THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY From the collection of Julius Doerner, Chicago Purchased, 1918. IIUMIS " : ;,/5 7ttE LIBRAE OF TKE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS MARQUIS' A COMPLETE HISTORY, REFERENCE BOOK AND GUIDE TO THE CITY. Illustrated* CHICAGO: A. N. MARQUIS & CO., PUBLISHEKS. ISSY. COPYRIGHT, 1884 AND 1886, BY A. N. MIARQUIS & COMPANY. .' PREFACE. In presenting the third annual edition of MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO to the public the publishers desire to express their gratification at the favor with which the former editions have been received, and the general recognition accorded the book as a stand- ard work upon the subjects embraced in its pages. The original edition of the work was issued in October, 1884, and in the present edition such additions and changes have been made in the text as have been rendered important by lapse of time, and a few new illustrations have also been introduced. The work continues to occupy a field peculiarly its own, carry- ing out the original design which, as stated in the preface to former editions, is to give a comprehensive view of the leading features of the great metropolis of the Northwest, bringing out into bold relief the social, business, religious, charitable, educational and other lines of its progress, through tersely drawn sketches of the most striking details of each, so grouped as to convey a clear and strong impression of the growth and condition of that element of Chicago life. The aim has been to produce a book which would answer the questions of every class of inquirers, at home and abroad, and it is believed that the task has been at least measurably accomplished, and with as great a degree of accuracy as was attainable by the employment of every available means to that end. It has been the endeavor to secure the utmost economy of space consistent with fullness and accuracy, with such an arrangement of the matter as will afford the greatest facility for reference. Hence, so far as possible, subjects of a kindred nature have been collected under appropriate headings, and an index appended which the reader will find useful. The book will be subjected to frequent and thorough revisions, and suggestions for improvement and information of changes and corrections are solicited, and should be addressed to A. N. Marquis & Co., Lakeside Building, Chicago. JANUARY, 1887. 700981 CONTENTS BY CHAPTERS. Page. PREFACE .... 3 CHICAGO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH . . . . . 5-28 THE THOROUGHFARES STREETS, AVENUES, BRIDGES, TUN- NELS, STREET RAILWAYS 29-38 TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES RAILWAYS, RIVERS, CANALS, LAKE 39-60 THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS 61-68 THE CITY GOVERNMENT ' . . . 69-76 THE MILITIA MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS IN CHICAGO . . 77-80 PARKS AND BOULEVARDS 81-98 CHARITY AND BENEVOLENCE CHARITABLE, BENEVOLENT AND HUMANE INSTITUTIONS, ETC 99-130 THE CLUBS AND SOCIETIES 131-158 THE BURIAL PLACES 159-172 THE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS CHURCHES, ETC. . . . 173-206 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 207-220 THE LIBRARIES 221-226 ARTS AND SCIENCES ART AND SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS . 229-234 PLACES OF AMUSEMENT 235-244 THE NEWSPAPER PRESS 245-256 THE MUSICAL SOCIETIES 257-260 THE EXCHANGES AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS . . . 261-266 THE HOTELS 267-274 REAL ESTATE INTERESTS 275-292 BUSINESS HOUSES 289-34b INDEX TO FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 329 INDEX TO SMALLER ILLUSTRATIONS 329-330 INDEX TO TEXT 330-336 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ...... 283-288 CHICAGO. AN HISTORICAL SKETCH s years ago, Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette, who had journeyed from Canada in canoes to the Mississippi River, via the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, returned to Lake Michigan then known as Lac Des Illinois by way of the Illi- nois. Desplaines and Chicago Rivers.* The last named rivers were till then unknown to the two explorers, who followed FIRST FAMILY RESIDENCE IN CHICAGO. them by the advice of some friendly Indians, as a means of shortening the return route. In time they came into a narrow stream which was probably then but little more than a slough. Paddling along its sluggish current, the keels of their canoes soon glided down the soiith branch of the Chicago River, through the site of the present city of Chicago, and into the clear waters of the lake. So far as is known, this trip of Joliet and Marquette one a holy man, in search of savage souls to be saved and locations for the estab- lishment of missions, and the other an explorer in search of wealth revealed to white men their first glimpse of the site of the great city. * Mr. Albert D. Hager, the well known librarian of the Chicago Historical Society, who is jus'ly regarded as high authority, contends, in an able paper read before the Society, that this was not the route followed, and shows clearly that it might have been -but, as we weigh the evidence, not conclusively that it was, by way of the Des Plaines, the " sag," Stony Brook, and the Calumet. 6 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. Evidently what they saw made no striking or abiding impression on them. There was nothing around this embouchure of a little muddy stream which led from the prairie into the lake, to indicate its magnifi- cent future. If the travelers saw anything of importance, or which suggested the site of a populous city, they made no mention of it in their diary. They were weary with their long journey, and poor Mar- quette was oppressed with a premonition that he was close to the end of the journey of life. And so the first white men who ever saw the site of Chicago passed it without comment. Fancy the holy exaltation of the dying Marquette, could he have glanced forward two centuries ! SITE OF CHICAGO. One may picture with some degree of fidelity the scene these two men looked upon, if they cared to lift their weary eyes and glance about them during the few moments that preceded their entry into the lake. Away back on the horizon a dead level of green, with not an interruption to break the monotony. The water on which they pad- dled was sluggish, turbid, inert, covered with a slimy green, and con- tained within banks that scarcely rose above its dead level. Back of the lake for leagues the adjacent country was a level morass from which rose stalwart reeds and brawny grasses, and over which prevailed an inundation that seemed limitless as to extent and eternal as to dura- tion. Along the shores of the lake, to the right and left, interminable stretches of sand, now smooth as a floor, now blown into dunes, with MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 7 here and there patches of gnarled timber, squat, unhealthy, and add- ing a feature of desolation to the scene, instead of relieving the mo- notonous aspect of the waste. If the two travel- worn voyagers glanced at all over the surroundings, they must have felt that nature had here made an especial effort to construct a region to be avoided. This was in August, 1673, and, considering the character of the location, it has been none too long since to afford time in which to transform that area of desolation into the marvelous city which now fills its place. For more than a century the sand dunes shifted, the dwarfed vege- tation died and was renewed, the marshy areas of sedge were undis- turbed. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis and other places were founded, and began their growth. There occurred the French and English wars in which Wolfe and Montcalm died and filled adjacent graves. There were British and Indian massacres, Pontiac, and other notables, and finally it was decided to build a fort on Lake Michigan for the protection of the country from Canadian and Indian incursions. The site at first selected was on the east side of the lake at St. Joseph, but for some reason the present site of Chicago * was chosen. And then began to exist, or to become visible, the protoplasm which in time would, by the processes of evolution, become the city of Chicago. The river gave the name to the city. The stream was called Che- caugou by the native Indians, and is said to have taken this designa- tion from a mephitic animal peculiar to the locality, and whose odor may have been a foretaste of what the completed city was to experience in after years from the rendering establishments of " Bridgeport." There were Indians all about in those far-off days,. when the lake winds sighed or roared among the sodden rushes, and Chicago slept in the womb of the future. There were first the Miamis and Mascoutins, and later the Pottawatomies and others, who made forays for scalps and phinder on adjacent tribes, and were in turn raided by their enemies, when they yielded such of their scalps, ponies, and other aboriginal assets as they could not retain. For a time the region about the mouth of the Chicago Kiver was in the possession of France. French priests visited it, and there are various legends, traditions and the like, which go to establish the fact * Chicago is situated about the fork and mouth of the Chicago River, on the west shore of Lake Michigan, and near the head of that fine inland sea, in latitude 41 52' north, and longitude 87 35' west. The city comprises an area of 23,010 acres, which is divided into north, south and west divisions (commonly known as North Side, South Side and West Side) by the river and its branches. 8 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOS OF CHICAGO. that there were a half dozen or more white men who were " the first " to visit the locality. Marquette is the one who stands most promi- nently in this connection and, as the original white pioneer, will prob- ably go down to posterity on the stream of history. This much, how- ever, seems to be settled : In 1795 the Indian residents ceded to the United States an area of six miles square, on Avhich, in 1803, Fort Dearborn was erected. Back of this date, there is but little which does not belong to the age of myth, like the period of Eomulus with reference to the future city of Rome. Back of all great cities there lies a period which is dim and mysterious, of which much is conjectured, asserted and denied, but little or nothing is known. Even Chicago, the newest and most enterprising of modern cities, has its mythical past into which enter few save the disputatious, and whose character, even if fully known, would confer no great benefit on posterity. It was, then, in 1803 that Chicago entered on her historical period. For over a century prior to this date, the French had more or less occupied the locality ; and when the time came for their removal, they must have felt as did the Moors of Grenada when expelled by the Spaniards after soms eight hundred years of almost undisturbed ownership. From 1779 to 1796, a period of seventeen years, one Baptiste Point DeSaible, a San Domingo negro, resided here as a trader among the Pottawatomie Indians. His cabin was situated on the north side of the main branch of the river, and near where it turns to the south. In 1796 he sold his landed possessions to LeMai, a French trader, and re- turned to Peoria, whence he had come, and soon afterward died. July 4, 1803, marked an vent in the history of the place that signalized the beginning of a new epoch. In those days the selection of a site for a frontier fort was generally made with an eye to the advantages of its location in respect to certain facilities and surround- ings that constitute prime elements in the growth and prosperity of a city. This was the case with Chicago. The government having found the situation most favorable for its purpose, Capt. John Whistler, who was in command of a company of regular troops stationed at Detroit, was ordered to proceed to this point and construct a fort. Capt. AVhistler came in a sailing vessel, accompanied by his wife and son George, and his eldest son, Lieut. William Whistler, and young bride, leaving Lieut. Jas. S. Swerrington to bring the soldiers around by land. The vessel arrived at the mouth of Chicago River on the day men- tioned, and thus, on the anniversary of American independence, in MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK Off CHICAGO. 9 1803, began the story of a municipal growth that was destined to surpass that of any other city of the old and new worlds. Capt. Whistler commenced operations by the construction of Fort Dear- born, on the point of land extending between the lake and the south bank of Chicago Kiver, the enclosure including a portion of Michigan Avenue as it now is. The fort consisted of two block houses, from which there led an underground passage to the river, for the purpose, probably, of securing^ an outlet to water in case of siege. The grounds occupied were quite spacious, being sufficient for a parade ground, and also to furnish a garden for the cultivation of vegetables. The entire space was enclosed by a strong palisade. Just outside of the palisade, on the west of the fort, was a log house used as a warehouse for the storage of goods intended for distribution among the Indians. The fort was garrisoned at this period by a force of sixty-two officers and privates. There were three pieces of artillery and the necessary amount of small arms. The site of the fort was very charming, being one of the highest points on the lake, and commanding an excellent view in every direction. There is a vague legend that this fort was not the first which occupied the spot, and that as far back, as 1718 there had been a fort in the same locality. But this misty legend cannot be allowed to rob Fort Dearborn of the honor of having been the pioneer enterprise of the kind in this vicinit3 r . The first permanent white settler was John Kinzie, who came to Chicago in the spring of 1804, and who was the progenitor of the numerous and respectable family of that name that was so much iden- tified with the early history of the Garden City. He was a silversmith by trade, but acted as Indian sub-agent, and Indian trader. He was a Canadian by birth, and died here in 1828, at the age of sixty-five years. He is regarded as one of the founders of the city, although it AV.IS many years after his death before it began to exhibit any indica- tions of its surpassing future. Mr. Kinzie became the owner of the cabin formerly occupied by the San Domingoan, DeSaible. He enlarged and improved it from time to time until he made it a comfortable home and a hospitable shelter to all who found its doors. The old " Kinzie House," as it is now familiarly called, was last occupied by Mark Noble who, with his family, lived in it as late as 1832. At that time, however, it was fast going to decay, and it shortly afterward became a thing of the past. It was the first family residence in Chicago. There is a lively discussion as to who had the honor to be the first 10 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. white child born in Chicago. A daughter of John Kinzie, just men- tioned, named Ellen Marion, was born in December, 1805. Some children had been born in the fort, but as the military were not per- manent residents, and perhaps a little out of deference to the sex, the honor is generally conceded to Ellen Marion Kinzie. There was but little change in or about Fort Dearborn for several years. The visitors were chiefly Indians ; the inhabitants were few although fairly prosperous. In the summer of 1812, the entire popu- lation consisted of John Kinzie and family; a French laborer named Oulimette ; a Mr. Burns with wife and children ; and some four miles up the South Branch was a farmer named White, tenant of a land- owner, named Lee, and three French laborers in White's employ. Within the fort there resided Capt. Heald, Lieut. Helm and Sergt. Holt, and their families. In addition to these there were some sixty- four soldiers, of whom twelve were militia. All of the officers of the year 1803 had been changed, Heald taking the place of Whistler; Lieut. Helm held the second place ; George Kohan was ensign and Van Voorhis, surgeon. And now there came into view on the horizon a cloud, at first " no bigger than a man's hand," but which speedily became a hurricane of most deadly force. War Avas declared by the United States against Great Britain, and the Winnebagoes and PottaAvatomies became hostile to the whites. As early as April, 1812, the first- named tribe made a stealthy raid against the settlement, and managed to kill and scalp White, and one of the French laborers employed by him. The other two escaped, made their way to the fort and gave the alarm ; but from this time till August nothing serious occurred, beyond some small raids made by the Indians for the purpose of stealing cattle, or in the hope of securing the scalp of some unsuspicious laggard ah out the settlement. An order came from Gen. Hull, at Detroit, for the garrison of Fort Dearborn to move out and go to Fort Wayne, unless in a condition to stand a siege. Capt. Heald is represented as a man who lacked decis- ion of character, and hence did not comprehend the situation. It is now conceded that had he moved at once after getting the order, or even had he staid and made a determined defense, he would have es- caped the calamity which soon after overtook him. He concluded to evacuate the fort, against the advice of his subordinate officers, of Mr. Kinzie, and of some friendly Indians; but in place of carrying out his resolution at once, he determined to try and placate the Indians by calling them together and dividing among them the stores which re- 12 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. mained on band, and which he could not carry with him. The meeting with the Pottawatomies was held on the 12th of August, and it was agreed that the stores should ba divided among them, and that they should furnish an escort for the garrison to Fort Wayne, for which they were to receive a liberal reward. The agreement to give the Indians arms, ammunition and whisky was so clearly disadvantageous and dangerous to the whites, and Mr. Kinzie protested so strongly against its being carried into effect, that Capt. Heald took advantage of the darkness of the night to break open the barrels of whisky and let the contents run into the river, and at the same time to throw the surplus ammunition and muskets into a well. This operation was witnessed by some prowling savages, who reported it to the others and thus aroused a deadly animosity against the whites. On the 15th, the evacuation of the fort was begun. On the day pre- vious Capt. William Wells, with some fifteen Miamis, reached the fort from Fort Wayne, but it was concluded that it was useless to attempt to defend the place, even with this addition, as the Indians were too nu- merous and the means of opposition too limited. Mr. Kinzie had been warned that the Pottawatomies meant mischief, and that he must not accompany the troops overland, but must put his family on a boat and proceed across the lake where he could join the troops on the other side provided the troops were allowed to proceed on their march. Mr. Kinzie acted on this advice, and placed his wife and four younger children in the boat, in which there were also the nurse of the children, a clerk of Mr. Kinzie, two servants, the boatmen, and two In- dians who Avere acting as their protectors. Mr. Kinzie was urged to join the party in the boat, but declined to do so, as he foresaw the storm, and thought he might be of sarvice in warding off some of its effects. The boat started, but had scarcely gotten under way when a messenger from the friendly Indians arrived and told them to remain where they were. They had reached the mouth of the river, and from this point saw much of the conflict which almost immediately followed. Mr. Kinzie and his oldest son accompanied the troops in their march from the fort, the former knowing that he would not be attacked, as the savages were friendly to him, and he hoped to be of some service to the others. The troops filed slowly out of the fort, the band ominously playing the Dead March. Capt. Wells led the way with his Miamis, and knowing that death was almost certain, he had blacked his face in ac- cordance with the custom of the Indians among whom he had been reared. MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 13 The little column proceeded south along the shore of the lake, keep- ing on the sand. On the prairie higher up moved the escort of In- dians, numbering some five hundred warriors. All went well until the column had reached a point on the shore of the lake near what is now the foot of Eighteenth Street. Just then Capt. Wells, who had been riding a little in advance with his Miamis, came furiously back, and announced that the Indians were about to attack them. A moment later the Indians commenced tiring on the column from the sand hills along the edge of the prairie, and at once the troops formed in line and charged up the bank. At the first discharge, the Miamis fled without fii-ing a shot. Capt. Wells alone disdained to fly, and was speedily shot, scalped, and his heart taken out with the savage idea that his captors might acquire some of his courage by devouring it. Mrs. Helm, the wife of Lieut. Helm, was one of the party marching from the fort, and her account of the massacre has become historical. The troops fought gallantly, forced their way through the Indians, and reached a little elevation on the prairie, where, finding the fighting useless, they sent an interpreter and negotiated a surrender on condi- tion that their lives should be spared, and that they should be allowed to ransom themselves as soon as practicable. The loss of the Indians is stated at about fifteen. The loss of the whites was large, about fifty in all. Of all that left the fort, there re- mained at the surrender twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates, and eleven women and children. All the wounded prisoners were killed and mutilated. Among those killed were Surgeon Van Voorhis, Ensign Kohan and Capt. Wells. The wounded were Capt. Heald and his wife, and Lieut, and Mrs. Helm. The latter, however, managed to retain her senses and preserve for posterity the only reli- able and connected account of the fight. She was a most gallant woman, the step-daiighter of Mr. Kinzie, to whom she was indebted for examples of courage and gallantry that did her essential service. She was attacked by a young Indian who attempted to tomahawk her, but she avoided the blow aimed at her head, and received it on her shoulder. She was just then seized by a friendly Indian in disguise, who bore her to the lake, and, in pretending to attempt to drown her, he saved her life. Mrs. Heald was badly wounded by bullets, and was on the point of being scalped, when she was rescued by a friendly In- dian on guard at the boat of the Kinzie party, her captor foregoing the pleasure of scalping her on condition of the immediate payment of a mule, and ten bottles of whisky at a later date. The latter portion of 14 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. the reward seems to have proved irresistible; the savage released her and she was taken into the boat. Kohan, the ensign, fought to the last and died courageously. Surgeon Van Voorhis was wounded, and pitifully appealed to Mrs. Helm, who was near him, to do something to save him. He died very unwillingly. Mr. Kinzie and his family were cared for by the friendly Indians Avho saved their lives, but Mr. K. underwent a long and shifting im- prisonment at the hands of the British, and Avas at last released uncon- ditionally. After his death in Chicago, January, 1828, he was first interred on the shore of the lake near his residence. Later he was reinterred in the burying ground near where the North Side water- works now stand, and again in the cemetery formerly located in the southern portion of what is now Lincoln Park. A few years ago his post-mortem wanderings were terminated by his remains being trans- ferred, to Graceland Cemetery. The Indians burned Fort Dearborn, and Chicago had undergone its first great trial. The same year the first territorial legislature of Illinois met, and it is said of them, in " Western Annals," that " they did their work like men devoted to business matters. Not a lawyer nor an attorney is found on the list." Six years later the territory was organized into a state. In 1829 the state, by authority of Congress, inaugurated operations for the building of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and soon after this the real evolution of Chicago commenced. In 1831 the county of Cook was organized, Chicago being made the county seat, and on Aiig. 10, 1833, the town of Chicago came into being. The vote by which the people decided to incorporate themselves was thirteen twelve for, and one against. There were twenty-eight votes cast at the elec- tion for town officers five days later. The first pxiblic building con- structed after the town was established was a log jail, and the next was an estray pen. T. J. V. Owen, George W. Dole, Madore B. Beaubien, John Miller and. E. 5. Kiinberly were the first trustees. They proceeded to lay out the town of Chicago in modest dimensions, as folloAVs : Begin- ning at the intersection of Jackson and Jefferson Streets, thence north to Cook Street, and through that street to its eastern extension in Wa- bansia, thence on a direct line tOAvard Ohio Street to Kinzie's Addition, thence eastwardly to the lake shore, thence south with the line of the beach to the northern United States pier, thence northAvardly along said pier to its termination, thence to the channel of the Chicago Eiver, thence along said channel until it intersects the eastern boundary line MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 15 of the town of Chicago as laid out by the canal commissioners, thence southwardly with said line till it meets Jackson Stre t, tlience west- wardly along the line of Jackson Street until it reaches the point of beginning. In 1832 the total collection of taxes amounted to $357.78, the most of which came from licenses to keep tavern and sell goods. At that period there were no mail routes or post roads in this section, and of course no postofflce in Chicago. The only method of getting mail was to send a half-breed Indian once in two weeks to Niles, in Michi- gan, and he was always instructed to get possession of all the news- papers available, and bring them back to Chicago. The trip was made on foot, and usually occu- pied a week. The promi- nent families here at this time were those of James Kinzie (son of the famous John Kinzie), who lived at Wolf's Point at the junction of the North and South Branches of the river; Elijah. Wentworth, who kept a tav- ern ; W T illiam See, Alexander Robinson, Robert A. Kinzie, Samuel See, who lived on the north side of the North Branch, nearly opposite Wolf's Point, and who, in company with his brother, John Miller, kept a tavern ; and Mark Beaubien, also a tavern keeper, who lived on the east side of the South Branch just above its junction with the North Branch. There was also an Indian trader named Bourasso, and a family named Boliveu, who lived just south of the fort. There were two or three other families, but the preparation of a directory of Chicago, as it then was, would be a work of but few minutes. There was something of an Indian scare when Black Hawk broke loose from the south in 1832, and at one time there were several hun- dred fugitives in the fort, who fled there for protection against ex- pected raids. It was in this war that Abraham Lincoln gained his SITE OF OLD FORT DEARBORN, RIVER STREET AND MICHIGAN AVENUE. 16 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. renown as a soldier, and. many other heroes appeared who afterward reaped a generous reward from their grateful country. In the samc x year George W. Dole inaugurated the slaughtering and packing indus- try, by killing and packing 200 head of cattle and 350 head of hogs. This was but an humble beginning of what has grown to be one of the greatest industries of modern Chicago. Meamvhile Fort Dearborn had been rebuilt, and a garrison occupied it until June, 1833, at which time there were about a dozen families settled about the fort. The site of the old fort is now occupied by a massive five-story business block, within the angle formed by the junction of Kiver Street and Michigan Avenue. This building, which is shown in an accompanying illustration, bears on its north front a marble tablet with the following inscription : THIS BUILDING OCCUPIES THE SITE OF OLD FORT DEARBORN, WHICH EXTENDED A LITTLE ACROSS MICHIGAN AVENUE AND SOME- WHAT INTO THE RIVER AS IT NOW IS. THE FORT WAS BUILT IN 1803-4, FORMING OUR OUTMOST DEFENSE. BY ORDER OF GEN. HULL IT WAS EVACUATED AUG. 15, 1812, AFTER ITS STORES AND PROVISIONS HAD BEEN DISTRIB- UTED AMONG THE INDIANS. Very soon after, the Indians attacked and massacred about fifty of the troops and a number of citizens, including women and children, and next day burned the fort. In 1816 it was rebuilt, but after the Black Hawk war it went into gradual disuse, and in May, 1837, was abandoned by the army, but was occupied by various government offi- cers till 1857, when it was torn down, excepting a single building, which stood upon the site till the great fire of Oct. 9, 1871. At the suggestion of the Chicago Historical Society this tablet was erected, November, 1880, by W. M. HOYT. Mark Beaitbien, the original tavern-keeper of Chicago, but a short time since yielded up a life of far more than average length. He came to Chicago from Michigan in 1820, and bought from John Kinzie a small log house which stood about where the corner of Lake and Market Streets is now located, paying $100 for it: This cabin was transformed into the famous "Sauganash" tavern, and was the humble pioneer of the Grand Pacific, Palmer, Tremout, Sherman, and MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 17 other palatial hotels of Chicago. In later years, in response to an inquiry as to his manner of keeping tavern in the olden time, Mr. Beaubien said ; "I had no ped, but when traveler came for lodging, I give him planket to cover himself up on the floor, and tell him to look out, for Ingin steal it. Den when he gits to sleep I take de planket way careful and give it to noder man and tell him same, so I always have peds for all dat want em." He was the father of twenty-six chil- dren, of whom sixteen were by his first, and the rest by his second wife. On the 26th of November, 1833, there occurred an event which was of more importance to the destinies of the coming city than all that had before taken place. This was the establishment of a news- CHICAGO IN 1845. paper, the first enterprise of the kind, and known as The Chicago Democrat. John Calhoun was the daring person who took this initial step, and he is to the journalists of Chicago what Columbus is to modern explorers. The place of publication was at the corner of LaSalle and South Water Streets. The first number urged strongly the beginning and completion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, in order to facilitate intercourse between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, and adjded that, "'with even the present limited system of navi- gation, goods have been transported from New York to St. Louis in the short space of twenty-three days." The issue of April 16, 1834, commenced a marine record, announcing the arrival of one schooner from St. Joseph, and the departure of two others. Wolf and bear hunting with in the corporate limits of the town was 2 18 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. one of the amusements that were sometimes resorted to both for pas- time and for the protection of the pigs, sheep, fowls, etc. In October, 1835, a bear was treed in the woods near what is now the corner of Market and Jackson Streets, and many wolves were killed the succeed- ing winter in the same locality. During the summer sea ;on of 1834, Chicago was visited once a week by a steamboat from Lake Erie, and the same year the schooner Illinois entered Chicago Elver, being the first vessel that performed this feat. Before, owing to a bar at the mouth of the river, vessels had to unload outside aud handle their cargoes with lighters, but a freshet came, and opened a channel for the admission of this vessel. Considering the "bridge nuisance " of OLD SALOON BUILDING. to-day, there are many who will regret that a vessel was ever found to make the initial passage. Chicago now had several taverns, a newspaper, a packing establish- ment, a ferry or two, and a marine list. In religious progress it was not behind. The Jesuits had preached to the Indians in the seven- teenth century ; and in 1833 no less than four of the principal denomi- nations were represented, viz : Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist. The year 1836 was a notable one in the history of Chicago. On the 18th of May of that year the first ship built here was launched amidst the rejoicing of the entire population of the village. July 4th of that year was not only the national anniversary, but was the day on MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 19 which the first sol was turned in the work of excavating the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Such a thing as a railway connection with Chi- cago was not dreamed of at that time, and the future of the city was supposed to depend on the water connection between the lake and the Mississippi River. This year was also the one in which Chicago put off her rural garments, and modestly but hopefully arrayed herself in the garb of a young city. The actual and legal incorporation of the city was not effected until a year later March 4, 1837, but in 1836 the necessary steps were taken by the people, and at that date, de facto if not de jure, the city of Chicago became a fixed fact. At the first city election William B. Ogden, the Democratic candidate, was elected mayor, his opponent, John H. Kinzie, being the Whig repre- sentative. The entire vote was 706, of which Mr. Ogden received 469, and Mr. Kinzie 237. The map of that year gives the boundaries of Chicago as follows : On the south by Twenty-second Street, on the west by Wood Street, on the north by North Avenue and on the east by the lake. This bound- ary included the grounds of the fort and some land along the lake shore extending a half mile north of North Avenue, which were reserved. The first meetings of the municipal authorities were held in what was called the Saloon Building, on the southeast corner of Lake and Clark Streets. Five years later the meetings were held in a private building on the corner of LaSalle and Randolph Streets. The first city hall was constructed in Market Building, a structure erected by the city, and which stood in the center of State Street, with its south front on a line with Randolph, and extending north toward Lake. The lower floor was a market, and the upper floor was arranged for the uses of the municipality. In 1851 a joint court-house was built by the county and city on Court-House Square, the site of the present city and county buildings, and was used until it was destroyed by the great fire of 1871. Chicago grew rapidly after its incorporation as a city, and it was believed by those who had land to sell that in the future it would reach a population of not less than one hundred thousand souls. The year of its incorporation, however, it encountered its first serious obstacle in the financial panic of that and the following year. The demand for real estate fell off very heavily, as may be gathered from the sales of the canal company, which in 1835 were over three hundred and sev- enty thousand acres ; the next year over two hundred and two thou- 20 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. sand, and in 1837 less than sixteen thousand acres. There "was an improvement the succeeding year, when the sales mounted up to one hundred and sixty thousand. Many people left the city during the two years referred to, under the conviction that Chicago's day of prosperity was passed, and that it was doomed to extinction as a city. Statistics show that from 1832 to 1853 real estate increased in value at a rate which is almost beyond belief. Lots 3 and 4 in block 31, for instance, were worth $102 in 1832, and sold for $108, 000 in 1853. Several lots held by Beaubien and the Kinzies at $346 in 1832, were sold in 1853 at $540,000. The rise in general, during this period, was scarcely less on an average than that exhibited in the instances cited. The next serious set-back Chicago had after the panic of 1837-38 was the flood of 1849, the consequences of which were serious. The inundation occurred in March and was produced by the overflow of the Desplaines River. The South Branch of the Chicago River was filled with ice, which was soon undermined by the flood from the Desplaiues. There were many vessels in the river, and these were crushed in the advancing gorge of ice. The pushing mass included everything in its march, and this added to its deadly character. Some forty vessels were utterly destroyed, and the only bridge in the city was annihilated. The damage to the shipping, wharves and city generally was estimated at considerably over a hundred thousand dollars. In 1850 Chicago had forty-two miles of railway on the .Galena line, which was commenced in 1847. Two years later it was connected with the east by the Michigan Southern Railway, and from that time to the present its progress as a railway center has been without a par- allel in modern civilization. An event of considerable importance took place in 1855, when Dr. Levi D. Boone was mayor, having been elected on the Know Nothing ticket. One of his first official acts was to recommend to the common council that the license for saloons be raised from $50 per annum to $300, and that no license be issued for more than three months. This excited great opposition among the liquor sellers and their friends, who banded together to resist the movement. The attempt to collest the new license, and to enforce the Sunday law which had long been a dead letter, led to great excitement, and during the pendency of a trial of one of the offenders, a great crowd gathered on the corner of Ran- dolph and Clark Streets, filling both thoroughfares and totally ob- structing travel. In the afternoon the police and the mob came into 22 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. violent contact. There was a good deal of shooting on both sides, and although the official reports show but one man killed on the side of the rioters, it is believed that several were killed and carried off by their friends, or else died later from wounds received in the melee. A couple of pieces of artillery were brought out and placed in position for service, but the police handled the mob, and dispersed it without great difficulty. The greatest event in the history of Chicago was the Great Fire, as it is termed, which broke out on the evening of Oct. 8, 1871. Chicago was at that time a city of wood. For a long time prior to the evening referred to there had been blowing a hot wind from the southwest, which had dried everything to the inflammability of tinder, and it was upon a mass of sun and wind dried wooden structures that the fire began its work. It is sup- posed to have originated from the accidental upset- ting of a kerosene lamp in a cow-barn on DeKoven Street, near the corner of Jefferson, on the west side of the river. This region was composed largely of shanties, and the fire spread very rapidly, soon crossing the river to the South Side, and fastening on that portion of the city which contained nearly all the leading business houses, and which was built up very largely with stone and brick. But it seemed to enkindle as if it were tinder. Some buildings were blown up with gunpowder, which, in connection with the strong southwest gale, pre- vented the extension of the flames to the south. The fire swept on Monday steadily to the north, including everything from the lake to the South Branch, and then crossed to the North Side, and, taking in everything from the lake to the North Branch, it burned northward for a distance of three miles, where it died out at the city limits, when there was nothing more to burn. In the midst of this broad area of devastation, on the north side of Washington Square, between Clark Street and Dearborn Avenue, the well-known Ogden House stands amid trees of the ancient forest and surrounded by extensive grounds, the solitary relic of that section of the city before the fiery flood. FIRST HOUSE ERECTED IN THE BURNT DISTRICT. MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 23 The total area of the land burned over was twenty-one hundred acres. Nearly twenty thousand buildings were consumed ; one hun- dred thousand people were rendered homeless ; two hundred lives were lost, and the grand total of values destroyed is e stimated at two hun- dred millions of dollars. Of this vast sum nearly one-half was covered by insurance, but under the tremendous losses many of the insurance companies were forced to the wall, and went into liquidation, and the victims of the conflagration recovered only about forty-four millions, or less than one-half of their insurance, and only about one-fifth of their aggregate loss. Among the buildings which were burned were the court-house, custom-house and postoflice, chamber of commerce, three railway depots, nine daily newspaper offices, thirty-two hotels, ten theaters and halls, eight public schools and some branch school buildings, forty- one churches, five elevators, and all the national banks. If the Great Fire was an event without parallel in its dimensions and the magnitude of its dire results, the charity which followed it was equally unrivaled in its extent. Scarcely were the flames under way, and the extent of the destruction foreseen, when efforts for relief seemed to begin spontaneously wherever the telegraph carried the news. All the civilized world appeared to instantly appreciate the calamity. Food, clothing, supplies of every kind, money, messages of affection, sympathy, etc., began pouring in at once in a stream that appeared endless and bottomless. In all, the amount contributed reached over seven millions of dollars ! Nothing so God-like in its grandeur as a practical illustration of human sympathy with misfort- une was ever before or since known in the history of mankind. It was believed by many that the fire had forever blotted out Chi- cago from the list of great American cities, but the spirit of her people was undaunted by calamity, and, encouraged by the generous sympathy and help from all quarters, they set to work at once to repair their al- most ruined fortunes, merchants and manufacturers resuming business in private dwellings, or in temporary shanties put up on the sites of their burned houses, as soon as the debris could be cleared away. Rebuild- ing was at once commenced, and. within a year after the fire, more than $-10,000,000 were expended in improvements. The city came up from its ruins far more palatial, splendid, strong and imperishable than before. In one sense the fire was a benefit. Its consequence was a class of structures far better, in every essential respect, than before the conflagration. Fire-proof buildings became the rule, the limits of 24 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CttlCA&O. wood were carefully restricted, and the value of the reconstructed por- tion immeasurably exceeded that of the city which had been destroyed. The commerce of the city increased by millions of dollars immediately after the fire, and, in fact, a magnificent new city grew up on the ruins of the old, and was, in all respects, incomparably the superior of the one that had been devoured by the flames. In 1857 the grades of the city were at least eight feet below their present level. At that time the city was for many months of the year simply a huge mud hole. It was suggested by some engineering genius that the grades be raised. This met with most violent opposition, but the intent was persevered in, and finally carried into practice. It was contended that it would be impossible to procure the materials for filling, but the end jiistified the effort, and the streets now up to grade are dry and easily drained ; a system of practical sewerage has taken the place of the drainage ditches and gutters of early Chicago, and in that respect the city stands next to London and Paris. By the process of elevating the grades many buildings were left with their first stories almost hidden by the raised sidewalks and curbing. In some cases the stories thus affected were transformed into basements, and additional stories added above. In other instances the buildings were torn down, but where they were sufficiently valuable to justify the labor and ex- pense, they were raised to the height required, and new foundations built. Entire brick blocks have been thus raised, and even moved laterally, without suffering the least injury. Since the fire building operations have been officially supervised, and a high degree of excellence and safety has been reached. The area within which the erection of wooden buildings is forbidden reaches well away in every direction from the business centers, and thus renders impossible any such devastating fire as that of 1871. Not only is the use of wood for walls no longer tolerated, but there has grown up a rivalry among citizens for the construction of fire- proof buildings. Stone and brick are universally employed -in walls, but wood, in a great many instances, scarcely enters at all into the composition of the best structures. The panic of 1873 affected Chicago very seriously, although the ultimate result was that but little injury was done to legitimate inter- ests. The failures were mainly among real estate speculators. At the beginning of the panic real estate, especially of the unimproved kind, was so high as to be substantially " out of sight." Prices of improved real estate are to-day well up, biit in many instances they have not yet MAJIQUIS' HAND-BOOS: OF CHICAGO. 25 reached the altitude which they attained in 1873, nearly a dozen years ago. Some of the results of the panic were beneficial. Improvement was substituted for wild speculation, and residences and business blocks were built on lands that before were unoccupied and held for a rise in prices. July 14, 1874, another fire broke out in the heart of the city, and swept over eighteen blocks, consuming 600 houses, and leaving black- ness and ruin in its path. Fortunately the area ravaged by the destruct- ive element was occupied mainly by wooden structures, and the loss was light compared with that of the previous conflagration, aggregating only about $4,000,000. The splendid palaces of trade that had been reared on the ruins of 1871 were nearly all spared in this second visitation. Despite the flat surface on which it stands, Chicago is one of the healthiest of the large cities of the country. Its highest death rate of late years was 20.29 per 1,000 of the population in 1875, and its lowest 15.70 in 1878. Compared with the mortality of many other cities, this is remarkable. In New York the rate per thousand per annum averages very closely on 30 ; in Boston from 21 to 25 ; in Philadelphia from 20 to 20 ; and in many of the great European cities "from 25 to 45 per thousand. The winds from the southwest and those from the lake sweep alternately over the city, and constantly purify the atmosphere. The purity of the water, which is brought from a point two miles out in the lake, is also a potent factor iu the reduction of the rate of mortality, and the sewerage system, which is much better than that in average use, is not without its effect in the same direction. The cholera made a visit to Chicago in 1866, biit unlike its predecessor in 1852, it found its ravages checked by preventive sani- tation. At present the sanitary condition of the city is such that epi- demics of any kind are not regarded as among the probabilities. The great labor riots of 1877, which originated in Pittsburg, ex- tended to all important cities in the country, the agitation here lasting three or four days. The militia were called out, but their services were not required, except as'guards of certain private property and public buildings that were threatened, the local police being equal to all the demands of the occasion. The number of killed and wounded was less than a score. Considering its extent and the heterogeneous character of its population, Chicago is one of the most orderly of modern cities. On account of its lake breezes, enormous ^railway facilities and nu- 26 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOR OF CHICAGO. merous and unequaled hotels, Chicago has long been a favorite place for summer conventions. For this purpose it possesses a special advan- tage in having, in the main hall of the exposition building, the largest place of assembly in the country, if not in the world. The convention which nominated Lincoln in 1860 met in Chicago, as did the national Democratic Convention of 1864, which nominated McClellan. Gar- field was nominated here in 1880. Elaine was nominated in the Re- publican Convention held in Exposition Hall in June, 1884, and two weeks later Cleveland was nominated by the national Democratic Convention held in the same place. Many of the denominational conventions have made the city their place of meeting ; and in the case of no national assemblage, political, religious, social or otherwise, has there ever been found any difficulty in caring for all who came, irrespective of numbers, and without inconvenience to other transient visitors, either as to hall or private entertainment. The marvelous growth of Chicago in population, and the equally rapid expansion of the business interests of the city, have attracted universal attention and been the theme of admiring comment on the lips of all the world. Rising from seventy inhabitants in 1830 to 3,820 in 1836, and over 4,000 in 1837, when the tbwn was organized as a city, the first three years of its existence in that more dignified capacity do not seem to have added much to its numbers, the census of 1840 showing only 4,853 inhabitants. From this time on the growth was rapid, the population increasing seven-fold in the next ten years, and numbering 29,963 in 1850. In 1860 it was 112,172 ; 298,977 in 1870; 503,185 in 1880, and in 1884 it was estimated on a fair basis of calculation at 650,000, of which 50,000 represents the increase dur- ing the previous years. The material wealth of the city has kept pace with the population. Starting with a taxable valuation in 1837 of $236,842, which fell off in consequence of a panic to something over $94,000 in 1839-40, and made an astounding jump from $151,342 in 1842 to $1,441,314 in 1843, again doubling itself the succeeding year, the increase has since been rapid and steady. The total* valuation was $7,220,249 in 1850; $37,053,512 in 1860, and $275,986,550 in 1870. In Oc- tober, 1871, the great fire consumed $200.000,000 of property, yet notwithstanding this enormous loss the taxable valuation in May, 1872, only a few months after the fire, was $284.197,430, and it rose in the next two years to $303,705,140. Then the legislature passed a law transferring the duty of assessing and levying taxes to the county MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 27 authorities, their valuations being subject to revision by the State Board of Equalization. The result was a contest between the counties in the reduction of their tax lists, and the total valuation, in Chicago, in 1875, was cut down to only $173,704,246, or something over one- half that of the preceding year. In 1880 the total taxable valuation was only $117,133,643, or less than one-half that of the year after the losses of 1871, although the actual values had been multiplied by im- provements. In 1883 the figures were $133,230,504. The revenues of the city were further restricted in 1879 by a law prohibiting the levy for municipal purposes from being raised above two per cent, on the valuation. The tax-rate for all purposes is $3.41 on the $100, but as that figure is considerably less than two per cent on the actual value of property, one result of the present system is to give Chicago, which really enjoys a very light taxation compared with other cities, a most undesirable advertisement as a heavily tax-burdened city. The bonded indebtedness is $12,751,500, having undergone a gradual reduction from $14,103,000 in 1871, when it reached the highest point ever attained. The number of buildings erected in 1883 \vas 4,086, and their esti- mated cost was $22,162,610. The building operations the current year promise to be of increased magnitude and interest. All the great industrial, commercial and financial lines of enterprise exhibit a growth proportionate to the remarkable increase of the pop- ulation, until, as has been well said, the people themselves look with wonder on the magnitude of the various interests that have grown up under their efforts, Among the most extensive lines of business are the handling and manufacture of food products, in all branches of Avhich there is an immense traffic. The receipts of cattle for the year 1882- 83 were 1,878,944, and the shipments 966,758. The receipts of hogs for the same year were 5,697,163, and the shipments 1,363,759. The number of cattle packed was 697,033, and the number of hogs 4,222,780. The total receipts of flour and grain, the former being represented by its equivalent in wheat, amounted to 164,924,732 bushels. The receipts of lumber were 3,587,634,000 feet, and of shingles 2,288,949,000. From the above figures it will be seen that Chicago is the greatest market in the world for lumber and shingles, grain, and hogs and cattle, besides being the greatest packing center for the latter products. In manufactures the demands of the trade with tributary regions have caused a constant addition to the list of products and a steady 28 MARQUIS' HAND-HOOK OF CHICAGO. increase of facilities, until Chicago has become one of the leading manufacturing cities of the country. The United. States census of 1880 makes the following exhibit of the industrial interests of the city: Number of establishments, 3,519; capital invested, $68,836,- 885; hands employed, 62,431 men, 12,185 women, 4,798 children ; annual wages, $34,653,462 ; value of materials used, $179,209,610 ; value of products, $349,022,948. The capital invested in slaughter- ing and meat packing is stated at nearly eight and one-half millions of dollars ; in clothing, nearly six and one-half millions ; in foundry and machine shop products., nearly four and one-half millions ; in iron and steel production, nearly four millions ; in brewing, over three and one- fourth millions ; in agricultural implements, over three millions ; in printing and publishing, nearly three millions ; in furniture, nearly two and one-half millions ; tanning, nearly two millions ; carriages and wagons, over one and one-fourth millions ; soap and candles, over one and one-fourth millions ; sash, doors and blinds, nearly one and one-fourth millions ; distilling, over one million. These statistics are, of course, only approximate, and for obvious reasons rather under- state the facts ; but since the date to which they relate, the interests they represent have grown rapidly, facilities being largely increased in all branches, and operations being correspondingly expanded so that it would be quite within the mark to add at least 50 per cent to the figures as given. THE STREETS, AVENUES, BRIDGES, TUNNELS, SEWERS AND STREET RAILROADS. THE facilities provided by public and private enterprise for the con- venience of intermural transit compare favorably with those of other great cities. The Streets and Avenues of Chicago originated in a road run- ning from the town in a southwesterly direction, and branching after a short distance into two roads, one known in those days as the " Trail to the East," and the other as " Hubbard's Trail to Danville," or, farther out on the prairie, the " Road to Widow Brown's." The plank-road was subsequently a feature in the history of the city. The first built was in 1848, and was known as the Southwest- ern ; then came the Northwestern ; next the Western ; after which were the Southern, the Blue Island, and the Lake Shore. All of these were not only regarded as enterprises of great magnitude at the time, but were of material benefit in assisting the development of the city. It was believed by many at the time of their construction, and so urged in at least one of the public prints, that plank roads were of far more value to the city than railways. Indeed, there were those who urged that railways be kept out of the city, and the conveyance of passengers and the transportation of produce and goods be limited to plank roads. One writer says that on the plank roads, passengers are conveyed at the rate of ten miles an hour, which is as fast as they are taken on the Michigan Central Railway, and with ten times the safety. It was urged by this class of reasoners that the railways would take away all the profits of transportation, while, if the work were done by teams, the money would come to Chicago. Originally the streets were simply mud roads, and during portions of the year were next to impassable, the worst places being planked when absolutely necessary. There was not much attempt at the con- struction of improved roadways until about 1864, at which time the The raising of the grade of the streets has been noted in the opening chap- ter, on page 24. 30 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. " Nicholson" was laid down on Lake Street. From that time wooden pavement had a run, and in fact is yet in use on many of the principal streets. Within the past two or three years, in the business portion of the city, granite has been largely used. Macadam is used on the bou- levards, and on some of the streets, notably Ashland Avenue and Jackson Street ; the material, outside of the business portions, being largely wood. The wood now in use is mainly cedar blocks, which, with the improved method of laying them, are giving very satisfactory results. Asphalt has been used to some extent, but has not given entire satisfaction, and seems likely to be wholly abandoned. When completed, the paving system of Chicago, as now in use, will render it one of the best paved cities in the world. The entire length of the streets of the city is 650 miles. The length of the paved streets is about 200 miles. The names of the principal streets generally indicate their origin. Many of them are named for the Presidents and others who were prominent in the nation or state ; the names of people more or less conspicuously connected with the history of the city, of the surround- ing states, and other equally obvious sources, contributed to the no- menclature. The names of the Presidents and leading statesmen of the country will be readily recognized. Clark Street was christened in honor of Gen. George Rogers Clark, of Kentucky, who acquired mili- tary fame in the early contests with the French and Indians. Fifth Avenue was originally named in honor of Capt. Wells, who was one of the victims of the Indian massacre in 1812, and that portion of the street which lies in the North Division still retains the name. Ann Street was named after a daughter of the venerable Philo Carpenter ; Augusta after another daughter ; and so on of many other names of women. In this respect Chicago has shown no lack of gallantry. The city is laid out in rectangular lines, with the exception of several streets which were constructed on the routes of the old plank roads, and which consequently radiate to the northwest and southwest. The principal business streets of the city lie on the South Side, where are congregated within a space of about ten blocks square nearly all the wholesale business of the city, and a large proportion of the retail trade. This area contains the palatial business houses, hotels and public buildings whose magnitude and architectural beauty have added so largely to the fame of Chicago. South Water Street, which lies next to and parallel with the main river, is largely devoted to the produce commission business. It is always almost impassable from the MICHIGAN AVENUE, CORNF.R ADAMS STREET PULLMAN BUILDING. 32 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. number of trucks, vans and carts which throng it and the boxes of produce which encumber its sidewalks. Here are brought and 'dis- tributed daily the various products of the market garden, orchard, field and stream. State Street is the great shopping street of the city, and on any fair afternoon it can be seen thronged with pedestrians and carriages, and presenting a scene of gayety, wealth and beauty such as is paralleled only on Kegent Street, London, or some of the more notable boule- vards in Paris. It was originally much narrower and was widened to its present handsome and attractive proportions by moving the houses back along a stretch of three miles. Michigan Avenue, Wabash Avenue and State Street, near the river, are all given up to wholesale houses. Michigan Avenue, a few blocks from the river, loses its identity in Michigan Avenue Boulevard (see chapter on " Parks and Boule- vards"), the entire extension of which is a favorite residence street, as are also Prairie, Calumet, Indiana and other avenues, containing residences which are palaces in their cost and architectural design and finish. State Street is traversed by the cable line of cars as far south as Thirty-ninth Street. Twenty-second Street, running east and west, and more than two miles from the City Hall, is for a dozen blocks nearest the lake a busy, business thoroughfare. It has a bank and many pretentious retail stores. Archer Avenue, branching from State Street, between Nineteenth and Twentieth Streets, takes a southwest- erly direction, crosses a branch of the Chicago River, and extends be- yond the city limits. It has horse cars, and resembles in the character of its buildings, shops, people, etc., Blue Island and Milwaukee Ave- nues, on the West Side. Wabash Avenue is traversed by a cable line of cars from Madison Street south to Twenty-second Street. At Twenty-second Street the cable car line runs east to Cottage Grove Avenue, which it follows in its southeasterly direction parallel with, and about two squares west of the lake shore, to the junction of Drexel and Oakwood Boulevards, four and a half miles from the City Hall. Cottage Grove Avenue is devoted principally to business purposes. Madison Street is the great east and west thoroughfare of Chicago. The eastern portion, or East Madison Street, in the South Division, is splendidly paved, and is flanked on either side with wholesale and retail establishments. West Madison Street is the principal retail street of the West Side. The street extends westward from the lake, passing in its course Gar- field Park and the Chicago Driving Park, and is finally lost in an unim- MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 33 proved roadway in the open prairie, at a distance of over five miles. It is traversed by horse cars its total improved length. Randolph and Lake are the other leading parallel business streets of the West Division. Both have street car lines. Ogden Avenue, beginning in Union Park, takes a southwesterly direction^ curving westwardly in its course, passes Douglas Park, and ends at Twenty-second Street, near the city limits. It long retained the appearance of a country road, being till recently unimproved and sparsely settled. A cedar pavement has just been put down, and stores and shops are rapidly appearing all along its line, and it is fast assuming a metropolitan air. It has horse cars, and in time will be a busy business thoroughfare. The intervening streets between the river and Halsted Street are largely occupied by manufactories. In this section are found nearly all the great machinery, steam-engine, boiler and kindred iron-work- ing concerns. Halsted Street is reached some five squares west of the Madison Street crossing of the river, and is the leading north and south thoroughfare of the West Side. It extends, in an almost straight line, entirely across the city. Its southern half is traversed by street cars direct to and from the Union Stock Yards, and is given up almost wholly to retail trade, by Irish, German and other foreign elements. The buildings after a few squares are principally wooden structures that escaped the great fire. They present a quaint and dingy appear- ance. Blue Island Avenue branches from Halsted Street, at the latter's junction with West Harrison Street, in a southwesterly direc- tion to the great lumber district. The buildings with which it is densely lined are generally the poorest class of wooden structures in the city. The dingy-looking shops are kept by Irish and Germans of the lower classes, with here and there a Swede or Norwegian. Milwaukee Avenue is distinctly the German business thoroughfare. It is lined with retail shops of every description, markets, saloons, etc. Many of the buildings are wooden ante-fire structures, and are as de- cidedly foreign in appearance as are their occupants. Beginning at the river and Lake Street, Milwaukee Avenue extends in a northwest- erly direction away beyond the city limits, where it is merged in a country road in the open prairie. Washington Boulevard is the leading residence street of the West Side. It belongs to the great boulevard system of the city, and has been referred to in the chapter on "Parks and Boulevards." West Monroe, Adams and Jackson, parallel with and south of Madison Street, are also popular residence streets, save a few squares occupied 3 34 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. by business and manufacturing establishments near the river. They are flanked by fine dwellings, churches, and lines of shade trees, inter- spersed here and there with little gems of parks of the brightest description. Ashland Avenue, running north and south, is splendidly paved and contains some of the handsomest houses on the West Side. On the North Side, Clark Street is the leading business street, being occupied mainly by the smaller retail stores. It extends northward beyond Lincoln Park, and is a great thoroughfare. The streets lying near and parallel with the river are largely used by manufacturing establishments, and commission houses engaged in handling hides, leather, wool, etc. The preferred residence streets are LaSalle and Dearborn Avenues, Rush, State and Pine Streets, some of the resi- dences being very elegant and artistic in architectural and other orna- mentation. Chicago Avenue, from North Clark Street west to the river ; Division Street, from North Clark to Clybourne Avenue ; Clybourne Ave- nue, which here has its beginning and extends in a northwesterly direction to the city limits ; and Larrabee Street, running north and south, are all business thoroughfares. They traverse a section of the city inhabited almost wholly by a foreign population Scandinavian, German, etc. The residences on the streets referred to as residence streets are generally built of superior materials. Red pressed brick is much used, but stone is the favorite. Of the latter there are many kinds, all vary- ing in color, so that there is nowhere any sameness in the character of the coloring. There is equal diversity in the forms of the houses, there being but very little block building, each house, as a rule, being wholly independent in material, size, form and decoration. Joliet limestone, which is milky white at first, and after exposure becomes a rich, soft cream-color, is in large demand. The deep, rich brown of a sandstone from Lake Superior is also much used ; there is also the close-grained dark gray of the Buena Vista quarries, and a dozen other kinds of material, including the cheerful cream-colored pressed brick of Milwaukee, all of which afford infinite variety of pleasing effects. The churches are generally constructed of rough-dressed limestone of a dark-grey, which is a color eminently in harmony with their purpose. The winds blowing alternately from the lake and from the land are sufficient to keep the cit3 T free from smoke, with the result that these richly-colored building materials are rarely obscure 1 by stains, and the streets present always the striking effects flowing from the warm, bright, sympathetic colors. MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 35 The Bridges of Chicago are interesting, and many of them are important, features of its system of highways. Under the latter head must be classed the bridges over the Chicago Kiver and its branches. These bridges, thirty-six in number, are built and owned by the city, being regarded equally with the streets as a public work, furnishing necessary convenience of transit between the divisions. It has been jocularly said that the first bridge was a ferry, and it must be acknowl- edged that a number of the early devices to facilitate passage over the stream were a sort of cross between a ferry boat and a bridge. The first structure of this kind was a log float stretched across the river after the manner of a pontoon bridge, from which the idea was probably derived. Other bridges of the kind followed, and in some of them an improve- ment was introduced, the bridge being hinged on a pivot at one end, and a rope attached to the opposite end was used by means of a capstan and levers, to pull the float around, out of the way of passing vessels. A further improvement on these clumsy efforts at a drawbridge was made in the bridge erected over the river at the Dearborn Street cross- ing in 1834. This was the first drawbridge built in Chicago. The cen- ter span was made in two sections, hinged at the piers and meeting like an arch over the middle passage. The bridge was drawn by breaking the arch upward with a combination of ropes and pulleys, which lifted the meeting ends of the sections and made a space between them through which vessels passed. This structure so utterly failed to meet popular expectations that it was unanimously voted a nuisance, and when its removal was ordered, the citizens gathered and carried the order into effect by chopping the bridge down with axes. It was diffi- cult to plan a structure that would meet the demand for convenient transit on the one hand, and for unobstructed navigation of the river on the other and, indeed, the satisfactory solution of that problem has not yet been practically accomplished. A nearer approach to it than was reached in any previous effort, was made in the constraction of the first iron bridge in Chicago, at Kush Street, in 1856 ; but a number of cattle that happened to be on it waau it was turned to allow a vessel to pass, crowded to one end or side and overturned it. The jealousies between the divisions, Avhich had greatly interfered with the progress of these important public improvements, and the slow process of pri- vate subscription for their erection, were rapidly giving way to the growing needs of the situation, and in 1857 the city took hold of the matter and erected a bridge over the South Branch at Madison Street. This was the first bridge built entirely at the expense of the munici- 36 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. pality, and it was the inauguration of a municipal policy that has re- sulted in the construction of a valuable iron bridge, swinging on a central pier, at every alternate street reaching the river or either of its branches, in the business portion of the city. The latest and best of these structures is the new double roadway bridge at Rush Street the only one of the kind in the city, and the largest swing bridge in the world. It is operated by steam and lighted by electricity, and was built at a cost of $130,000. At its formal opening, August 7, 1884, it bore a test weight of about 375 tons. For a time the present bridge system was comparatively satisfactory, but the city has outgrown it, and there is now a strong and growing demand for some plan by which transit can be effected without being subject to the frequent annoying delays caused by the necessity of opening the bridges for vessels, and the accidents that result from that operation. The Tunnels under Chicago River, two in number, one at LaSalle Street, connecting the South Side with the North Side, and the other at Washington Street, connecting the West Side with the South Side, were con- structed with the view of supplying more convenient passage than the bridges af- forded. The Washing- ton Street Tunnel was the first one construct- ed, and was finished and formally opened to the public Jan. 1, 1869, at a" cost of $512,707.57. The La Salle Street Tunnel was completed and opened July 1, 1871, at a total cost of $566,276.48. It has some improvements in arrange- ment and construction suggested by experience with the Washington Street passage. The total length of the latter is 1,608 feet, and of LASALLE STREET TUNNEL. MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. 37 the LaSalle Street Tunnel 1,854 feet. Each has a double driveway and a separate foot-way on one side, which is reached by stairs. The tunnels are wide, lofty, well lighted and ventilated, and each is fairly drained by means of a sub-tunnel five feet in diameter, which is con- nected with a steam pump at one end. The Sewerage System of Chicago is extensive, well arranged and efficient, despite the engineering difficulties in securing satisfactory drainage of a level area so slightly elevated above the waters of the river and lake. Brick or pipe is used for sewers, according to the character of drainage required. The total length of sewers of both kinds is about 400 miles, laid at a total cost of nearly six and a quarter millions of dollars, or an average of $15,493.58 per mile. They are kept clean and in repair at an average annual cost of $107.65'per mile. There are about 13,000 catch-basins and 15,000 man-hole chambers connected with the system. During the yeai>1883 about fourteen and a quarter miles of sewers Avere laid, and 835 catch-basins and 497 man-hole chambers constructed, at a total cost of $232,084.- 33. The advantages of this important agent of cleanliness and sani- tation are very evenly distributed among the three divisions of the city, according to their needs. The Street Railways of Chicago all start from the business cen- ter of the city, and radiate to all sections promising traffic sufficient to maintain the lines in operation, thus giving the greatest public accom- modation consistent with a reasonable care for the capital invested in such enterprises. The fare is universally five cents. The number of cars and the time-tables are arranged with due regard for public con- venience. The first street railway in the city was laid along State Street, and was commenced in the fall of 1858. From that beginning the service grew rapidly to its present proportions. The railways are operated by three companies, representing three systems, which cor- respond with the divisions of the city. The oldest of these com- panies is. The Chicago City Railway Company whose lines constitute the railway system of the South Side. This company has within the past two years largely substituted the cable plan of traction in the place of horses, and although there have been some difficulties and dangers attending its use, they have been largely overcome, and the success of the plan may be considered established. These lines alone now have an aggregate length of twenty miles, employ 100 "grip-cars," which do the work of 2,500 horses, and run an average of nine miles per 38 MARQUIS' HAND-BOOK OF CHICAGO. hour, conveying 100,000 passengers daily. The total number of miles of track is seventy-seven ; number of cars, 400 ; average distance traversed daily, 25,000 miles ; average number of passengers earned daily, 120,000 ; number of horses, 1,200. The powerful engines which operate the cable system are located at the corner of State and Twenty-first Streets. The North Chicago City Railway Company operates the North Side system of street railways. It was organized in 1859, and commenced running its cars on North Clark Street and Chicago Avenue in August, 1859. The capital stock of the company is $500,000 ; number of miles of track, thirty-four ; total number of cars owned, 251 ; num- ber of horses, 1,530; average distance traversed daily, 9,600 miles; average number of passengers carried daily, 60,000. The Chicago West Division Railway Company was incorpo- rated in 1863, succeeding to the franchises held by the Chicago City Railway Company on the West Side, and now operates the lines in that division. The capital stock of the company is $1,250,- 000 ; number of miles of track, ninety-seven ; total number of cars owned, 634 ; number of horses, 3,375 ; average distance traversed daily, 21,620 miles. The Chicago Passenger Railway Company has opened up anew street car line which greatly adds to the facilities of transportation between the West and South Sides. The new line of cars runs on Harrison Street, from Western Avenue to Centre Avenue thence north to Adams Street and east to Franklin. Here the cars take alternately different directions around a "loop;" one car runs northward three or four blocks (to Wash- ington Street) then east to Michigan Avenue, proceeding southwardly to Adams and back, to and past the Franklin Street turning, while the next car goes around the same loop in the reverse direction. THE RAILROADS, LAKE MICHIGAN, CHICAGO RIVER, AND THE CANAL. r "T*HE transportation facilities of Chicago are the most complete and -*- extensive of any inland city in the world. The Railroads are so intimately connected with the growth of the city that the history of one is practically the chronicle of the other. When Chicago first forged her way into the notice of the world, and began to foreshadow her present majesty, the railroad was a new thing, scarcely emerged from the shadows of uncertain experiment. Faith in it was far from general, and the cost of construction, equip- ment and operation was appalling to a new country rich only in the gifts of nature and in indomitable energy. Moreover, there was deep- seated prejudice in favor of water ways. In all the world there were not as many miles of railroad as Illinois now boasts. But destiny had marked out for the city a meteor course to empire, and she was early alive to the necessity for avenues for her commerce. Vast realms rich in all the treasures of nature lay at her feet, inviting conquest and inspir- ing enterprise. With the necessity came the men whose energy laid the basis for that magnificent system of iron roadways to which is chiefly due the marvelous development of the west, and the northwest, and the greatness of the city. Before the close of the third decade of the present century, the practical advantages of railroads had begun to excite discussion in the city, and in January, 1831, a commission was appointed to investigate the relative value of a canal and railroad between the Chicago and Des Plaines Rivers. A multiplicity of schemes sprung up over the state, more or less connected with Chicago. The question of a road to be operated in conjunction with the Illinois