The Chicago Fire Tour
June 9, 2009
The Chicago Fire was an unexpected dilema, people did not expect it to burn for 36 hours! Many tried to keep the flames at bay but found themselves trying to outrun the fire. They ran toward Lake Michigan, across the northern section of the Chicago River where the bridges had not burned, and places the fire had not yet reached. Some ran for cover in the open space of the cemetary. Did you know the area of Lincoln Park near the Chicago was once a cemetary? Only one vault remains; the vault of Ira Couch. Many artifacts from the fire remain. We saw a wooden road, “The Blob”, five boxes of melted nails (see the indents in the photo), and the Lincoln Park Beach to name a few. Yes the beach; it is made up of landfill from the fire and then covered with imported sand.
When Heidi explained how the roads were made I was shocked at the engenuity that was used in building these roads. They were unaware they would help fuel the Chicago Fire; they first graveled the road, then layed down two planks of wood sealed with tar, then dipped the wooden pavers into tar and placed them on top. From a distance they look like rock pavers; but as you can see they are made of wood. ”The Blob” is a melted object(s) of some sort; they’re not sure.
Many people were left homeless; about 100,000 of the 300,000 residents. Relief aid was provided in the form of building materials to anyone who was handy enough to build a temporty structure. The house that you see is one of the relief homes; they weren’t built to last, but they needed to go up before winter. The fire happened in October and it was already November when supplies arrived for these temporary homes.
