Things I Like - Chicago

Harper's Weekly, drawing by Theodore R. Davis

Of the ten most populous cities in the U.S. (based on 2007 figures), Chicago is the 5th oldest with its first permanent settlement established in 1781. So we have some history.

I like old stuff, especially old buildings. Of course, not much in Chicago dates from before 1871... pesky fire. Fewer than 20 buildings or structures that survived the fire are still standing today. Among them are

• Clarke House (the oldest, built in 1836)
• Hull House (1856)
• St. Ignatius College Prep (1869)
• the Water Tower & Pumping station (1869)

You can find photos and drawings along with brief 'bios' of these as well as many other historically significant buildings at the Chicago Landmark webpage. The site offers a number of approaches to exploring Chicago's landmarks including 'tours' of buildings and structures by location and subject.

Did you know the restaurant on LaSalle that used to be Jordan's and is now the Mexican place LaLo's used to be the LaSalle Street cable car powerhouse? Did you even know that Chicago used to have cable cars??

Another interesting site I ran across was a joint effort by the Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University commemorating the Chicago Fire. The on-line exhibit has both images and essays documenting the fire. Anyone growing up in the Chicago area will have heard about the Great Fire, but reading the accounts written by people who lived through it make it very real.

Take a look at the Hesler panorama - a series of 11 photographs taken in 1858 from atop the original courthouse. One might be forgiven for thinking that the fire was a good thing overall - Chicago was a total mess at that point.

http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/LandmarksWeb/index.jsp

http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/intro/