Saturday, February 26, 2022

Illinois Central and/or Michigan Central Grain Elevators on the Chicago River

(Satellite, see the 1901 topo map below for better information)

Brendon Baillod posted two images with comments about the ships.
Brendon Baillod shared
Dennis DeBruler shared to RAILROAD HISTORY BUFFS OF ILLINOIS, but I can't get the link
Dennis DeBruler shared to Chicago Area Railroad Historians, but I can't get the link
Dennis DeBruler shared
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Dennis DeBruler made four comments on his shares:
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This Sanborn Map index of grain elevators in 1901 shows how a ship could be docked south of elevators 7 & 8.
Sanborn fire insurance map provided courtesy of the Map Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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This is a Sanborn Map for elevators 7 & 8.
Sanborn fire insurance map provided courtesy of the Map Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Digitally Zoomed

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This is a Sanborn Map for elevators 7 & 8.
Sanborn fire insurance map provided courtesy of the Map Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Digitally Zoomed

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Actually, it looks like the ship was parked in a slip off the Chicago River.
1901 Chicago Quadrangle @ 1:62,500
 
Brendon Baillod posted
This interesting, early woodcut engraving arrived today. It appeared in the July 1877 edition of Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly Magazine as part of an article titled "The Great Grain Movement," which detailed the booming grain industry in the US.
The woodcut depicts the new elevators constructed in the outer harbor after the fire of 1871. The details are quite accurate, suggesting that the woodcut was created based on an original photograph.
An excellent depiction of a big three-masted grain carrier appears as well as early passenger and package freight steamer and a harbor tug.
This woodcut is quite large and very finely detailed. Feel free to click on the images and zoom for details.
You can read the full article in low res at: https://books.google.com/books?id=iXUqAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA93
Brendon Baillod shared
Dennis DeBruler shared
An image from 1875. This is looking south along Slip B between Illinois Central's two grain elevators along the Chicago River. The Interstate Exposition Building is in the background just to the right of the center line. Black smoke was still considered a sign of prosperity, so the artist generously added smoke. I've read that grain was one of three commodities that made Chicago and the railroads. (The other two were lumber and meat.)
What struck me was the transition from sails to steam. First of all, the steam-powered ship still has a mast. Secondly, both tugboats are steam powered. Tugboats were to water transport as switchers were to railroads --- they handled the on-demand local movements. Just as the transition from steam to diesel started with the switchers, I see that the transition from sail to steam started with the tugboats.

I added Michigan Central to the title and labels because of this post.
Brendon Baillod posted four images with the comment:
This sharp, early stereoview card arrived today.  It is a pre-fire Chicago view made by the notable Chicago stereoview maker John Carbutt.  
The view is stated to show Buckingham's Elevator A, which was destroyed in the Chicago fire.  It was later rebuilt as the Central Elevator.  Based on the maker, the style of card and the the elevator shown, I'd date it about 1869.  Another original copy of this card is known to exist at the New York Public Library collection.
[The description goes on to discuss the freighter.]
Brendon Baillod shared
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Six of the photos in IC Freight Houses Along Michigan Avenue show at least one of the grain elevators and they have been copied to here.
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Paul Petraitis posted 

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Paul Petraitis posted 

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Paul Petraitis posted
Our original river/rail connection, 1858, probably a Hesler photo.
Paul Petraitis Original in the Chicago History Museum collections, a gift of Mrs. Lizzie Moulton Kneeland.
Richard Fiedler shared
Rick Powell The Buckingham family owned many of the grain elevators at the north end of the IC tracks. Namesake of the fountain and also the tiny town in Kankakee County.

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David Daruszka commented on Richard's share
Image of the IC holdings in the lakefront and river. There was quite a panoply of railroads using IC's first Central Station (#2 in the image). The CB&Q had their first office building next to the station.

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Thomas Manz commented on Richard's share
What was the last business or industry north of Randolph Street to have a rail connection?

Bob Hendricks posted
April 10, 1937 – Fire breaks out at 4:00 a.m. at the South Shore depot that sits alongside the Illinois Central Railroad station just east of Randolph Street. It doesn’t take long before “flames burst through the roof of the structure, lighting up Michigan avenue in the vicinity of the public library, and attracting hundreds of motorists and loopgoers to the scene.” [Chicago Daily Tribune, April 11, 1937] The fire brings a large response from the Chicago Fire Department as fire fighters keep their distance battling the 2-11 fire while crowds on the Randolph Street viaduct watch the heroics. The twelve-year-old structure was first used by the Illinois Central but was turned over to the South Shore in 1931. This'll be the second time a fire guts the depot. In a May, 1934 fire, five fire fighters were injured. In the above photo the station stands just to the right of the peristyle, which was torn down in February, 1953. Today this is the northwest corner of Millennium Park.

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Glen Miller posted
1906 postcard of the Illinois Central's yard. The Michigan Central Railroad, a subsidiary of the New York Central, shared track rights with the Illinois Central. The Michigan Central also shared the IC's Central Station in Chicago as well. A switcher locomotive sneaking behind the freight cars, lower right.
Glen Miller Vintage Railroad Postcards

David M Laz also posted
David Daruszka commented on a posting
Markham Yard in Harvey wasn't built until 1926. There were yards at Wildwood, Fordham and the main yards on the lakefront. Here's a postcard image of downtown.

Jim Arvites posted
Postcard view of the Illinois Central yard in downtown Chicago at Pleasure Craft Harbor and Randolph Street circa 1905. Note the Michigan Central passenger cars. The Michigan Central, a New York Central subsidary, used the IC's Central Station for its Chicago - Detroit passenger service until the late 1950's.
David DaruszkaDavid and 3 others manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. Other railroads that used the station prior to 1871 were the Chicago & Alton Railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, The Galena & Chicago Union and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway from 1886 to 1893. At one time, and for years, through passenger trains were run between Chicago and Dubuque, Iowa. These trains ran between Chicago and Freeport, Il over the Galena & Chicago Union, and between Freeport and Dubuque over the Illinois Central. Two separate trains ran out of both Great Central Station and G&CU’s Kinzie Street Station. The two trains were combined at Oak Park as one train. On the return the train was split and each section ran to the respective stations.

safe_image for Mystery frames river paintings now at Chicago Maritime Museum

Fifteen of the photos in Evolution of Illinois Central and Grant Park at the Lakefront show at least one of the elevators and have been copied to here.
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These IC elevators would be the two elevators in the right background of this photo.
Glen Miller posted
Wolf Point in 1885
Raymond Kunst shared post
Neil Gale My article https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/.../wolf-point...
ChicagoLoopBridges posted

Dennis DeBruler shared a Brendon Baillod post via Dennis DeBruler

17:21 video @ 0:18
They original were built from 1855-56. the bigger ones in most of  the photos in these notes were built after the 1871 fire.



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