Couple of Quick Chicago & St. Louis History Questions

[HeyHomie]

Regarding the Great Chicago Fire of 1871: I understand that the whole Mrs. O’Leary’s cow thing is probably a myth. However, from what I’ve read, historians are certain that the fire did start at a specific place, near or at the place where the O’Leary home stood.

Is there anything in modern Chicago marking that site? An historical marker of some kind? What kind of neighborhood is it in? (I believe the address of the O’Leary barn was 141 DeKoven St., IIRC). Also, what happened to Mrs. O’Leary and her family? Did they die in the fire? Run out of town by angry mobs?

Which part of modern Chicago stands on the site of the Columbian Exposition? I understand the site was destroyed by fire (not THE fire, but a different one). Are there any extant buildings or artifacts from the Exposition?

Finally: what part of modern St. Louis stands where the 1904 World’s Fair took place? Any extant remnants of the Fair?

[Shoeless]

I think I can answer the St Louis part of the question. The Worlds Fair took place in Forest Park, and I believe the large wrought-iron bird cage at the zoo is the only remnant from the World’s Fair still in existence.

[RealityChuck]

@HeyHomie

Regarding the Great Chicago Fire of 1871: I understand that the whole Mrs. O’Leary’s cow thing is probably a myth. However, from what I’ve read, historians are certain that the fire did start at a specific place, near or at the place where the O’Leary home stood.

Not a myth, exactly – the fire started in the O’Leary barn. It’s just a fanciful explanation, though it certainly is not impossible.

BTW, my favorite obscure fact about the Chicago fire was that it wasn’t the worst fire in US history. In fact, it wasn’t even the worst fire that day.

[BobT]

The track stadium at Washington University was used for the 1904 Olympic Games and that was a sideshow of sorts of the World’s Fair as well.

The 1904 Olympics were pretty much of a joke as few countries showed and the events took place over several months.

[Kent_Clark]

@Shoeless

I believe the large wrought-iron bird cage at the zoo is the only remnant from the World’s Fair still in existence.

I believe the large pavilion at the top of Art Hill in Forest Park was also built for the Fair.

One of St. Louis’ favorite myths is that the giant Ferris wheel from the Fair, instead of being dismantled and sold for scrap, was actually buried somewhere nearby. Of course, no one in the last 100 years has been able to figure out where, but we’re sure it’s just waiting to be unearthed.

[GaryM]

And I believe that the lakes in Forest Park were also created for the fair.

[Garfield226]

@HeyHomie

Which part of modern Chicago stands on the site of the Columbian Exposition? I understand the site was destroyed by fire (not THE fire, but a different one). Are there any extant buildings or artifacts from the Exposition?

The site of the Columbian Exposition was held in Jackson Park, which in South Chicago. The midway extended between 59th and 60th streets, and is now marked by Midway Plaisance Park. See here for more information.

Out of over 200 buildings on the grounds, only one remains today. What was the Palace of Fine Arts is now the Museum of Science and Industry. The Statue of the Republic standing at the foot of 65th street is a replica of one which stood at the fair.

Here is a map of the area. The large green area on the right is Jackson Park, the building at the top of the green area is the Museum of Science and Industry, and the green strip extending west is Midway Plaisance Park.

[fiddlesticks]

The Chicago Fire Academy now stands on DeKoven St. There’s a sculpture in front of the building commemorating the fire. The spot where the fire started is inside the building and is marked on the floor.

[Morbo]

As St. Louisans know, the sledding Mecca “Suicide Hill” (also known as Art Hill) was originally a cascading waterfall in front of the Pavillion.

And here’s some trivia: the main walkway at the 1904 World’s Fair was called “the Pike” - this is the origin of the phrase “coming down the Pike”

(My neighborhood was the site of the Polynesian Village, where they supposedly ate dog. In my family that story is almost immediately followed by the “ferris wheel” story)

[bonzer]

@HeyHomie

Which part of modern Chicago stands on the site of the Columbian Exposition? I understand the site was destroyed by fire (not THE fire, but a different one). Are there any extant buildings or artifacts from the Exposition?

Garfield226 has got the essential answer. One could also make a case that the original heart of the Art Institute counts as an extant building, since it was initially used as part of the fair, though obviously this was pretty far removed from the main site. I also believe, without checking, that it’s have been built anyway and so the significance of it as an Exposition building is a bit beside the point.

[bonzer]

@HeyHomie

Also, what happened to Mrs. O’Leary and her family? Did they die in the fire? Run out of town by angry mobs?

They all easily survived. For a start, their house survived - there’s a photo of the intact cottage after the fire in Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis (Chicago, 1969) by Mayer and Wade. Regardless of exactly where it started, the fire had burnt northwards away from their property. An inquest was held that autumn into the cause and both Mrs. O’Leary and various family members testified as to what they remembered. About their subsequent fates, I’ve no idea.

[5_time_champ]

From the MO Historical Society

Considered the centerpiece of Isaac Taylor’s fan-like design of the main exposition buildings, the Fine Arts building is the only surviving structure. Intended to be a lasting memory of the Fair, the palace is made of steel and stone instead of the wood and staff used in the construction of the other buildings. During the exposition, paintings, engravings, sculptures, jewelry, and other fine art filled this palace and demonstrated the breadth of world art at the beginning of the twentieth century. The building, constructed at a cost of $1,014,000, has continued its original mission as a home for great works of art and still serves as the location of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

and the Zoo, too

The Smithsonian Institution commissioned the Flight Cage for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and intended to remove it to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. following the Fair. But St. Louisans rallied to keep the Flight Cage intact, and the City of St. Louis soon purchased it for $3,500 (the structure had originally cost $17,500 to construct). Within a few short years, it served as the impetus for St. Louis to develop a full-fledged zoo – the first municipally supported zoo in the world.

At least two structures left over from a time when St Louis was a rather dynamic city.

[samclem]

@Dooku

And here’s some trivia: the main walkway at the 1904 World’s Fair was called “the Pike” - this is the origin of the phrase “coming down the Pike”

Except that I can find multiple cites in newspapers in the 1890’s using the phrase.

[Morbo]

@samclem

Except that I can find multiple cites in newspapers in the 1890’s using the phrase.

It took them a long time to construct “the Pike.”

(I knew that cite was suspect, but I couldn’t find anything refuting it on a search)

[samclem]

@HeyHomie

Also, what happened to Mrs. O’Leary and her family? Did they die in the fire? Run out of town by angry mobs?

I can’t answer their immediate fate, but a newspaper article from 1893 said

Masonville MI. “Mrs. O’Leary, who for nearly twenty-two years has been waiting for Chicago to give her a pension, has at last secured $8 per month and $300(?) arrears from Uncle Sam, on account of Mr. O’Leary having fought in the rebellion.”

It was also mentioned that she had lived “there” for many years.

[HeyHomie]

@fiddlesticks

The Chicago Fire Academy now stands on DeKoven St. There’s a sculpture in front of the building commemorating the fire. The spot where the fire started is inside the building and is marked on the floor.

So the Chicago Fire Academy is on the site of the place where the Fire started.

Makes sense.

[samclem]

I can also find a newspaper cite from 1894 that says Mr. O’Leary died last evening. He was still living at the old homestead in Chicago.

[Slithy_Tove]

@Garfield226

Out of over 200 buildings on the grounds, only one remains today. What was the Palace of Fine Arts is now the Museum of Science and Industry.

Too bad. I’d love to tour restorations of the Murder Castle and the Everleigh Sisters’ brothel.

[Chairman_Pow]

@Slithy Tove

Too bad. I’d love to tour restorations of the Murder Castle and the Everleigh Sisters’ brothel.

Somewhat fittingly, I believe that there’s a post office above it now (Holmes’ Mansion that is).

[bonzer]

A little more poking around threw up this passage from City of the Century (1996; Touchstone, 1997, p165) by Donald Miller on the fate of Catherine O’Leary:

Kate O’Leary did not fare as well. Hounded by the press and curious sightseers, she moved with her family from De Koven Street and became a recluse, leaving her home only to go to morning mass and run errands. Until her death in 1895, reporters would crowd her door every year on the anniversary of the fire to plead for a statement from the woman several of them had described as a drunken Irish welfare cheat who started the fire in revenge for being taken off the city’s relief rolls. (She never received government charity in her life.) When she refused to talk to them, as she always did, they invented interviews with her. Although she never allowed herself to be photographed, bogus photographs of her milking the most famous cow in history appeared in newspapers and magazines.

His main source is an article about her in Chicago magazine from October 1978. This could be consistent with samclem’s 1893 citation, though there’s the issue of where “there” is in it and whether a widow’s war pension counts as charity.