1908 Elevator Fire

Chicagology

Chicagology

I, of course, have heard of the 1871 fire in Chicago. This is the first time I have "heard" of a big fire in 1908. The article is interesting not only because of the insight into fighting the fire, but because it supplies these pictures and map that include the iron swing bridge that was the predecessor of today's heel-trunnion bascule bridge.

One interesting tidbit from the article is that Chicago had at least three fireboats and each could throw "streams of water half as big around as a barrel." The article also shows that ship commerce had not yet moved from the urban area to the Lake Calumet area.

Note in a 1933 aerial photo that the slip in this map still existed in 1933.

Glen Miller -> Original Chicago A fireboat fighting a fire on the banks of the Chicago River in 1932.

A fireboat in 1947 that did not have a propeller. A 1962 fireboat.

MWRD posted
Historical Photo of the Week: The South Branch of the  River and the railyard for the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad on September 13, 1905, viewed looking north from 18th Street.
[Note the three grain elevators on the left, two of which have Burlington Route signs. Also note the size of the boats docking near them.]