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1893-2018—Aerial Views of Chicago

Title: Rand McNally, & Co.’s Bird’s-Eye Views and Guide to Chicago
Published: 1893

Chicago’s Rand McNally, & Co. published a wonderful guide book for tourists that was the predecessor to the popular Frommer’s and Follett’s guides of today. With elegantly drawn illustrations of the entire Loop area as well as detailed descriptions of attractions, hotels and restaurants, this was an indispensable book.

Chicagology has taken a few of these illustrations and matched each with an aerial shot of current Chicago using Apple Maps’ flyover rendering. In most cases, the differences are striking, while a few others, very similar.

Looking west from Michigan Blvd (Ave)

Keys to the Drawing:
① Auditorium Extension, ② Auditorium, ③ Studebaker Building, ④ Chicago Club Building, ⑤ Victoria Hotel, ⑥ Kimball Hall, ⑦ Isabella Building, ⑧ Richardson Building, ⑨ Siegel, Cooper & Co.’s Building

1400 N block of Lake Shore Drive

This is the 1400 N block of Lake Shore Drive, surrounded by Astor on the west, Schiller on the south and Burton Place on the north. On the left side is Potter Palmer’s mansion, which remained till about 1954 when it was replaced by the dual towers of 1350/1360 N Lake Shore Drive.

North Avenue, Dearborn Street, Clark Street and Banks Street

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The Heart of River North.

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Vicinity of the Board of Trade

The region graphically portrayed on the opposite page is doubtless the most striking one in the city, for the visitor can not approach it from any direction without adding to the scene many other notable buildings. The head of La Salle Street,” as late as 1868, included no good building of any size whatever. Jackson Street, the avenue in front of the Board of Trade, and Quincy Street, the alley or narrow street one block north, were densely populated with the worst elements of the city. The Van Buren Street Station was then the head of La Salle Street, and La Salle had not been shortened to make a place for the Board of Trade. The Grand Pacific Hotel was built and burned in 1871. It was reproduced in 1872. The grand transformation of this locality came in 1883 and 1884, when the earliest group of Chicago’s high buildings was erected. The rise in value of property on Jackson Street was sometimes from one to twenty in a year’s time. The block directly to the right of the Grand Pacific Hotel, composed of the Royal Insurance, Mailers, Gaff, and Counselman buildings, made the most rapid progress in 1884. The Rand McNally Building is seen in the foreground. In addition to the sterling character of its architecture, , it has become very famous as the headquarters the World’s Fair.

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Keys to the Drawing
① Lakeside Building, ② The Rookery, ③ Insurance Exchange Building, ④ Rand McNally Building, ⑤ Royal Insurance Building, ⑥ Mallers Building, ⑦ Gaff Building, ⑧ Counselman Building, ⑨ Grand Pacific Hotel, ⑩ Hotel Grace, ⑪ Phoenix Building, ⑫ Board of Trade Building, ⑬ Brother Jonathan Building, ⑭ Medinah Temple

Washington Square

Washington Square was Chicago’s first public park. The Newberry Library flanks it to the north, which is on the lot that Mahlon D. Ogden’s mansion stood, and was the only building outside of the Water Tower to have survived the Great Fire.

Region of the 12th Street Railway Station

The view before us presents the new and magnificent Illinois Central Station, at the south end of the Lake Front Park, and graphically gives the relative situations of the world-famous Michigan Boulevard and Wabash Avenue, once the aristocratic thoroughfare of Chicago, but now a rapidly extending business street. The general view in this region is very beautiful, either looking toward the blue lake or westward on the throngs of fine carriages and well-dressed pedestrians continually passing northward and southward. The remarkable Twelfth Street viaduct may be seen to begin at Wabash Avenue.

This elevated thoroughfare crosses twelve or more great trunk railway lines ere it descends to grade at Canal Street, on the West Side. The Manual Training School is also in sight, and the World’s Fair may be seen from any point south of Van Buren Street along the lake shore.

Keys to the Drawing

Chicago Sunday Tribune, January 28, 1934

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Gardner House

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Gardner House, Leland Hotel, The Stratford
Life Span: 1872-1922
Location: SW corner of S Michigan and E Jackson streets
Architect: William W. Boyington

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1874

Gardner House

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880
Gardner House, Michigan av. sw. cor Jackson

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1884
Leland Hotel, Warren F. Leland, prop. Michigan av. sw. cor. Jackson

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Stratford Hotel (The) George B. Weaver mgr Michigan av sw cor Jackson boul

The Land Owner, March, 1872

THE GARDNER HOUSE
F. B. Gardner, Esq., a Chicago capitalist is erecting an elegant hostelry, at the corner of Michigan avenue and Jackson streets, fronting on Lake Michigan, which our artist has sketched in a full page. This edifice is also from plans drawn by Mr. Boyington.

It has a front of 120 feet on Michigan avenue by 170 feet on Jackson street, which is about the size of the original Sherman House. The material of the structure is brick, the two fronts to be elaborately ornamented with terra cotta, of new and elegant designs, devised especially for the building. The design of architecture will be Italian, and the building is to be surmounted by a handsome Mansard roof. The height is to be five stories above the basement. There will be two wide entrances of about the same width from the avenue, and from Jackson street. The basement will contain the working rooms of the hotel, laundry, drying-room, servants’ dining-room, etc.

On the first floor will be the office of the hotel, stores, and business offices. The office of the hotel will be 40×70 in size, the roof being supported by Corinthian columns, with cornice and entablature, and highly ornamented. There will also be upon the same floor a billiard room on Jackson street, a barber shop, a lunch room, and a bar room. The ladies’ entrance to the hotel is from Jackson street. On the second floor are the dining room and the ladies’ ordinary, the dining room fronting on Jackson street, the ordinary in the alley. The first is 50×60, the others 27×39. The ladies’ parlor, being at the corner of Michigan avenue and Jackson street, commands a fine view of the lake. There will be about 200 sleeping rooms, all of them of ample size and completely furnished. The kitchen, carving rooms, etc., are on the second floor, convenient to the dining rooms. The halls will be wide and long, extending through the entire building and lighted at the ends.

Rebuilt Chicago

Chicago Evening Post, October 5, 1872

THE GARDNER HOUSE.
This is a handsome six-story hotel, bailt by F. B. Gardner, and located on the corner of Michigan avenue and Jackson street. The material is of brick and the design one of the handsomest, in that material, in Chicago. It has a frontage of 120 feet on Michigan avenue, and 170 feet on Jackson street. Its architectural design is Italian with roof of the Mansard pattern. Elegant terra cotta ornaments cover the doors, windows and other points. A handsome tower surmounts the centre on the avenue, and a smaller and less elevated one on Jackson. The office will be in the centre on the first floor, with wide and similar entrances from both streets. At the side of the entrances are four large stores. The office is 40×70 feet in size, the roof, supported by Corinthian columns, with cornice and entablature, neat and ornamental. The dining room is on the second floor and is 50×60 feet in dimensions. The ladies’ ordinary, on the same floor, is 27 feet by 29 feet. The parlor is on the corner of Michigan avenue and Jackson street, on the second floor, and commands as good a view of the lake and harbor as any room in the city. The basement will be occupied in the practical work of the hotel—kitchen, carving rooms, etc. The
halls extend through the entire building, and are wide and well lighted. As the building now stands complete and ready for its opening on the Fire anniversary, it is an ornament to the avenue, and a lasting monument to the enterprise and public spirit of Mr. Gardner.

Chicago Tribune, October 6, 1872

Peck Carpets.
The Gardner House, corner of Michigan avenue and Jackson streets, is about to be opened to the public. The carpets which are now being laid are furnished by Spencer H. Peck, of No. 19 South Canal street, and are rich and beautiful. The hotel is furnished throughout by this business house, and that, too, in a manner reflecting great credit upon Mr. Peck.

Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1872

The Gardner House.
The honor of being the first large hotel to open in the burnt district belongs to the Gardner House, situated on the corner of Jackson street and Michigan avenue. This building is five stories high, exclusive of Mansard roof, with a central tower on the avenue, is built of brick in the somewhat dubious style known as the Chicago renaissance. It contains 250 apartments, exclusive of the dining-room, kitchen, and kindred rooms, all of which are fitted in a manner becoming a first-class hotel, and probably has no superior in point of elegance, one on Jackaon street and the other on Michigan avenue, and a ladies’ entrance on the first-named thoroughfare. The office is in the centre of the building on the main floor, and receives its light from a shaft on the north side. The arrangements for this important adjunct to an hotel are extremely ingenious. The elevator is so arranged that the guest, having registered and been assigned his apartment, ascends on the passenger elevator, while his baggage goes up stairs with him on the other.

Every precaution has been taken to secure safety from fire, fire-plugs having been provided on every story. A telegraphic fire indicator has been placed in every room, and fixed at a certain point, indicating the extreme of heat allowed in a room and compatible with safety. When the temperature of the room rises above this point the office is instantly notified by the gong to shich the indicator is attached, and an alarm given. The furniture of the hotel is rich and tasteful. Want of space forbids anything like a detailed description of the internql econolmy of this agreeable hotel.

The Land Owner, Two Years After the Fire

Rebuilt Chicago

Illinois National Guard First Regiment Armory

Inter Ocean, March 26, 1881
THE LELAND HOTEL.
The Leland Hotel is the new name which the new proprietor, Mr. Warren F. Leland, has given to the “Gardner House,” located on Michigan avenue and Jackson street. The situation is far the finest in the Garden City in every point of view. The house is completely insulated, and the pure air from the lake has a free circulation on all sides, and, moreover, there is no offense from mewer gas, which all escapes by a ventilating pipe. These are all-important features in a sanitary view. The situation is central with the numerous railway depots, and the view of the lake unobstructed, and the attraction of the steamers and vessels constantly passing for nine months in the year, is really charming. Mr. Leland has cast is lot in Chicago as his future home, and has undoubtably made a judicious choice. The house is undergoing extensive alterations, involving an outlay of fifty thousand dollars, five thousand dollars being expended on the dining-room alone. The frescoing of the ceiling, the work of our great artist Alminmi, now well under way, is magnificent—there is nothing in the city equal to it. Mr. Leland belongs to a family of hotel-keepers of four generations, and his connection with the Delevan House of Albany, for the past fourteen years, has gained for him an enviable popularity. The following is taken from a long article in the Albany Evening Journal:

While Albany will regret her loss, Chicago is to be congratulated upon her accession of so thorough a hotel man. The Leland hotels dot the country in every direction, and this will add one more to the already large number.

We augur for Mr. Leland a successful career in his Western venture.

The Standard Guide to Chicago For the Year 1891, Flinn & Sheppard

Leland Hotel
Located on the corner of Michigan blvd. and Jackson St., Lake front, facing the site of a portion of the World’s Columbian Exposition. For many years this was known as the Gardner House, but not until its name and management were changed did it come to be reckoned among the great hotels of the city. Its location is charming, on one of the finest boulevards in the city, overlooking the majestic Lake Michigan and yet being within easy access of the entire business section, the railroad depots, street car terminals, retail stores, theatres, etc. Numerous improvements have been made both in the interior and exterior of the building from year to year, and they are still going on. An immense addition to the structure is among the latest of these. The sanitary condition of the hotel has received the serious attention of the proprietor. The latest and best methods to insure the escape of all gases and offensive odors have been adopted, and the sewerage has been pronounced perfect. Recent alterations have made the house more beautiful than ever. The renovating and painting have been accomplished by experienced and competent artisans ; and the frescoing of all the halls, parlors and public rooms has been by the hand or under the eye of the famous Almini. The cuisine department has been supplied with new and improved ranges and all the latest and best utensils to insure wholesome and savory food of every kind. The dining room of the Leland is a large, well lighted, handsome, airy room, finished in the latest style. In the hallway leading to the dining room, between the hours of half past five and eight o’clock, an orchestra of six pieces is stationed to render music during dinner time. This is a feature that no other hotel in Chicago has for the enjoyment of its guests. The advantages are,at once perceived of a sojourn at a hotel past which all the finest turnouts of a great city quietly but rapidly drive.

gardner

From the front of the Leland its inmates may, without the slightest inconvenience or undue curiosity, scan during every fine day the beauty and dress of the elite of Chicago, as well as their attractive carriages and equipages. No watering places on the continent offer so fine a point to study the exterior characteristics of the distinguished leading citizens of a population of much more than a million, as do the balconies and windows of the Leland Hotel. No noisy procession, street cars, market wagon or peddler is allowed on this boulevard. During the greater part of every fine day, beautiful carriages are moving continuously, but when the hours of rest approach, the avenue becomes quiet, and so remains until the. seekers of health, pleasure and recreation turn out in their carriages on the morrow. The Leland has superior accommodations for families and gentlemen, with a table of peculiar excellence. Warren Leland, proprietor.

Inter Ocean, March 11, 1902

The first of next April will witness the passing of the old Leland hotel, Michigan and Jackson boulevard. The building will still remain a hotel, but the name, management, and appearance will be changed. A new company, called the Stratford Hotel company, composed of George B. Weaver, at present manager of Kinsley’s Restaurant and Catering company; Frank E. Vaugh, and H.G. Miller, has been formed to take the lease of the hotel, and on April 1 the present manager, W.H. Dildine, will retire. The new name will be the “Stratford.”

The hotel today is new in appearance. The entire first floor has been remodeled and refurnished. The plumbing is new. The improvements will not be entirely completed until April 1, when the new managers will assume control/

The Leland is the oldest first-class hotel in the city, being the first to be opened after the great fire of 1871. It was known as the Gardner house then, and was managed by Gardner & Gould. For a year it did a big business at high prices, but the opening of the Palmer, Grand Pacific, Sherman, and Tremont deprived it of its monopoly of the best transient custom, and later it became known chiefly as a family hotel.

The property finally passed into the hands of Captain A.E. Goodrich, who conducted it through various lessees and managers, including A.D. Harlow, C.H. Gaubert, B.F. Starr, Jewett Wilcox, and Richard Somers. Twenty years ago the Gardner house was purchased by J.T. Cobb of Cleveland, who immediately took into partnership his son-in-law, the late Warren F. Leland. Mr. Leland at that time was one of the proprietors of the Delevan house in Albany, N.Y. He came to Chicago in 1882, and, taking possession of the Gardner house, made extensive additions to and changed its name to the “Leland.” In March, 1892, Mr. Leland sold the house to a New York syndicate for $1,000,000. During his proprietorship here he began a suit against the Illinois Central and Michigan Central railroads to preserve the lake front against their encroachments. In this fight he was successful, and aided largely in keeping the park along that part of the avenue intact for the benefit of the city at large. Mr. Leland, on leaving this hotel, designed and built the Chicago Beach hotel, which he conducted during the World’s Fair. In four months and a half he cleared $244,000, eclipsing all hotel records for rapid and enormous profits. Mr. Leland died on April 5, 1899, in New York, two weeks after the Windsor hotel fire, in which his wife and daughter were burned to death. Mr. Leland was the proprietor of the Windsor, and it is thought that his death was the direct result of the shock caused by the terrible loss of life at that time.

Since 1882 the Leland hotel has had several managers, including L.A. Kittredge, A.L. Skeels, C.F. Milligan, C.W. Dabb, and W.H. Dildine.

Chicago Tribune, July 2, 1922

Marshall & Fox have designed the new $6,000,000 Stratford office building to be erected on the site of the famous old Stratford hotel on the siuthwest corner of Michigan and Jackson. It is the intention of Levt Mayer and Edwin Meyer, owners, to make it the finest structure of its kind in the world. The modern Gothic type of architecture will be carried out in the interior as well as in the outside walls. All the corridors, for instance, will be of white marble, with groined ceilings. The first floor lobby will be of Carrara marble inlaid with blue mosaic, no plaster being used. There will be “returns” on the alley and the blind wall on the south, but the decorations on the three upper floors will be carried all the way round the building. There’ll be entrances on both Jackson and Michigan. Martin C. Schwab is in charge of the mechanical engineering.

The owners have refused offers of $4,000,000 for the ground under the Stratford and also for long term leases of $200,000 annually, which would establish a value of $4,000,000, figuring 5 per cent.

Chicago Tribune, November 30, 1922

Final signatures were affixed last night to a contract for the sale of the southwest corner of Michigan and Jackson boulevards by the Levy Mayer estate and Edwin F. Meyer, for approximately $4,50,000, to S. W. Straus & Co., Chicago and New York bankers.

On this site, instead of the twenty-one story Stratford office building planned by the late Levy Mayer to supplant the old Stratford hotel, recently wrecked (May 1), Straus & Co. intend to erect an $8,000,000 office building, which may climb to 500, or possible 600 feet, if the proposed setback building height ordinance is passed.

Tremont House IV

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Tremont House, Northwestern University Building
Life Span: 1873-1937
Location: SE corner of N Dearborn & W Lake streets
Architect: John M. Van Osdel

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1874

Tremont House

(See adv. front cover and paqge 1291)

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880
Tremont House, John A. Rice, prop. Lake se. cor.Dearborn

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Northwestern University Building Edmund J. James pres; room 207; Wm. A. Dyche bus. mngr room 214; R. B. Ennis renting agt rotunda office 87 Lake se cor Dearborn
Northwestern University Dental School, Greene V. Black dean; Charles R. E. Koch sec 87 Lake
Northwestern University School of Law J. H. Wigmore dean; Frederick B. Crossley sec 87 Lake
Northwestern University School of Pharmacy Oscar Oldberg dean 87 Lake

The Tremont House was one of the “Big Four” of the post-fire hotels including the Palmer House, the Grand Pacific and the Sherman House. This was the fourth Tremont House in Chicago. Jewett Wilcox was a lessee for six years and was so luxuriously furnished that it called itself “The Palace Hotel of America.”

On 20 October 1902, the Northwestern University Law School moved into the old Tremont Hotel Building at the corner of Lake and Dearborn. The School occupied the third floor of the building, sharing the location with the dental and pharmacy schools.

Tremont House No. 4

Chicago Tribune, February 2, 1874

The Tremont House has been rebuilt on the site of its predecessor, and will be opened on the 16th. The present structure is as handsome and the internal arrangements as perfect as it is possible to make them. The Couch estate erected the structure, and James and Ira Couch have furnished it in magnificent style, and will be the proprietors. The Tremont has an interesting history. It is the oldest hotel in the city, and under the management of Ira Couch from 1837 to 1858, the Gage Bros. for several years, and John B. Drake from 1861 to 1872, enjoyed a reputation second to none in the country. It was the temporary home of all the distinguished men who came to Chicago. Douglas died there, and Long John haunted it until the 9th of October, 1871.

The Tremont of Old.
There are very few people living now who remember the first Tremont, which was erected in 1833, and to obtain reminiscences of it a reporter called on Dr. Dyer, one of the oldest citizens, and learned from him what is subjoined:

When I came here in August, 1835, I stopped at Trowbridge’s Hotel, on Dearborn street, just north of Lake, because the Tremont was full. That winter I was out of town a good deal, and when I returned, I generally succeeded in getting a bed at the Tremont.

The hotel was located on the northwest corner of Lake and Dearborn streets, where the Commercial now stands. It was built in 1833, I think, and was a three-story frame building, about 80 feet long and 70 feet wide. Starr Foot was the first proprietor; the game man who afterwards became County Agent, and was known to everybody. He kept the house for about a year, selling out in 1835 to Mallory & Able.

Chicago Hotels.
There were at the time five hotels in Chicago:
The “Green Tree,” located on what is now West Water street, near the junction of the two branches of the river, which was called “Rats’ Castle;” The Sanganash, a homely-looking combination of logs and boards, perched on the “Point” near Lake street bridge, and covering the ground on which the Wigwam subsequently stood; The Mansion House, on the north side of Lake street, just east of Dearborn, Trowbridge’s Hotel, and the Tremont. The Tremont was considered to be the only first-class hotel, but many thought the Mansion House was its equal in every particular.

Primitive Rates of Board.
Board at the Tremont was $5 a week for the best rooms, and nearly all the men who afterwards became wealthy and distinguished in the city lived there. Any unusual event at that time was an occasion of rejoicing, and when one came into the harbor the people would form a line and march to the banks of the creek and cheer the Captain.

A Month’s Tale.
One night the people in the Tremont were victimized by Col. James M. Warren, of Warrenville, who was an excellent mimic. He knew he could deceive the boarders, and did so completely. Taking a position in an alley near the hotel, he personated two negroes, and began quarreling. He changed his voice so perfectly that everybody imagined there were two negroes in the alley, both very angry and determined to fight. Had it been daylight there would have been no one in the hotel,—all would have rushed out to see the encounter. But it was about 2 o’clock in the morning, and all were in bed. The noise awakened them, and after the sound was heard, a head protruded from every window in the house. The Colonel finally got tired of talking and retired. The quarrel was the subject of conversation all over the town the next day, and was not forgotten for a month. Very few in the secret, and when the truth came out, the joke furnished a topic for further talk.

Dorwin’s Grief.
Able & Mallory sold out to a man named Dorwin in 1837, but he retained possession only a few months. His boarders did not pay their bills, and he became disgusted, and disposed of the property to Ira Couch. Nearly 200 people were in the habit of taking dinner at the Tremont, and the dining-room was so small that the hungry fellows were frequently obliged to form line in two ranks around the tables, and dispense with plates, and oftentimes with knives and forks.

Dunning Denounced.
The boarders became “terribly enraged” at Dorwin, because he damned them for what they owed him, and one evening they held a meeting in one of the large bed-rooms to solemnly determine what they would do with him. The conclave was really gotten up as a joke, but in those days of vigilance committees it was considered to be a serious matter, and Dorwin became much alarmed for his safety. Festus Clarke, of Nackett’s Harbor, was elected Chairman, and a committee was appointed to escort the proprietor to the room. When he entered he was almost stifled by tobacco smoke, trembled like a leaf. The “enraged” boarders surrounded him, and demanded to know why he had outraged their feelings by asking them for money. He became pale from fright, and told them that he must have money or he could not pay his bills. A lawyer then made an argument in behalf of the boarders, asserting that it was foolish for them to pay anything when this fellow did not discharge his own indebtedness. Much discussion followed, and a friend of the proprietor whispered to him to sell his bills to someone and run away. Dorwin said he would if anyone would buy them.

Ira Couch, a long, lank, and black-eyed man offered tho take them, and the next morning Dorwin got into the stage-coach, and left Chicago for New York. where he afterwards died, it is said, of a broken heart. Mr. Couch paid the money for the bills, and the joke proved to be a reality. He would not be put off with “Wait until next week,” but went for the delinquents, and drove out all those who would not square their accounts. He introduced a new order of things at the Tremont, and was very successful. I boarded there until the fall of 1837, when I was appointed Surgeon in the army, and moved into the garrison at Fort Dearborn. Nearly all the business men in town stopped at the Tremont, and Couch made much money by buying up specie at 10 and 15 per cent premium and shipping it East. He did not touch real estate until long afterwards.

The hotel was burned up somewhere about 1839, and he bought the property the present building occupies of Mr. Wadsworth, and put up another frame building in 1840, which was also burned several years afterwards in 1848 he began talking about building a new and handsome hotel. At that time the business portion of the city was on Lake street, west of Clark, east of Dearborn street being undeveloped prairie. It subsequently became residence property, but not long after Mr. Couch had erected the Tremont House on the southeast corner of Dearborn and Lake streets, and the hotel had been in operation and achieved a name for excellence throughout the country.

The “House of David.”
For many years a coterie of prominent citizens of Chicago made the Tremont their headquarters. They would congregate in the barroom, which had been christened the “House of David” by John Brougham, the actor, and pass the evening in imbibing moderately of wine and whisky, and relating stories. Some of the best men in the city belonged to this party,—eminent lawyers, physicians, and capitalists, who occupied a high social position, but occasionally threw off all restraint, and spent four or five or six hours together, and indulged to conviviality, and enjoyed themselves. Of this conclave

Dr. Egan was the leading spirit,—the noblest Roman of them all. He was one of the most accomplished men in the city, and could tell a story as it should be told, and quote from the Latin authors with the facility of an Eton boy. He was born in Killarney, Kerry, Ireland, and was intended for a priesthood, into which three of his brothers had already been admitted. After receiving a thorough education, he became convinced that preaching was not to be his vocation, and emigrated to America, landing in New York in 1829 or 1830. While there he married the daughter of a distinguished physician, and studied medicine. About the the troops evacuated Fort Dearborn he came West, and settled in Chicago. He entered into partnership with a physician, but found time to indulge in real estate speculations, and soon became a leading dealer in corner lots. When

A good story is told of him. His mind was so much engrossed with real estate that one day, on going into George Smith’s bank to have a check cashed, he said, in reply to the question of the Teller as to what he would have, gold or notes,

Oh, the usual terms, one-quarter down, and the balance in one, two, and three years, with 6 per cent interest, canal terms.

In society he was the presiding genius, and was so happy in his manner that he could do the honors of the host more gracefully than anyone in the West. His education, manners, and habits were such that everybody respected him. He made but one faux pas,—appearing at a dramatic entertainment at McVicker’s, in the character of a smuggler, “making,” as Dundreary would say, “an ass of himself.” His experience convinced him that acting was beyond him, and he never attempted to face an audience again. He did it this once at the solicitation of his friends, to aid a worthy charity, his generous and accommodating nature prompting him to do anything honorable, to please. He died in September, 1860, regretted by all who were fortunate enough to know him.

Another shining light was

David Stewart.
He represented Detroit in Congress one term, and came to Chicago about 1855, and commenced practicing law. He at once took a prominent stand among the members of the profession, and, socially, was the “lion.” He was personally attractive, and although inclined to be dainty in his dress, was not at all foppish. He was highly educated, and possessed remarkable conversational powers, and was a welcome guest everywhere. When the War of the Rebellion broke out, he became Colonel of an Illinois regiment, and served faithfully until the surrender of Gen. Lee. After his discharge he went South, and settled in New Orleans, where he died several years ago.

A third was Lyle Smith, one of the most distinguished members ofg the Wing party in Chicago, and a great admirer and friend of Henry Clay, whom he eulogized, when dead, in an oration which he believed by many to have been as eloquent as any production in the English language. He was born and reared in Philadelphia, his father being a wealthy citizen of that place, and received instruction in the best schools. He studied law there, and was admitted to the Bar, but while he lived here he never practiced, his father having left him more money than he knew what to do with. He was one of the best orators in the West, and the Whigs looked upon him as a political Gamaliel.

Another was Dan Mclroy, an enthusiastic Irishman, who was thought by many to be the handsomest man in Chicago. He commenced life in Lowell, Mass., as a teacher and afterwards studied law in the office of Judge Storey, of Boston, Ben Butler was his associate and fellow-student. McIlroy came West, after being licensed tom practice and settled in this city in 1843 or ’44. He at once became prominent as a representative of the Irish element, and shortly after his arrival was elected State’s Attorney, and achieved the reputation of being one of the best criminal lawyers. He was a perfect Adonis, but not airy; on the contrary, he was humble and modest in his deportment, but his figure was such that in walking along the street he would attract attention on account of possessing more than ordinary physical beauty. When

Julia Dean, the actress, came to Chicago, McIlroy fell deeply in love with her. One summer day an excursion party was gotten up, and on the banks of the Calumet a Fête champêtre was held. McIlroy and Miss Dean said to the romantic youth at her side, “You Irish gentlemen are so full of enthusiastic admiration that you make love to a lady I cannot tell whether you are sincere or otherwise.”

McIlroy assured her he was sincere. Miss Dean interrupted him by saying:

Now, can you manifest your chivalry like the Knights of old?

McIlroy would do anything. “Well,” said Miss Dean, “see this rose (throwing it into the stream). Bring it to me as proof of your fidelity and devotion.” McIlroy junped into the mud at once and captured the rose, and ascended the bank dripping like a Newfoundland dog. Handing the rose to the lady, he said:

I return the rose as proof of my devotion, illustrating the affection of an Irish gentleman for the noblest of her sux.

This incident became known to the excursionists, and they, of course, told of it when they returned home, and McIlroy was ever afterward commended for his gallantry. He died at the age of 47, loved by all who know him.

The next was Jim Carney, who arrived in America from Ireland in 1834, and came to Chicago two years afterward. He built a brewery on South Water street, and held the office of Public Administrator for several years. He owned the farm on which Evanston now stands, and sold the property to Dr. Evans. He was genial and intelligent, and a great favorite in the coterie, and when he died in 1855, at his house on South Water street, everybody expressed sorrow at the loss.

Capt. Jim Smith was an occasional visitor at the “House of David.” He was born in Scotland, and came to Chicago when a boy, and was given a position in the bank of his relative, George Smith. He remained there several years, finally becoming a lumber merchant, forming a partnership with John Sherifin. He was a fireman, and a member of the artillery company of which he was elected Captain just before the War. He went into the field and remained until peace was declared. Returning home, he became a part owner of the Emma Mine, and moved to Salt Lake City to look after his interests. He died there three or four years ago, leaving a competency to his only son.

Andrew Marvin was another of the genial party. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and graduated from the University there. After coming to America he settled in Rochester, New York, where he studied law in the same office with Isaac N. Arnold, and was admitted to the Bar. Subsequently he went to Buffalo, and thence to Detroit, where he continued practicing. He was noted for his classical attainments, and was induced to accept a Professorship in the University at Tecumseh, which position he held for five years. He came to Chicago during the heat of the contest between the Democrats and the Whigs, and soon became a recognized leader of the former, his eloquence contributing largely to the success of their candidate. In 1863 he slipped, while ascending stairs leading to the basement of the Tremont House, and fell into the area. When found in the morning he was dead.

Pat Ballingal, who is remembered by many, was born in Ayr, Scotland—the birthplace of the poet Burns. His father was Principal of an Academy there, and Pat received a splendid education. He came to Chicago in its early days, and endured the fluctuations of life experienced by the pioneers. He studied law in the office of Judge Theophilus Smith, became his partner, and was conceded to be one of the most brilliant lawyers in the West. He was hias own worst enemy, and was found dead in bed by his brother.

There were several other members of this select party who made the “House of David” their headquarters. Among them was Allen Robbins, a whole-souled gentleman, who loved pin-pool and gin and sugar; Dr. Kimberly, George Meeker, and W. H. Murfey. Only two of the coterie, Dan O’Hara, and Charley McDonald, are now living.

The Last Tremont.
When Mr. Couch began laying ther foundation of a large brick structure in 1849, he was called a “fool” and a “madman,” the project being considered the wildest speculation ever before undertaken by man, and everybody firmly believed he would sink all the money he had. He, however, was not dismayed, and his enterprise paid him handsomely. The Tremont became well known, and was the resort of all the prominent politicians and distinguished people who came to Chicago. Mr. Couch managed its affairs until 1858, at which time it ranked with the Delavan of Albany, the Burnet House of Cincinnati, and the Massasoit House of Springfield, the four being considered the best hotels outside of New York and Philadelphia.

The Gages.
In the latter part of the year last named, Mr. Couch made arrangements to sell to David A. and George W. Gage, of Indiana. Their whole available capital was built on for $8,000, which they tendered to Mr. Couch. When they reached Chicago they went to the hotel to take possession, but Mr. Couch had changed his mind, and would not give up his house. The Gages were much annoyed, even accommodation in the house being refused them, and they consulted Larned & Woodbridge, attorneys. The money was counted in their office, and a legal tender to be made. Couch still refused to accept it, or to agree to the appointment of a Committee of Arbitration to value the fixtures, plate, etc. After much talk, he finally agreed to appoint his own committee, and did so, the Gages offering no objection. When the Committee had made their examination and determined the value of the property, Mr. Couch declined to accept their award. The Gages then threatened to sue him, and at last, consented to give them possession, he remaining as a border at the hotel.

Another Hotel Proposed.
He had a very large income at this time, and idleness did not agree with him, and he began to talk of erecting an enormous hotel on the site of the Garrett Block, corner of State and Randolph streets, where there was a small eating-house kept by Hugh Spear. The latter asked such an exorbitant sum for his interest, although the other property could be purchased for a reasonable price, that Mr. Couch was obliged to abandon the idea. He became angry over his disappointment, and went down East, and died from the effects of a chest disease. contracted while working at his trade of tailor before he embarked in hotel-keeping.

John B, Drake.
The Gages ran the Tremont for several years, when John B. Drake was taken into the firm, he having been their manager. From his advent a new era began in the hotel business of the city. Mr. Drake going first and his brother following, to tale possession of the Sherman House, leaving Mr. Drake the sole proprietor. The house became the resort of all politcians, and whenever a convention was held in Chicago the Tremont was the headquarters of the delegates.

Mr. Douglas’ Address.
An anecdote is related of an admirer of Douglas, who always stopped at the Tremont when in the city. He was from the country, and asked that he might be assigned to a room where Douglas slept. The clerk directed him to “No. 3,” which he found full of beds. He returned to the office, and said it was his ambition to sleep where Douglas had slumbered, but he did not want to sleep with the whole Democratic party.

The Building Burned.
In 1861 the Tremont was remodeled, and Raising of Chicagoraised seven feet in the air, a basement being put in, and the “House of David” moved to the ground floor. The building was raised by jack-screws, and the undertaking was a great one, and, being the first of the kind ever attempted in the city, it attracted much attention.

After the Fire.
The house was conducted by Mr. Drake, who kept up its reputation and secured the best custom by his excellent management until the Great Fire, which left only a pile of bricks on the site. The enterprising proprietor soon had the Michigan Avenue Hotel under his charge, and, changing its name to the Tremont, for a time did an excellent business.

The debris remained on the property some months, but was at length removed, the Couch estate, represented by James and Ira Couch, having at length decided to build another hotel on the same site, “in style and grandeur commensurate with its former reputation and the progress of modern improvements.”

The New Tremont.
The new Tremont Hotel, located on the southeast corner of Lake and Dearborn streets, fronting 181 feet on Dearborn and 160 feet on Lake street, is six stories high above the basement, exclusive of the attic-story, and surrounds an open court 60 feet wide and 92 feet in length. In this court is an office building, or rotunda, 44 by 73 feet, containing basement and principal story, 25 feet high. The first story of the main building is elevated three steps above the sidewalk, and is 14 feet high in the clear. The second story, being the principal story of the hotel, is 18 feet high in the clear. The principal dining-room on this floor is 20 feet high. The height of the third story is 16 feet, but over the dining-room 14 feet. The fourth story is 14 feet; fifth story, 13 feet; and the sixth story, 12 feet. These extraordinary heights of stories gives the building great elevation.

The facade on each street is relieved by a central and flank pavilion projects 2 feet from the face of the main wall, and the others project 1 foot. The pavilions are enriched with pilasters and ornamented fancy columns, with carved capitals, which, extending through the height of two stories, give them large diameters and great boldness of relief. The fronts of the first story are of iron, with large plate-glass shop fronts. The angles of the pavilion are supported by massive piers in the first story. The fronts above the first story are of Amherst sand stone of uniform light drab color. The pilasters, columns, and paneled piers have their base at the top of the first story, and support a highly-ornamented cornice. At top of the third story there are similar patterns.

Column and piers extend upward in front of the fourth and fifth stories, supporting the main cornices at the top of the fifth story. Above the cornice, the pavilions have stone fronts in the sixth story, fully relieved with columns and pilasters. The space between the pavilions in the sixth floor is a Mansard roof, slated, and enriched with fine dormer windows of fire-proof material. Each pavilion is surmounted with a quadrangular dome, convex on each side, having large and highly-wrought former and loop-hole windows. The angles of the roofs of the domes are heavily molded, and, separating, form an arch under the crest railing. The spandrils of these arches are fully relieved with ornamental carvings and scroll-work. The crest-railings are massively and highly ornamented. Each pavilion is furnished with stone balconies at the third and fifth stories, supported on sculptured stone brackets, with balustrades of stone-work.

The principal entrance is in the centre of the Dearborn street front, marked by a four-column portico extending to the top of the second story. The columns support an arched canopy, forming a balcony at the third story. The eastern portico is of iron, painted and sanded tom imitate stone-work. The private or ladies’ entrance is in the centre of the Lake street front, and has a balcony at the top of the first story supported on elaborately sculptured brackets. This entire entrance is enriched with carvings and sculpturesb of the most elaborate character.

The vestibules of the main, as well as of the private, entrance is finished in black-walnut. The doors and finish are in the highest style of the joiner’s art, and were exhibited at the late Exposition, and attracted much attention on account of their extraordinary beauty in design and execution. The halls leading from these entrances open directly into the rotunda, or office. This rotunda is lighted through the roofs of three domes. Ventilation and light are also obtained by means of windows in the side walls. The entire

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Rotunda and halls are wainscoted, with black-walnut with half-baluster in relief on the wainscoting; the finish of walls and ceiling are of stucco-work. The pilasters, columns, and paneled work are fully enriched and ornamented.

An easy flight of stairs leads from the floor of the rotunda to the principal floor of the hotel. This stair is entirely of black-walnut, fully enriched and ornamented. At the right of the ladies’ entrance hall is a waiting room for ladies; from this room a passenger-elevator will convey the guests to any of the upper floors of the building. A flight of elegant stairs also leads up from this room to the principal floor.

The grand stairway from the principal floor to the sixth story is located at the junction of the two principal corridors, near the head of the last-mentioned stairs, and is constructed around a large quadrangular well-hole, lighted from a dome in the roof. There are two landings or platforms in each story, so that the second is by three easy flights from one floor to another. There is also a fine flight of stairs in the south end of the principal corridor from the second to the sixth story.

The principal kitchen is at the southeast angle of the building. The main dining-hall, 64 feet wide and 100 feet long, is directly north of the kitchen, and extends to the front on Lake street. This room is lighted on three sides, and is noted for the elegance of its flush of ornamental stucco-work and the elaborate character of the joiner’s work.

The ladies’ ordinary, located west of the kitchen, is 84 x 70 feet, with a ceiling 18 feet high. It is lighted similarly to the main dining room. A flight of stairs is located in the passage between these dining rooms, and extends up to the seventh story. The ladies’ parlors and dressing-room occupy three spacious rooms from Lake and along the Dearborn street front to the centre of the building. They are connected by beautifully-arranged sliding-foors filled with cut-glass panels. These doors, when opened, pass into boxes formed of large mirrors on either side. The elaborate cornice and finish of the head of the door-casings extend over and include the mirrors on either side. The doors and finials of the principal story are of the most elaborate character of carvings and sculpture, and give an air of eloquence and costliness seldom seen in hotel architecture. Above the dining-rooms

The corridors extend around the entire building, having spacious rooms for guests on either side of either corridor. A fourth stairway commences at the third floor, over the main dining-room, and extends to the sixth story. There is also a servants’ stairs from the basement to the seventh story.

Pantry-room and bakery are in the first story and directly under the main kitchen. The boilers and heating apparatus are in the basement, directly under the bakery and pantry-room. An exclusive and complete laundry is arranged in the basement. Ice-rooms and large patent refrigerators, and all modern conveniences, are provided in all working apartments. The building contains about 200 rooms for guests. Many of them are en suite, with all the modern conveniences of bath-tubs, water-closets, etc.

The following firms contributed toward the erection of the beautiful structure:

The Furniture.
The hotel will be magnificently furnished, over $260,000 having been spent in securing the best of everything. Even the rooms in the domes will have Brussels carpets and black-walnut bed-steads and washstands. Many of the apartments are already in order, and a hundred men are hard at work getting the house in readiness for the opening. The parlor furniture, which is to excel that of any other hotel in the city, has not yet arrived, but will be here some time this week.

Employes.
The heads of departments, clerks, and employes whose services have been secured for the house are well and favorably known in their respective positions, both East and West, and include Richard Somers, caterer, R. S. Brownell, A. Hurlbut, Harry Hamlin, Jesse Hipple, C. G. Spalding, F. A. Stevens, E. G. Mayo, and George A, Hook.

The proprietors say, in a circular they have issued, that no efforts will be spared to retain the reputation of the old Tremont, by making their guests comfortable and their visits pleasant; and they hope to have the pleasure of extending a cordial welcome to all friends of the old as well as the patrons of the new house, and to the traveling public generally, whenever they visit Chicago.

Chicago Tribune, February 2, 1874

THE FOUR TREMONTS

To the Editor of The Chicago Tribune
SIR: In 1833 there was built upon the northwest corner of Lake and Dearborn streets an unpretending frame structure known as the Tremont House, and the following year Ira Couch became its proprietor. He found the house a mere shell, without any sidewalk around it, and poorly furnished, as none of the rooms were entirely carpeted, little pieces in front of the bed being considered sufficient for anyone; and very many of the beds were minus one pleasant luxury, a pillow.

The Muddy Days.
Around this corner, in early spring-time, it was impossible to drive the stage, and the passengers had to walk some two blocks; on account if the marshy state of the ground, the horses could not navigate; and the ladies were very willing to wear their husbands’ boots in those days, when they felt fearful of losing their footing upon ground that seemed bottomless.

Tremont

Tremont House No. 1

The First Fire.
In the fall of 1839, the Tremont House was first consumed by fire. It had been renovated and repaired shortly before, so that, for those days, when he was beginning life upon a new basis, Mr. Couch’s loss was felt to be quite a serious matter, especially as the building was entirely uninsured.

He then purchased the ground where the elegant hotel now stands, and erected upon it, in 1841, Tremont House No. 2. In all these efforts from the first, Mr. Couch was assisted by his brother James, for they were always together and helping one another.

This also was a frame structure, three stories in height, and for those primitive days—before there was any communication world except by steamboat and stage—the Tremont House was considered too large, and the builder was ahead of the times.

Tremont

The Second Fire.
Mr. Couch seemed pursued by fire, as, in 1849, the popular hotel was again destroyed. The third Tremont came to know as a fixed fact early in 1850. It was certainly an improvement upon his predecessors, for it was built of brick, five stories high; and again the people thought Mr. Couch must be insane to build such a palace, so they familiarly dubbed it “Couch’s Folly,”—predicting failure to this man of energy and perseverance.

During these early days of building, Mr. Couch (in company with his brother James) was upon the ground early and late watching the building as it progressed, until it was finally completed and ready to be opened.

Tremont

THE THIRD TREMONT.
Gas was used in Chicago for the first time at the opening of the third Tremont House; and, as everything was in perfect keeping, the house must have presented a fine appearance, with its large, airy rooms beautifully furnished, and having all the conveniences of those days. Mr. Couch lived to see this enterprise a perfect success, far beyond the most sanguine expectations. In its early days the hotel was crowded to its utmost capacity, and it was soon far too small, for the increasing travel made it often necessary to resort to various methods in order to accommodate those who sought shelter within its walls.

Raising the Building.
In the spring of 1861 the Tremont House was raised up to grade—more than 6 feet. This was done by screws; there were 5,000 of these under the building, and 500 men, each man having ten screws under his control. At a given signal they would turn it half round and stop, then go to the next one, and so on. This raised the building boldly, so that not a pane of glass was broken, and the business of the hotel went on as usual. When the house was raised, the court in the centre was enlarged and quite a number of rooms added, and some radical and important changes were made—all under the direct management of Mr. Jame Couch, as the original builder of the Tremont had passed away to his final rest some few years before.

Old Boarders.
Among our old settlers many of them took rooms the morning of the opening, and sat down to the first breakfast in the house. Messrs. Mosely, McCord, Drew, and Luther Haven are well remembered. With the exception of Mr. Haven, these gentlemen occupied the same rooms they then took, and remained until called to their bright and better home above.

During the war, how many sad, as well as pleasant, events took place in the Tremont House, which was the home of so very many public men. Here Lincoln loved tp come on his Western trips. Douglas felt at home nowhere except at the Tremont House, and during his last illness was tenderly cared for in this pleasant, familiar stopping-place. This seemed to be the only home such men as Gens. Ransom, Kirk, and others sought when traveling,—indeed, it was here they closed their labors and passed from sight forever. Our military men, together with President Grant, and those directly under him, usually made the Tremont House their headquarters, coming to it as readily as those who want in and out its doors each day.

Tremont

The Last Fire.
In the great conflagration of 1871 this dear old landmark was removed, and then there was much to discourage them, still those most interested felt there must be a Tremont House on the old spot. Our New Chicago would not look right unless it were so; and thus we now see Tremont House No. 4 finished and almost ready to be opened.

The New Tremont.
Mr. James Couch has had left the entire supervision of the building, being upon the ground from early morning until dark. He has spared no pains in the construction, and it is, without doubt, one of the finest buildings yet erected in our new city. It has risen almost by magic, as it were, and Mr. Couch has been most untiring in his arduous enterprise. It was no small task to build up such a hotel, and the inside is just as perfect as it can be made.

Everything about the building is in excellent taste,—the office and the various rooms are arranged in the best possible manner, and the credit belongs entirely to Mr. James Couch, for he has made every effort in his power to have this Tremont House just as it should be in all respects.

Mr. Couch has been ably and greatly assisted by his son Ira in the erection, and especially in the furnishing, of this truly magnificent hotel. Mr. Couch himself will be the proprietor, and upon entering the homes very many of his old familiar faces will greet the guests in the various domestic departments, office, etc., and it is to be hoped that around the genial boards will be congregated very many of the old faces, together with hosts of new ones, for they will be sure of a pleasant greeting and the best of attention from all those connected with the Tremont House.

Grand Pacific Hotel II

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Board of Trade District

Grand Pacific Hotel II
Life Span: 1873-1895/1921
Location: Entire block surrounded by S Clark, W Quincy, S La Salle & W Jackson streets
Architect: William W. Boyington

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1874

Grand Pacific Hotel

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880
Grand Pacific Hotel, John H. Drake & Co., proprs. Clark nw. cor. Jackson

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Grand Pacific Hotel, nw. Clark cor Jackson boul.

INTRODUCTION:

The second Grand Pacific Hotel was one of the first two prominent hotels built in Chicago, Illinois, after the Great Chicago Fire. Along with contemporary Chicago luxury hotels such as the Palmer House, Tremont House, and Sherman House, it was built in the palazzo architectural style of the day. The hotel was managed for more than 20 years by John Drake. His sons, John B. Drake and Tracy C. Drake were the developers and proprietors of the Blackstone Hotel and Drake Hotel.

It was the site where Standard Time System was adopted on October 11, 1883. Many notable celebrities stayed here, including Oscar Wilde on his first visit to Chicago as part of his 1882 lecture tour of America.

At the time it was built, it was regarded, in dimensions and the proposed scope of its operations, as something mammoth, and many believed the time had not arrived for a hotel of this magnitude, especially in its location. Undeterred by fire losses and adverse opinions, however, the Pacific Hotel Company, endorsed strongly by the Michigan Southern and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad companiesbegan rebuilding immediately after the fire. The grand hotel was opened in June 1873, at a cost of one and a half million dollars.

The Land Owner, May 1872

THE GRAND PACIFIC HOTEL.
Among all the grand structures of our new Chicago, the Pacific Hotel takes the lead for size and architectural beauty. It is now rapidly rebuilt on ots old foundations, which were very little injured by the fire.

Our space does admit of a full description of this grand hostelry in detail. It is sufficient to say that it has been leased by Messrs. Gage Bros. & Rice, of the Sherman house, and will be ready for their occupancy on March 1st, 1873. These gentlemen will furnish it in the most costly manner throughout, and will render it, under their management, the finest hotel in the world, without exception.

The traveling public who made the popular old Sherman house their headquarters, will be delighted to know that the same cheerful faces will next year be found in the new Pacific, catering to their wants. There will be the Gages, Mr. Rice, and George Fawcett, Russell, of the news and cigar stand, and all the other attaches, whose presence in the old house rendered its fame so world-wide.

Of the grand edifice, W. W. Boyington, Esq., is the architect. The wood work is furnished by the Goss & Phillips Manufacturing Co., and it is erected by the Pacific Hotel Company.

Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1873

tobey At last, after conquering all the elements of opposition, a great fire, and the dead weight of public incredulity as to the feasibility of the enterprise, the Grand Pacific has become an accomplished fact. And while over a week will elapse before it is thrown open to the public, yet it is not improper to anticipate a little, and to describe the hotel as it will be in a fortnight, so that those who expect to be in Chicago about that time may know where they best find food and shelter. Such a “coming event” as the opening of the Pacific may naturally cast a very decided shadow before.

Of the external architectural appearance of the hotel it is unnecessary here to speak. It has been minutely described before, and it has been gazed at, from turret to foundation-stone, by thousands of residents and visitors. Besides that, the object of the present article is to describe the comforts and conveniences within rather than the beauties without.

The Hotel Covers the Block
bounded by Clark, LaSalle, Jackson and Quincy streets, 325 feet from east to west, 186 from north to south, or 60,450 square feet. On the ground floor this is all occupied. Above that, there has to be deducted the space taken up by a couple of courts, the western one, 100 feet by 60, the eastern one 70 x 70. Each of the upper floors, therefore, cover 49,550 square feet. Fronting upon four streets, three of them important ones, the hotel has naturally a great advantage in the matter of exits and entrances. But while local situation has done so much in this respect, the practical common sense of the planners has done more, and they hit upon an idea which has never been carried out, even in the hotels where it is practicable. Every one who has ever been in or near the entrance to a hotel is familiar with the constant annoyance which accompanies the arrival and departure of buses, the crowds of people, pushing up stairs, and the trunks which are hustled along without regard to the comfort of bystanders. At the Pacific, by a very simple arrangement, all this is avoided. One of the main entrances runs directly from Jackson street to the main office, and all incoming and outgoing guests use that alone. The gentlemen congregated around the Clark and LaSalle street entrances, or in the spacious halls, would be undisturbed by the entrance of a thousand guests and all their baggage, Just facing this entrance hall, is

The Office,
to the left of it a private parlor, where ladies can sit until rooms have been assigned to them. One of the elevators is within a few steps, and takes them at once to their apartments. This private parlor, or reception-room, connecting as it does so closely to the elevator, is also used by ladies who may desire to call upon friends at the hotel in a plain dress, and do not care about making their appearance in the grand parlors. They can go there, send up word to the person they desire to see, and she can come down, unnoticed.

In addition to this entrance, and those in the centre of the building on Clark and LaSalle streets, there are four others, a lady’s private entrance on Jackson street, just west of the one already mentioned, another still further west on Jackson, leading to the western main-hall, and two on Quincy street, which, owing to the unimportance of the thoroughfare are of a subordinate nature.

Store and Offices.
It may be said incidentally, that on the ground floor on Clark street there are eight stores, of fine size, admirably finished and almost on a line with the sidewalk. Clark street is given up to retail trade, and therefore the room which the hotel had at its disposal on that side was devoted to stores, while on LaSalle it has only one office for rent, ten upstairs, and a dozen in the light and airy basement, which was made on this side of the building. There can be found no finer offices in Chicago than these, and their proximity to the great Government building of the future, makes them of special value.

Left:

Right:

The Grand Hall.
Entering from Clark street, and passing along the broad corridor, one reaches the first grand hall, in the northwestern corner of which is the office, elegantly finished in dark wood. Passing up a short flight of stairs, made necessary by the LaSalle street basement, and still going westward, the second and larger hall is reached, the grand centre for the denizens of the hotel. It forms an immense room 100 feet by 60, lit from a skylight by day, and innumerable gas-burners by night. Rows of columns at a distance of ten feet from the wall extend around the room. On its northern side are the billiard and bar-rooms, both elegantly fitted up, and opening upon Quincy street, as well as into the hall within this room, and on the northern side of it, occupying a space of over 200 feet, is to be the telegraph office, which will be the finest and most comprehensive in any hotel in this or any other country. It will have a connection with all the railroad wires, so as to bulletin every train, with the city telegraph, and with the fire alarm telegraph, so that a person who is at the hotel, but who lives in a distant part of the city, can be informed as to the precise whereabouts of a conflagration. On the south side of this room, and fronting upon Jackson street, are railroad and steamboat offices, where travelers can obtain all the tickets and information they desire; a wash-room with twenty-two basins, so large a number that it will be impossible for a man to have to wait in order to perform his ablutions, and just in front of it, facing Jackson street, the barber’s shop, which is to be kept by Petilion, a name familiar to the smooth-shaven youth of Chicago. Of the water-closets, and other similar similar appurtenances, it is unnecessary to speak, except merely to say that they are all that such things should be. The main stairway, leading from the eastern to the western hall, is on the left hand of the office. On the right-hand side is a narrower flight, leading up to the private office of the lessee’s. Immediately adjoining this, and facing Quincy street, is a good-sized room, which will be used by the clerks of the hotel as a dining-room, and which is also serviceable for small meetings of citizens, serving the same useful purpose that Parlor No. 1 used to do at the Tremont. Next to this is the servants’ dining-room, the food being lowered by an elevator from the kitchen above. There are three vaults, one in the office, for storing papers, etc., of the proprietors, and another on the floor above, where the valuables of permanent guests are deposited.

1873 black and white in-text wood engraving of an illustration by Henri Lovie (1829-1875) that depicted the facade of the Grand Pacific Hotel building.

The Grand Promenade.
From the western hall the main stairway leads to the second floor. Of the many flights of stairs in this building, it may be said that they all have the merit of being well lighted. There are none of them, except the servants’ flight, which are not so placed as to confront a window. At the head of a double staircase is what is called the Grand Promenade, 100 feet long by 80 wide, the greatest length being from north to south, and a row of iron columns running nearly through its centre. No such promenade is to be found in any American hotel. At the southern extremity are the parlors, fronting upon Jackson street, 100 feet in length and 24 in width. For convenience sake, they are divided into three rooms, with folding doors between them, the middle one being about fifty feet long; the two others twenty-five each. In each of the se end parlors is a beautifully carved white marble mantel-pieces. The ceilings of these rooms are ornately frescoed, so as to correspond with the carpet, which has centre pieces of fruits, flowers, etc.

The Dining Room.
If the office is the head of as hotel, the dining-room snd kitchen are the stomach thereof, and it is the failure to recognize the latter fact that has made so many American hotels merely forcing-houses for dyspepsia. One may pardon indifferent rooms, negligent call-boys, and careless chambermaids, but a badly cooked or served meal is a thing to which no person can bed reconciled. If he ever does become so, he has morally degenerated. But from present appearances, and from the past reputation of Mr. Rice and the Gages, there need be no fear that the Pacific Hotel will be run for the chief benefit of the doctors and apothecaries. The dining-room is in the northwestern corner of the second floor, opening out upon the Grand Promenade. It is 125 feet by 60, making it the largest dining hall in the country. By day it is lighted by twenty-three windows looking out upon LaSalle and Quincy streets and one of the courts, and by night by seven bronze chandeliers and by an infinite number of smaller gas jets along the walls. The floor is paved with black and white marble, and the ceiling is delicately frescoed. The room has a frontage of about sixty feet on the court, and it is intended in a short time to make a conservatory extending that distance, coming down to about the middle of the windows, and about thirty feet in width. Summer and winter this will be filled with flowering plants, and those delicate tastes which have heretofore been scantily ministered by occasional flowers ipon the table will find here all the nutriment they can possibly desire. But, large as this room is, it does not furnish all the accommodation that is desired. Consequently, a room seventy feet by seventy, on the corner of Clark and Quincy streets is set apart as a ladies’ ordinary, and there also a couple of smaller rooms, one fronting LaSalle street, and connecting with the main dining-hall, which may be used for private parties, club dinners, etc., and one on the eastern side of the building where meals may be obtained at all hours, and where those may be fed who have been so unfortunate to be away at the regular time.

Next Come the Kitchens,
covering a space of about 140 feet by 60, and fronting on Quincy street, lying between the grand dining-room and ladies’ ordinary, and immediately above the servants’ eating-room, with which it is connected, as has been said, by an elevator. It is unnecessary to go into a minute description of the furniture in a kitchen, since it would give to but a few experts an idea of the completeness with which this part of the hotel is equipped. There is a range with a frontage, so to speak, of thirty-two feet. There are soup kettles larger than than the copper caldrons in which Medea boiled down the father of Jason. There are immense ovens for the sole use of the pastry cook, ranges for waffles and cakes, boilers for vegetables, and a hundred utensils unknown in the ordinary kitchen. In adjoining rooms are the refrigerators, the dishes, etc. It dwarfs our largest crockery stores to look at the piles of plates, cups, and saucers, etc., heaped upon these shelves. Their purchases are made in no picayune fashion. They order plates by the hundred dozen, and the firm that does the furnishing for this hotel does well even if it has no other business for the year. There are also rooms for dish-washing, etc., but these need no special mention.

Grand Pacific Hotel

The Sleeping Rooms.
The southwestern part of this floor are a number of bed-rooms, those fronting on the street being high-priced, and those looking out on the court being much less expensive. One great difficulty with hotels has been that their rooms are of but two kinds, the very good and expensive, and the poor and cheap. The old and infirm, who wanted rooms near the ground, have been compelled to pay roundly for them, or to go without. The Pacific has for the first time, obviated that trouble, and it has provided cheap and convenient rooms for persons belonging to the above named category.

On the third floor, there are only sleeping-rooms, and no grand dining-halls to hinder the laying out of the space in a symmetrical manner. Two grand corridors stretch the whole length of the building from east to west, while four run across it from north to south. At each end of these long hall-ways is a double window. Wherever one goes, there is light, and a prospect out upon the street. The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors are laid out upon the same plan.

There are in all four hundred and sixty rooms, some single and some double-bedded, some in suites of two, others of three, and some of five. One hundred and fifty rooms have baths, water-closets, and closet-room for trunks. All have marble mantels and grates. One hundred and twenty-five of those which are lighted from the ceiling, have chandeliers which are fitted with patent drop-lights, which can be easily drawn down, and which =cannot be easily put out of order. Of course, the rooms vary greatly in size and in conveniences, but even the poorer ones are good. In some respects, the twenty-four corner rooms are the best in the building, owing to their complete isolation. They have corridors upon both sides of them, and are consequently without adjoining rooms, and the annoyances which sometimes result therefrom. The Mansard is carried up so high that no slope can be perceived in the ceilings of the rooms on that floor. Ordinarily, these rooms, which look out upon interior courts, are exceedingly inferior ones, because the courts are so small that the rooms looking upon them are deprived of light and air. But in the case of the Pacific Hotel, these courts are so large that no such inconvenience results. No matter how low down these rooms are, it is possible to see a liberal stretch of sky from them. The windows in all the rooms are large, with deep seats, and are provided with patent window stops, sliding in grooves, preventing all rattling or entrance of dust. Each one has its bell, but in order to avoid the inconvenience of a multiplicity of calls at the office, and the bother of sending messengers from the ground floor, a more convenient system has been adopted. There is an annunciator on each floor with a messenger to answer it. When a person touches his bell, he at the same moment indicates his room on the annunciator, and the number of his floor at the office. If the waiter does not attend to his duty, the number of the floor remains uncovered on the office indicator, and then the office calls up to that floor to inquire why the bell has not been answered.

The Furniture.
for the bedrooms, parlors, etc., was made by Thayer & Tobey, after patterns specially prepared by them. While there is no extravagance in upholstering, yet everything is rich and substantial, the chairs and sofas in the sleeping-rooms being covered with crimson, red, scarlet, or green plush, the color always being chosen with reference to the predominantly hue in the carpet. The patterns for the furniture are not known to the trade, and cannot be found anywhere else in the country, though their elegance and convenience will make them popular the moment they are known. The carpets, which were specially imported for the hotel, and are of styles which have not yet been seen here, are very beautiful, and many men in the carpet trade have visited in the hotel, since they could learn most conveniently what the latest European patterns were. The amount of carpeting required may be partially arrived at by considering that there are 6,000 running feet of corridors, 10 feet wide.

Precautions Against Fire.
The precautions against fire seem to be thorough. Six pipes, connecting with the street-hydrants, run to the top of the building. Hose can be attached to them on every floor, and the building flooded in a few minutes. On the upper floor are large tanks, not open, as usual, and fill from the top, but boiler-tanks, filled from below, and taking the same pressure as the engine, so that the pressure all over the house will be regulated at the boiler. It is a new method, and an application of the Holly system. In addition to this, the floors are all filled, and brick are put between the floor-joists, dividing the house into sections, so that the fire cannot run along them. There is also a brick filling 15 inches high, rising above the base-boards. The kitchen, one of the inflammable parts of the house, is also made thoroughly fire-proof. If there is any alarm of fire, there are seven stairways leading down from the upper floor, so that there would be no trouble about emptying the hotel in a few minutes. These stairs, too, are so arranged that they do not serve as shafts to carry the flames from floor to floor, and the elevator-ways are made fire-proof, so that there can be no trouble there. Desirous of using every modern invention for the discovery of fire, a fire bulb, or fire annunciator, has been placed in every room of the building. This simple and effective idea, which is finding its way into all hotels, consists of a bulb nearly filled with mercury, which is fixed in the ceiling of a room generally. This bulb is entered by two metallic wires, one at the bottom, touching the mercury, the other at the top, and not touching it. As the temperature in the room rises, the mercury expands, as in a thermometer, and when the heat reaches a certain point it expands so much as to come in contact with the upper wire. Then the circuit is complete and the little alarm-bell in the office sets up a furious ringing and does not stop till the temperature is lowered, and the mercury falls. The degree of heat at which the bell shall ring depends on the amount of mercury in the bulb, which can be graduated as required.

The Vaults.
That part of the basement which is not rented for offices, and the other underground rooms, are used as wine vaults, store-rooms, engine-rooms, etc., and for doing the laundry-work of the establishment. It is enough to say that they are commodious, very well arranged, and provided wityh everything that is needed to make them perfect.

OF WHAT IT IS COMPOSED.
In order to give a better idea of the dimensions of this immense building than can be obtained from this foregoing description, and to enable the reader to feel its bigness, the following figures are given:

Adding to that the value of brick, marble, etc., obtained from the old building, amounting to $122,518, the total cost of exclusive furnishing, of course, was, $1,000,857.94. The mason and stone setting cost $195,000, the lime and sandstone $150,000, the painting and glazing $52,000, and the plastering, $65,000.

Lakeside Monthly, October, 1872

The Grand Pacific Hotel is the largest hotel structure in the world. It was built after plans by W. W. Boyington, architect, by a company chartered by special act of the Legislature in 1869. Its stockholders include the two great railroad companies, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, whose magnificent new passenger house stands at the foot of LaSalle street, one block distant from the Pacific.

Several of our largest and most widely known capitalists have joined in the enterprise. At the time of the fire the hotel was within a few months of completion, and was almost totally destroyed. It has been solidly and beautifully rebuilt, and better than before in many particulars ; and the
work of finishing is now going on rapidly. The total cost and value of the building is $1,000,000; the lessees will expend $400,000 in furnishing the hotel. The value of the ground occupied is nearly $800,000; so that the Pacific enterprise represents an investment of nearly two and a quarter million dollars.

The building occupies an entire block, bounded by Clark, Jackson, LaSalle and Quincy streets, an acre and a half in area. The materials of three fronts is fine olive-tinted Ohio sandstone, crowned with Mansards and towers, constructed with iron and slate. The general style of the building is French. It is much admired for its effective simplicity, with a sufficiency of ornamentation to relieve the vast facades, particularly that on the south, which has an extent of 325 feet. The first prominent feature that strikes the observer on entering this splendid structure are the two great central courts, both devoted to the public uses of the house. These are crowned by beautiful domes, and will lack no feature of decoration requisite for effectiveness. Upon these courts open the eight entrances to the hotel, and from these rise the flights of stairs to the floor above. This lower floor has eight elegant stores, to be leased for retail purposes, on Clark street, and twenty-two offices on LaSalle street.

The main office is in the east court, with all the best appliances and elegant fittings worthy of the house. The second floor is reached by the grand staircase—a superb construction, in white marble, in the centre of the house. On this floor are the grand and private parlors, the grand dining hall, ladies’ ordinary, club dining room and breakfast-room, the conservatory, and a fire-proof working department, itself as large in area as many entire hotels. To the whole arrangement of the Grand Pacific, and to its access and connection with the other parts of the house, several months’ study were given by H. M. Smith, the founder of the scheme, and secretary of the company, among the leading hotel men of the country, and the best American hotels ; and it is pronounced unsurpassed in every desirable feature.

The lessees of the Grand Pacific for twenty years are Messrs. George W. Gage, David A. Gage, and John A. Rice, long of the Sherman House, whose reputation is world-wide, and who will furnish the great hotel in sumptuous style. They promise from present appearances to enter upon their new career as hosts early in the spring of 1873.

Chicago’s First Half Century, 1833-1883, The Inter-Ocean, 1883

GRAND PACIFIC HOTEL.
The Headquarters of Statesmen.
If a newspaper reporter or a citizen wants to nnd traveling statesmen he goes to the Grand Pacific Hotel, for it is there they always stop. Mine host Drake has entertained more famous men than any landlord of his generation, and within the walls of the great palace over which he presides have been lodged and banqueted all the great men of the generation. It was here that President Arthur stopped during his recent visit to Chicago, and while he was attending the National Convention in 1880. It was here that General Garfield was when nominated for President, and here his first reception was held. All the Senators, Congressmen, Cabinet officers, and other dignitaries make the Grand Pacific Hotel their rendezvous while in
Chicago.

It is also the headquarters of the railroad managers, and in one of its club-rooms their frequent gatherings are held. Mr Vanderbilt and Jay Gould always stop here when in Chicago, and all men whose taste leads them to select the best that can be had. Patti, the famous cantatrice; Nilsson, Gerster Kellogg, Albani. and all the famous artistes make it their home during the opera seasons. It is the stopping place of princes and dukes and earls when they visit us, and the list of famous people could be lengthened out to fill columns. Scarcely a day passes but some man or woman of worldwide fame writes his or her name upon the register, which bears the autographs of kings, emperors, and presidents.

The Grand Pacific is not only a great public ornament, and one of the sights rural visitors go to see, but it is kept in a manner that makes the people of Chicago proud of the house and its proprietors. All the great banquets are given here, and they are given on a scale that eclipses anything ever seen in the West. The Bar Association chose it as the proper, and, in fact, the only place at which Lord Coleridge could be entertained in a manner consonant with his dignity and fame.

It was with rare foresight and judgment that the hotel was located, for when its foundations were laid, it stood upon the extreme limit of the business district of the city, and thoughtless people said it was a foolish thing to place so noble a structure so far from the center of trade. But time and the growth of Chicago has demonstrated the wisdom of its projectors, for it is now in the most convenient and accessible locality. The Postoffice and Custom House have since been placed across the street in one direction, and the new Board of Trade, one of the finest buildings in the land, stands opposite in another. It will soon be the center of the new commercial district, for around it are being erected the finest blocks and business houses in Chicago. It is the nearest first-class hotel, to the three great depots of the city.

It is conveniently located to the places of amusement and otner attractions for which Chicago is famous. In convenience of location, in the luxuriousness of its apartments in the elegance of its table, its splendid service, and in all the whys and wherefores that go to make up the attractions and advantages of a hotel, it stands pre-eminent, and there is no place in the world where a traveler can secure such comforts, such style, and such attractions for the prices that are charged.

The senior proprietor, Mr. John B. Drake, who has kept a hotel here ever since Chicago is a city, and’ whose name is familiar to the traveling public, gives the affairs of the house his personal attention, and is scarcely absent a day during the entire year, but remains in the house looking after the comfort of his guests, greeting them upon their arrival, and bidding them farewell upon their departure, with a cordial courtesy that they always remember. His partners, Mr. Turner and Mr. Parker, are gentlemen well-known to the traveling public, as hosts of the highest order, and the gentlemanly corps of assistants are always attentive and polite.

Grand Pacific Hotel, 1892

Chicago Tribune, Feb 9, 1890

It was reported last night that a deal had been quietly concluded on the part of of Mr. Leiter, formerly of the firm of Field, Leiter & Co., whereby for the sum of $400,000 he has secured possession of the Grand Pacific Hotel. The deal, it is understood, only included the building and the leasehold, as Mr. Leiter already owns the ground on which the building stands.

There is no doubt that Landlord Drake has been doing a thriving business at the Grand Pacific. For years it has enjoyed a first-class patronage. The solid men of the country made their headquarters when in Chicago at the Grand Pacific. But with the erection of the Board of Trade Building just across the street, and the building of the score or more of the finest office buildings in the world in the immediate vicinity, the old Grand Pacific, once an imposing structure, became dwarfed in comparison. There was no lessening of the patronage; on the contrary, it showed a healthy and steady increase. But values has been so enhanced by the improvements mentioned that it was finally concluded that in order to make anything like a fair rate of interest on it the only recourse leftb to the owner was to purchase the building and have torn down, erecting in its stead an immense office building.

It is stated that the deal was finally consummated yesterday and that the work of tearing down the old hotel building will begin as soon as possible to make the necessary arrangements to that end.

The Grand Pacific’s History.
The Grand Pacific was just completed on the site of the present location when the fire of 1871 entirely destroyed it. The Pacific Hotel company, backed strongly by the Michigan Southern and the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific railroad companies, completed the present structure, and it was opened in June 1873, at a cost of one and a half millions. The first lessees were Gage Bros., and Rice, who operated the house until the fall of 1874, when John B. Drake purchased the lease and furniture, taking formal possession Jan. 1. For several years the hotel was conducted by John B. Drake & Co., the firm including John B. Drake, the late Sam Turner, and Sam W. Parker. After Mr. Turner’s death the firm name was changed to Drake, Parker & Co., the present proprietors and managers.

The building consists of six stories, with a mansard roof, and a basement, and is the second largest hotel in Chicago. It has always been a great favorite with the traveling public, and has been especially known as the headquarters in Chicago for railway men from all over the United States. It has also been a favorite stopping-place with politicians and has been the headquarters during National Conventions of the delegations from leading States of the Union. The insurance, electric, light, and trade conventions generally which have met within its walls have been almost without number.

When it was first erected, it was considered almost “out on the prairie,” as it was so far away from what was then looked upon as the business center. Now, however, as has already been stated, it is surrounded by some of the finest buildings in the world, and is the center of the Board of Trade district.

Chicago Tribune, January 27, 1895

The Grand Pacific Hotel, Chicago’s famous landmark, will soon be opened once more for business, and the landlord will be Col. Sam Parker. L. Z. Leiter and Col. Parker have come to terms and the result will be the complete renovation and remodeling of the famous hotel. Many old-fashioned features will be replaced by new ones, and yet there will be enough of the old and well-known Grand Pacific left to make all the old-timers feel at home.

The causes leading to the temporary abandonment of the Grand Pacific were published in THE TRIBUNE some weeks before even the parties to the lease were willing to admit such an event was probable. The main cause was a complication arising from too many landlords and tenants. The Northwestern University, as owner of the west half of the hotel, insisted on certain terms which L. Z. Leiter, who owns the Clark street side of the house, did not support. The Grand Pacific Hotel company, comprising several railroad interests, was willing to accept as tenant certain conditions which the sublessees, Drake, Parker & Co., regarded as impracticable. The up-shot of the four-handed negotiations was the turning over of all the furniture to the auctioneer, the winding up of the Grand Pacific Hotel company as a corporation, leaving Mr. Leiter and the university trustees with the keys of the east and west doors of the empty hotel in their pockets.

It was Mr. Leiter’s first intention when he found himself with half a big hotel on his hands to build a dividing wall between his part of the house and that belonging to the university, remodel the ground floor as a restaurant, and furnish the upper floors as a European hotel. An inkling of this purpose reached the ears of the university people, who foresaw the white elephant on their hands would become a dead elephant if the arrangement were carried into effect. They concluded to turn over to Mr. Leiter the whole matter of leasing their share of the premises. Instead of a four-handed negotiation the matter resolved itself into a simple agreement between Messrs. Letter and Parker.

From garret to cellar the prospective landlord and tenant inspected together the dismantled hotel. Where defects existed in the shape of imperfect means of communication between the various floors Col. Parker noted the fact and Mr. Leiter agreed to make the improvement. The elevator service, which had grown from old age, was one of the first subjects marked for reform. The ungainly and wasteful arrangement in the space where the bar formerly stood was another point of attack. Club-rooms, which had degenerated into little more than lumber rooms, were marked for abolition. The entire plan of the office, intended originally to afford a carriage drive from Clark street to Jackson street after the manner of a European hotel was decided to be obsolete and a fit subject for reformation at the architect’s hands. Away down to the cellar, where makeshift improvements marked the historical progress of the place fronm an old-fashioned to a modern Chicago hotel, Samt Parker pointed out to Mr. Leiter where demolition should precede wholesale reconstruction.

When the survey had been concluded it was decided to get estimates from architects before going any further with negotiations. The details of the various improvements were therefore submitted for plans and specifications as well ts estimates as to cost. Pending the conclusion of the architect’s labors Messrs. Leiter and Parker decided to take a vacation and both are now out of tbe city. It will probably take a month or so, therefore, before the work of remodeling the Grand Pacific begins in real earnest, and the rejuvenated hostelry will oe ready for occupation before next Christmas.

The west half of the building was torn down around 1895 to make way for the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank building. The east half was remodeled by architects Jenney and Mundie. The hotel continued in operation till 1921 to make way for the Continental Illinois Bank building.

John Bull Locomotive

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The John Bull locomotive was displayed. It was only 62 years old, having been built in 1831. It was the first locomotive acquisition by the Smithsonian Institution. The locomotive ran under its own power from Washington, DC, to Chicago to participate, and returned to Washington under its own power again when the exposition closed. In 1981 it was the oldest surviving operable steam locomotive in the world when it ran under its own power again.

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John Bull Locomotive

Book of the Fair, by H. H. Bancroft, 1893

On her westward trip the John Bull, with her two primitive coaches, left New York at 10 A.M. on the 17th of April, arriving at Chicago, after a triumphal procession, on the afternoon of April 22nd. The engine was run as swiftly as its condition would allow, with its wheezy boiler and rusty apparatus, followed by a special train of officials and journalists, and passing at times between throngs of enthusiastic spectators, waving hats and handkerchiefs as the timeworn relic went snorting past, with warning note of bell, resembling the sound of a dinner gong. The engine kept excellent time, though rumbling awkwardly over the rails and swaying to and fro like a vessel rolling in the trough of ocean. The tender is within two feet of the furnace door, and upon it is an odd-looking contrivance shaped like a poke bonnet, and called the gig top, where the forward brakeman sat, keeping a sharp lookout for other trains. The John Bull was driven by the same engineer who handled the locomotive forty-two years ago, and, as he said, “obeyed the lever as if her joints were not worn with age and stiff with rheumatism.”

The Dream City: A Portfolio of Photographic Views of the World’s Columbian Exposition, 1893

THE JOHN BULL TRAIN – As the New York Central Railroad exhibited a replica of its first train – the DeWitt Clinton engine and cars – therefore the Pennsylvania lines, whose model depot was just across the avenue, went a step further, and brought to Chicago its first locomotive and train, dating from 1831 – a genuine working relic of Camden & Amboy days. This train is portrayed with great detail in the engraving, but its dimensions are possibly exaggerated to the eye. Contrasted with the big modern locomotives, whose boilers sit high over the tall drive wheels, the John Bull was a toy, and was used all summer by the people as a pet plaything. On every successful day of the Fair it went puffing in and out of the Terminal Station, giving stop-over tickets to the passengers, and sounding its sharp little whistle for the delectation of the people – especially railroad men. On October 12, 1893, William Finlayson, eighty-one years old, conductor of the first passenger train run in America, on the Nova Scotian road, commanded the John Bull excursions around the yards, and ten trips were made that day, accommodating a thousand travelers. The aged pioneer stood at the steps of the old cars and aided the ladies to board the train, as he had done fifty-four years before on the initial journey of his road. The journey of the John Bull train from Jersey City to Chicago, in April, 1893, was made in triumph, and it returned to the East with added eclat.