18 May bld. 51 musuem and archive acquires important signed and dated lithographic print of w.d. kefoot’s realty company building – the first building built in the burnt district
May 18, 2026
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products, Uncategorized
oversized lithographic print of the w.d. kerfoot realty company building at 89 west washington street, chicago, illinois, showing the structure between october 1871 and june 1872; signed and dated by emil rudolph to his friend john “bet-a-million” gates.
the 12 by 16 foot “shanty of boards” was said to be the first “building” erected in the burnt district (completed around noon on the 9th of october) after the great chicago of 1871.
it stood in the middle of the street until october 19th, when the city’s board of public works required kerfoot to move his “business block” within the street line after it was determined that the ruins had sufficiently cooled.
emil rudolph (1855–1941) was a leading chicago land surveyor whose memoir provides one of the most vivid firsthand accounts of the great chicago fire of 1871.
in october of that year, at age 16 and newly apprenticed in surveying, he witnessed the burnt district firsthand. he later described the experience in “personal recollections of emil rudolph,” a memoir written for his grandchildren in 1936.
after the fire, rudolph helped shape chicago’s recovery, surveying more than 90% of the structures built in the post-fire loop, including the site of union station.
his firm also compiled an extensive archive of early property records that became a valuable resource for historians studying the city’s rebuilding.
john warne gates (1855–1911) was a colorful gilded age industrialist, speculator, and gambler best known by the nickname “bet-a-million.”
the nickname grew out of an exaggerated story about a 1900 horse race in england, where rumors claimed he bet $1 million and won $2 million. in reality, he reportedly wagered $70,000 and won $600,000, but his reputation for risk made the legend stick.
gates first built his fortune selling barbed wire on the western plains, using dramatic demonstrations—such as fencing in longhorn cattle in san antonio—to generate demand, and later founded the southern wire company.
after consolidating his wire businesses, he became a major figure in steel, eventually leading j.p. morgan to buy him out during the creation of u.s. steel. he also backed the spindletop oil discovery in texas and owned nearly half the stock in the texas company, later known as texaco.
beyond horse racing, he was famous for betting on stocks, poker, baccarat, and nearly anything else, often from his private suite at new york’s waldorf-astoria.
