildings now front the Midway to the south, as well.
The city of Chicago is located in northern Illinois, United States, at the south western tip of Lake Michigan. It sits on the Saint Lawrence Seaway continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, an ancient trade route connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds.
LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Robert de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district.
The Lapham–Patterson House is a historic site at 626 North Dawson Street in Thomasville, Georgia. The house, built between 1884-85 as a winter cottage for businessman C.W. Lapham of Chicago, is a significant example of Victorian architecture. It has a number of architectural details, such as fishscale shingles, an intricately designed porch, long-leaf pine inlaid floors, and a double-flue chimney. Inside, the house was well-appointed with a gas lighting system, hot and cold running water, indoor plumbing, and modern closets. Its most significant feature is its completely intentional lack of symmetry. None of the windows, doors, or closets are square. The house is a Georgia Historic Site and is also a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1973 for its architecture. It is also a contributing building in the National Register-listed Dawson Street Residential Historic District.
The Wigwam was a convention center and meeting hall that served as the site of the 1860 Republican National Convention. It was located in Chicago, Illinois, at Lake Street and Market near the Chicago River. This site had previously been the site of the Sauganash Hotel, Chicago's first hotel. This is where supporters ushered Abraham Lincoln to the party nomination and the eventual U.S. Presidency. The location at Lake and Wacker was designated a Chicago Landmark on November 6, 2002. The name "Wigwam" was later associated with host locations for both the 1864 Democratic National Convention and the 1892 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
KAM Isaiah Israel is a Reform synagogue located at 1100 E. Hyde Park Boulevard in the historic Kenwood neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. It is the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago, with its oldest core founded in 1847 as Kehilath Anshe Ma'arav.
James Patrick O'Leary was a gambling boss and saloon owner in Chicago. His parents were Patrick and Irish-born Catherine O'Leary, in whose barn the Great Chicago Fire is alleged to have begun.
McCarthy Building was a five-story Chicago Landmark building in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Located in the southwest corner of the block on the northeast corner of North Dearborn Street and West Washington Street, the John M. Van Osdel designed building had been erected in 1872, but was demolished in 1989 during the clearing of what is known as Chicago's Block 37. In order to make way for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's redevelopment, the Chicago City Council had to revoke the privately owned building's landmark status in 1987.
Washington Block is a Chicago Landmark building located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Designed by Frederick and Edward Baumann, it was built between 1873 and 1874 in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on January 14, 1997. When completed, Washington Block was one of the tallest buildings in the city of Chicago and is described as a rare example of the "isolated pier foundation" which contributed to the foundation of knowledge that has made Chicago the birthplace of the skyscraper. The building has limestone facades and originally included an exterior staircase that led to a second-floor corner entrance. The lobby has a curving hardwood staircase. Today the first floor is occupied by a 7-Eleven and the second floor occupied by Carter Legal Group PC. The building, which is located at the corner of North Wells Street and West Washington Street is five stories tall.
Egon Weiner was a Chicago sculptor and longtime professor (1945–1971) at the Art Institute of Chicago. He was known for a 33-foot-tall (10 m) abstract bronze sculpture, Pillar of Fire, which can be found on the grounds of the Chicago Fire Academy on the spot where, legend has it, Mrs. O'Leary's cow knocked over the lantern that started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Wolf Point is the location at the confluence of the North, South and Main Branches of the Chicago River in the present day Near North Side, Loop, and Near West Side community areas of Chicago. This fork in the river is historically important in the development of early Chicago. Located about 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Lake Michigan, this was the location of Chicago's first three taverns, its first hotel, Sauganash Hotel, its first ferry, its first drug store, its first church, its first theater company, and the first bridges across the Chicago River. The name is said to possibly derive from a Native American Chief whose name translated to wolf, but alternate theories exist.
The Great Fire is a story for children and young adults, written by Jim Murphy about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which caused the destruction of most of the city of Chicago. The Great Fire was a Newbery medal honor book in 1996.
Barriers Burned Away is a 1925 American silent historical drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Mabel Ballin, Eric Mayne, and Frank Mayo. It is set at the time of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.
