17 Nov “phoenix rises.” rare photographic prints of downtown chicago’s “burnt district” taken after the great chicago fire of 1871. courtesy of bld. 51 archive.
November 17, 2025
in Bldg. 51, Events & Announcements, Featured Posts, Miscellaneous, New Acquisitions, New Products
“phoenix rises.”
rare photographic prints of downtown chicago’s “burnt district” taken after the great chicago fire of 1871. the albumen prints demonstrate how quickly chicago began to rebuild itself after the great conflagration fueled by the extensive use of salvaged building materials (i.e., brick, iron, etc.) that survived the fire.
in fact, the “first all-brick building” rebuilt within the burnt district was made from common bricks salvaged from surrounding fallen buildings (6th image below).
