, 1881-10-09

and almost covered with splendid forest
trees, by great exertions was saved, and has
since been the Mecca of thousands of curl
ous: visitors to the city. 1t still remains,
cupiedf M by 'fts tie 1G' Union Club, and is
grand Gins and other trees are by
far the finest in the, city. But
everything also on the North Side worth
sayag was lost and things for fey mouths %d
ever, soon came. No houses were rebuilt OH
4 full block Of land. Oftener four, ten, or
twenty, but they were soldier and finer
than those they took the place of, and today.
With thousands looking for homes north of
numbered oil the fingers of ones two <nands M;
and choice property Oh its best ,<fhns;,'ass
streets is in demand at 500 per {ont 'iEea fno:
and is steadily 9dyane!ng jNsai ii value: '' N''
~. i,t..sst i,r>clle fire was Il permanent all
taE TO all the divisions OF the city. Some
1t purified, some it made more bu5y-alI It
added to i'll their Improvements, population,
and value.
UNTIL THE FIFE
there were great many residences in what
is now exclusively the business district.
They were gradually retreating before the
advancing lines Of trade, but wllat ,,t1, vas -, u
gradual movement was matte revolution by
the fire. That swept away between Two
nights all the buildings north Of Van Buren,
street, on the South Side, whether wooden.
stone, or brick. In the rcconstrnctlon that
followed, no residences were built north, Of
Van Buren. Some notable landmarks went
out Of sight Oct Q, 1871: One Of them was
Judge Mark Skinner's house, at the corner
OF Wabash avenue and Madison II
was fine, oll.fashioncd wooden man
Where the Grarnis Building now stands on
Dearborn street was wooden tlleatrH owned
hy tie Peck estate. Where the Williams
Building is at the curner Of Monroe and Wa
bash was 1he residence q E: B. Williams; 1t
son as u Marson Uorce: The glldett youth OF
Chicago used to fit gally in and out between
the wooden pillars Of itsI Grcclan particos.
L lhere was no business then on Wabash ave
nue. south of Madison street., Now there are
to Twenty-second street When Mr.. Walter,
Of the London Times, was here q few
weeks ago lie spoke with admiration Of the
old Wabash avenue. as he reuenlb bered it, us
trees, set apart from each other and back
fro1n the street. On Michigan. avenue the
residences ran before the fire as far north as
Washington street. This corner was oGeu~
and other old citizens lived. The late Peter
Page had his home at the corner Ut WASH
ington and Wabash. There were dwellings
farther north than this, as far as Randolph
street on Wabash. Washington, Madison,
liz
river were mostly devoted to residences:
Monroe street WIS all residences west Of
La Salle, and from State to the lake.
There were private houses Oil Madison street.
interspersed with shops. This whole district,
now filled with tie finest stores Of Chicago,
sl1eltering the most valuable stock Of goods
in the city, was before the tire a residence
quarter of dcteriorating character. Sliantits.
Houses, and few stores stood side by side.
There were great many white wooden
boardlng~houses here. faiueS were LOW:
and when Field. Letter & Co., j. Y. Farweli
t. Co., and other leading houses found that
they could buy deeper lots here at $3.50 a
foot than they could get ol, Wabash for
S1,500, they moved over i'll 4 body.
TIE TOWN HAS BEEN KEBu1LT,:
but values have not been fully rehabiiltated.
it would be hard Today to get for lower Wa
bash avenue property what it would have
brought in l61L Lots in tile new wholesale
centres, and along the newer parts of the
fashionable avenues, like Michigan, are
higher than before, but there is a great deal
Of central property and great deal more of
acre property that has not yet got back to
the ante-1re level. And yet Chicago today
has population OF 525,0o0, against 299, ,ooo
then. 1t is now, as few even of its own
citizens know, the centre Of almost as
large a population within radius OF
500 miles as New: York: A circle
drawn about New York, with a radius
Of 800 miles, including such large cities as
Brooklyn, Philadelphia Jersey City, Balti~
more, Washington, and mbst Of thu consid-
erabie places Of New England, will cover
population Of about $500, ,000- 4 similar
circle about Chicago though including no