“Chicago is burned down but not despairing -- she has the energy and push and will rise phoenix like from the ashes."
- William H. Carter, president of Chicago's Board of Public Works, Oct 15 1871
- William H. Carter, president of Chicago's Board of Public Works, Oct 15 1871
With the terror of the fire still fresh in mind, there were doubts whether the city could be restored. Jonas Hutchinson writes to his mother, “We are in ruins... Our magnificent streets for acres & acres lined with elegant structures are a heap of sightless rubbish. It cannot be described... Thirty years of prosperity cannot restore us." The despondency of seeing Chicago in ruins was reflected across the city. “To see the lines of rough sheds which are taking the places of all the magnificent buildings destroyed is simply heart-breaking," [Anna E. Higginson]
- Frederick Law Olmsted, “Chicago in Distress" [CLICK TO VIEW DOCUMENT], The Nation, Nov 9 1871
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In spite of the overwhelming despair and destruction, Chicago stands alone in its ability to move forward. In contrast to San Francisco, “a feverish, reckless spirit, and among the less disciplined classes an unusual current setting towards turbulence, lawlessness, and artificial jollity..." after its great fire, “...Chicago is the soberest and the most clear headed city I ever saw ... The clearing of the wreck goes ahead in a driving but steady, well-ordered way." [Frederick Law Olmsted]
“Five Months After"
In April 1872, Everett Chamberlin wrote an article titled “Five Months After" [CLICK TO VIEW DOCUMENT] for The Lakeside Monthly. The work detailed an account of Chicago's remarkable progress since the Fire.
“The smoke has not yet ceased to rise from the embers of her memorable conflagration, and yet Chicago has, on this 9th day of March, 1872 - five months from the date of that conflagration, - near twenty miles frontage of solid stone and brick buildings in progress, while the number of less permanent structures, from one to three stories high, already built, is counted by tens of thousands."
Chicago's rebuilding was well underway.
“...the frigid winter months saw rising along Market, Madison, and Franklin streets, near the South Branch of the river, formidable rows of massive brick warehouses, where before had been mostly wooden rookeries, or cheap ‘veneered’ shells of buildings, of the earlier periods of Chicago architecture." Chamberlin presents a clear contrast between "before" (wooden) and "after [fire]" (brick) Chicago.
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“...there were hundreds of building projects on foot, and it was only by the failure of the obtainable supply of brick and stone that the number of these enterprises was checked from swelling indefinitely."
True to its legacy, Chicago's spirit supplied the energy for its high-achieving rebuilding plans.
“Nor is there at present the slightest doubt that the post-office will, ere its completion, be surrounded for a mile on either side (which will take in all the central part of the burnt district), with a solid mass of permanent buildings, far more durable, and, on average, more elegant, than those which melted away before the fiery blast of last October."
“...the comparative slowness of rebuilding residences, owing partly to the passage of a stringent fire ordinance (which was, after all, very necessary)..." Fire-ordinances regarding building materials were introduced in the wake of the fire.
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“I have only to add that if the stranger, having missed the sight of the most remarkable conflagration of modern times, would see a still greater wonder, let him visit Chicago anytime during the coming summer, and see the work which has been done, and that which is in progress..."
“...Let him revel for a few days in the spectacle of what a young Western community can do in a single season towards building a great city."
- Everett Chamberlin