Examine how the Rookery building symbolized the rise of the modern city from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Examine how the Rookery building symbolized the rise of the modern city from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871
Learn about the Chicago fire of 1871 and the rebuilding of the city, including construction of the Rookery building (1886), designed by Daniel H. Burnham and John Wellborn Root.
© Chicago Architecture Foundation (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
NARRATOR: 300 lives lost, 18,000 structures destroyed, 3 1/2 square miles of Chicago's Central Business District and North Side leveled. What started in a small barn on the city's Near West Side became an uncontrollable blaze that raged for 36 hours straight before burning itself out. In spite of the damage it caused, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 has come to symbolize a city's rebirth. It created the foundation on which architects, planners, and politicians built the Chicago we know today.
Civic pride was revived as soon as the flames died. In its first full issue after the fire, The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial titled "Cheer Up," capturing this enterprising spirit. "Looking upon the ashes of 30 years' accumulations, the people of this once beautiful city have resolved that Chicago shall rise again." In the five years that followed the fire, developers spent nearly $50 million on new construction, most of it downtown. The Loop was remade into the commercial and financial heart of the city. And a new fire zone prevented the redevelopment of the wooden housing that was common downtown before the fire.
The Rookery Building, designed by Burnham and Root, is a fitting symbol of Chicago's post-fire downtown. When it opened in 1888, the Rookery was one of the early terracotta-clad, fireproof buildings constructed in Chicago's new fire zone. The building, commissioned by the Central Safety Deposit Company, was built to reflect the height of luxury in commercial design.
A classified ad in the Tribune assured prospective tenants that the building was absolutely fireproof and boasted it was the most complete office building in the world. Today, the Rookery remains one of Chicago's most iconic buildings, symbolizing the city's rise from the ashes of the Great Fire.
Civic pride was revived as soon as the flames died. In its first full issue after the fire, The Chicago Tribune ran an editorial titled "Cheer Up," capturing this enterprising spirit. "Looking upon the ashes of 30 years' accumulations, the people of this once beautiful city have resolved that Chicago shall rise again." In the five years that followed the fire, developers spent nearly $50 million on new construction, most of it downtown. The Loop was remade into the commercial and financial heart of the city. And a new fire zone prevented the redevelopment of the wooden housing that was common downtown before the fire.
The Rookery Building, designed by Burnham and Root, is a fitting symbol of Chicago's post-fire downtown. When it opened in 1888, the Rookery was one of the early terracotta-clad, fireproof buildings constructed in Chicago's new fire zone. The building, commissioned by the Central Safety Deposit Company, was built to reflect the height of luxury in commercial design.
A classified ad in the Tribune assured prospective tenants that the building was absolutely fireproof and boasted it was the most complete office building in the world. Today, the Rookery remains one of Chicago's most iconic buildings, symbolizing the city's rise from the ashes of the Great Fire.