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The Bearings, May 5, 1893

Transportation building at the World’s Fair was in a chaotic state last Saturday. It was two days before the opening of the Exposition and the exhibits were not half placed. On the lower floor most of the work had been accomplished and the exhibitors were ready for President Cleveland to touch the little gold and ivory telegraph key which was to set the machinery in motion in every part of the beautiful White City.

It was in the gallery where the cycle manufacturers hold forth that confusion reigned. Not more than half of the exhibitors had made any pretence whatever at installing their wares. Workmen were engaged in tacking up bunting, unpacking wheels or putting the finishing touches to the booths.

English Exhibit About Ready.
The Englishmen were nearly through with their work and will soon have everything in ship-shape. They are situated in the western gallery and will make an imposing show.

The firit thing to strike the sight-seer is the cosy little ofiBce of the Whitworth Cycle Co., where Mr. F. J. Osmond will be located. A little way down the line is the magnificent mahogany booth of this company. Mr. Osmond had not put any of his wheels up on Saturday.

The Premier Cycle Co. had a considerable area of the wall in their space covered with mirrors. Their booth was made of walnut and presented a neat and substantial appearance. They had three stands, around which were a number of tireless machines.

Warman & Hazlewood’s place was nearer completion. Last Saturday this firm’s exhibit was in place and the wheels were being artistically grouped by the workmen. These were the only English firms that had any sort of an exhibit ready.

The American Exhibit.
The Bearings representatives had hard work to reach the American
gallery, huge boxes and building material barring their way. Hundreds of workers filled the aisles; the tap of hammer and buzz of voices drowned all attempts at conversation. Everyone was busy and the exhibits were rapidly being placed. Dodging flying missiles and workmen, they made their way around the gallery.

The first booth visited was that of the Mcintosh-Huntington Co., who are located at the head of the stairs. Although their space is small they have already made a showing—something that some other firms cannot say. Dummy figures of a lady and gentleman are riding on the bannisters, while several Sunols and Crypto geared ordinaries complete the exhibit as it now stands.
Next is the Hartford Cycle Co., with two machines, a picture of the factory and a curious arrangement composed of seven wheels in the form of a cross, all revolve by friction applied to the lower one.

Of course the Hickory Wheel Co. had the old wooden ordinary, that looked as though it had been hewn into form with an axe. The Hickory Company’s exhibit was the most complete on the American side. Besides the piece of antiquity, they had three of their wheels, finished in red, white and blue enamel; also one finished in natural wood.

Interesting Relics.
An interesting feature of the Pope Mfg. Co.’s exhibit will be a number of relics. Two boneshakers of uncertain age were seen. One of them was the kind that Noah rode when he coasted down Mount Ararat, and was propelled by the rider “toeing” the ground.

W. A. Rowe’s ordinary, on which he won laurels for himself and fame for the Pope Company; Steven’s battered wheel and an old Challenge com- plete Col. Pope’s museum. The magnificent brass pavilion is almost finished and presents a handsome appearance. None of the modern Columbias had yet been uncrated.

Right back of this is located the booth where A. Featherstone & Co.’s wares will be displayed. It looks like a summer cottage with the walls down, and is highly ornamented with handsome woodcarving. Nothing has been put in it as yet. It will certainly be one of the most attractive in the gallery.

Rouse, Hazard & Co. and the Rouse-Duryea Cycle Co., thanks to the artistic taste of Mr. E. P. Miller, of Peoria, have a fine place. A blaze of yellow catches the eye and one stops to look more carefully. Mr. Miller is an artist in his line. With the aid of yellow silk he has made the booth an arbor of beauty. The back and ceiling are formed of what is technically known as a sun-burst, which is fastened by various parts of a bicycle. Portieres made of tubing and handles droop gracefully from the sides, while a Moorish chair composed of handlebars and other sundries tempts the weary to rest. The crates have not been opened.

An Ornamental Pavilion.
The Ames & Frost Co. are expending a large sum on their exhibit. Nickeled railings, handsome carving and a ceiling of staff make their wooden pavilion very catching. It had not been completed, the staff workers being busy putting on the finishing touches.

The richly red walls of the Overman Wheel Co.’s dignified “Mahogany Hall “loomed up prominently. Manager Klipstein was rushing around getting his exhibit in readiness.

The American Cycle Co. had a cushion tired Sociable and several pneumatic tired Worths in their space. The Sterling and Union allotment was still bare, but will doubtless be well worthy of a visit when the exhibits are up.

The Sercombe-Bolte Mfg. Co. and Derby Cycle Co. spaces are also incomplete.

The Marion Cycle Co., the Royal Cycle Works and the Remington Arms Co. had wheels ready to be uncrated. Several New Mails were standing in front of William Read & Son’s place.

Donnelly & Deward, of Chicago, comparative strangers to the cycling world, had one of their Double Diamonds in an 8×8 space. It is a light looking wheel with a combined crank and axle and a peculiar arrangement of the crank hanger.

Novel yet simple is the place occupied by the Western Wheel Works. The center part is a pavilion made of nickeled rods, with an American flag for a roof. Huge mirrors on two sides add beauty to the booth. Across the aisle and in the arches is a background composed of wheels.
The Kenwood Mfg. Co. has a square with a yellow canvas roof sup- ported by nickeled rods.

The Gormully & Jeflery Mfg. Co.’s space is next, decorated with red and yellow cloth. Neither of these firms had yet prepared their wheels for display.

What Germany Will Show.
Down stairs, behind the huge trip hammer, is located the German exhibit. Three firms have taken space and their booths compare favorably with those up stairs. Adam Opel, of Frankfort, has a handsome pavilion, decorated with the German arms and a picture of Lehr, the German champion. Adam Opel, fils, a famous racing man, is in charge. He proudly exhibited the Victoria, the wheel made by his firm. And he had good reason to be proud, for a handsomer lot of machines could not be found in a day’s journey. The gem of the lot is a fifteen pound racer, similar to the one ridden by Lehr, who, by the way, will be in Chicago in August. This wheel is fitted with Dunlop tires and can be lifted with the little finger. The spokes are fitted in a peculiar manner.

Just imagine a 28-pound tandem racer! One of these dainty machines is on exhibition here and surprises one by its lightness and rigidity. The steering rods fasten to the front forks, and are apparently an improvement over the old style. A 30-pound front driver and a pneumatic tired ordinary also grace the stand. Mr. Opel has twenty-seven wheels on exhibition.

Across the way Henrick Kleyer, of Frankfurt, A. M., holds forth. Here is the Adler, a beautiful machine. A twelve pound racer, a 25-pound tricycle and a 28-pound tandem safety are marvels of lightness and workmanship. Three roadsters, fitted with band brakes on the front wheels, look strong and substantial. No one could be found in charge. The third German exhibit was also without a manager. The wheels, five in number, were marked “Badenia, Fahrader, Eisenwerke, Gaggenou, Baden.”

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

In the United States exhibit of bicycles, more than forty of the leading manufacturers participate. The display is organized almost on the same plan as that of the Great Britain, some of the exhibitors showing special parts of the machine, but the majority presenting the entire mechanism. Many of the collections are housed in handsome pavilions, and not a few are in charge of well-known experts, who have won for themselves an excellent record while using the machines whose merits they are always ready to explain to the visitor.

Chicago is well represented in this section, several of the larger factories making a somewhat elaborate display. The Western Wheel works have, in addition to bicycles of many patterns, wheel chairs and children’s carriages, all very tastefully arranged in their neat and spacious pavilion. In the specimens prepared for exposition, the Stokes Manufacturing company has avoided the use of enamel nickel plates that the visitor may better judge for himself as to their material and workmanship. The Gendron Wheel company, of Toledo, has one of the largest collections on exposition, including bicycles, tricycles, velocipedes, childrenï’s carriages and sulkies. In a structure composed of brass, a Boston company shows in several styles its bicycles with weldless steel tubing. Beside the perfected machine of 1893 are the parts of which they are composed, either as unwrought material or in various stages of manufacture. There is also a model of the English dandy horse, with pedals, of Parisian make, the first safety, which appeared in 1877 in Boston streets, and the now antiquated machine on which Stevens made his tour of the world. Finally there is a bicycle fashioned for military service, one that has recently been adopted by the army department.

Other features in this division are wooden bicycles from a Newton company of Massachusetts. An exhibiting firm, dissatisfied with its space and position, placed two of its machines upon the gallery railing, the treadles worked by automatic figures. A group finished in rainbow tints is among the many ornamental specimens contained in the department.

Sterling Bicycle Works Exhibit.

Bicycle Exhibitors.

World’s Columbian Exposition, Official Catalogue, 1893

Bicycle Row

Chicago Bicycles

Chicago Tribune, June 9, 1895

“Birds of a feather clock together.” Anyway this is what the schoolmaster often wrote when called upon for “copy” in the days when log schoolhouses were in vogue and readymade copybooks were unknown. And if the schoolmaster was alive today and should visit Chicago he would find abundant proof pf his pet assertion ready to his hand.

Business of various sorts certainly does “flock together” in the city. The most noticeable example is to be found in “Bicycle Row.” Everybody who rides a wheel knows where “Bicycle Row” is, but for the benefit of those who have been unable to buy a wheel it may be explained that Bicycle Row is the north side of West Madison street from Ashland boulevard west one block. Here are nine retail bicycle houses in a consecutive row with another across the street and still another around the corner. It is the greatest bicycle center in the city, which is equivalent to saying it is the greatest in the world. Here can be found every kind of wheel built and everything that the bicycle rider can wear or use. Nothing is sold that does not pertain to bicycling. Each store does a renting and also a repair business. Since each and every one of the dealers sells every wheel he can get hold of, sometimes before it is built, the denizens of the row dwell together in a state of neighborly love most delightful to behold. There can be no bitter rivalry where, owing to the great demand, competition is obliterated, so these dealers are at peace with the world. When one gets out of any article like ankle guards or lamps he just runs over to his neighbor and borrows whatever he needs to supply his customer, just as our grandmothers in pioneer days, when they had visitors to dine, sent out to borrow a cup of sugar or a drawing of tea that the guests might be suitably entertained.

Bicycle Row is at the height of its glory at night. Apparently every man, woman, and child on the West Side fortunate enough to own a wheel and rides straight to Bicycle row as soon as supper is swallowed. It is the general rendezvous for all. The rider not only goes there to meet his friend or his best girl, but he goes there for any minor repairs he may need and to pump up his tires. The curb is lined with an impassable chevaux de frise of wheels; the pavement and the shops are packed with an impatient mob all wanting to be waited on at once. About all the business of Bicycle Row is transacted between 7 and 9 p.m. The proprietors put on all the salesmen they can find room for and let them take care of what trade they can. If a customer can’t get waited on he helps himself and comes around some other time to settle. Bicycle Row cannot take care of its business and longs for additions to its numbers.

Chicago Chronicle, April 26, 1896

Bicycle Row Prospers.
Bicycle row on Wabash avenue is enjoying the most prosperous year since its institution. The makers are finding business so lively that many of them have to enlarge their quarters. Mr. Gleason of Gleason & Schaff said yesterday:

Trade was never in such a healthy condition. Everybody wants to ride a new wheel. We try to take their orders , but frequently have to disappoint them for days, as the factory is pushed to the limit by the demand. The wheel industry is growing to immense proportions.

Chicago Tribune, March 19, 1898

“Opening day” among the bicycle houses was fairly successful yesterday, and today it is expected the different wheel repositories will be crowded with patrons anxious to inspect 1898 models and novelties. If the weather is more propitious the dealers agree they ought to have the biggest crowds their stores have seen in many a day.

Decorations of various kinds made the different stores attractive yesterday. One store was festooned with American flags and looked like a Fourth of July celebration. The wealth of patriotic bunting almost eclipsed the glistening rows of wheels below it. But the crowds only looked at the decorations for moment before turning their attention to the wheels and sundries. The courteous attendants had to talk as they haven’t talked for a long time explaining new gears. There was considerable discussion regarding the chainless wheels, and the different models were closely inspected and the dealers were asked for their candid opinion by many anxious visitors. They nearly all seemed to be a little qualified in their statements. They said they thought the stability of the wheel greater, but as it was heavier thought it would not be as speedy as the chain gearing. The new chainless gears look as if they would make admirable road wheels.

Palms and electric lights played an important part in nearly all the exhibits. Several of the stores looked like greenhouses, and in one instance this effect was enhanced by the beautiful green models displayed among the palms.

There doesn’t seem to be any material change this year. The parts have been strengthened and made more graceful in many instances, but all the bicycles retain their characteristic features.

An exploded view by Columbia showing the inner workings of their bevel-gear shaft drive. The large toothed bevel gear at the crank engages with the smaller such gear at the front end of the shaft, turning the long tubular shaft. The shaft’s end gear engages with the gear at the rear hub, driving the wheel. So, turning the cranks rotates the shaft, which turns the rear wheel.

Columbia Catalogue, 1899

Busy in Bicycle Row.
Bicycle row along Wabash avenue presented a busy sight all afternoon, and the colonies on other streets were equally as busy.

“Opening day” this year is more or less of an experiment, and it is designed to set a precedent for future seasons. The local Cycle Board of Trade is anxious to make the event an annual fixture, and to this end the decorations have been placed in the stores and other attractions have been presented. It is argued that it is as feasible a way to present the bicycling novelties and improvements as the big cycle show.

A canvas of opinions among the dealers as to the success from a business standpoint elicited the opinion that then opening days would be successful. They all said they had made a number of sales and were relieved of the worry in many cases of figuring on the wholesale trade, and did not have the task of looking after tyhe agencies which the big cycle show entailed.

There was a little discussion regarding the report of the action of the German government asked by German bicycle manufacturers to include bicycles under the head of upholstered vehicles and tax them accordingly, the duty being nearly 33-1/3 per cent on the price of American wheels as quoted here. This tariff would be prohibitory, and the dealers said it was manifestly unjust, but they had no definite information regarding the attitude of their firms in filling their depots in Germany with a full stock before such a tariff could be put into effect. No information, so far as could be learned, has been received as to takin action on the subject.

Will Keep Open Tonight.
Today the exhibits will be continued and many of the dealers expect to keep open tonight in order to give the Saturday night crowds a chance to inspect their goods. Some of the stores will keep open until midnight.

The list of dealers holding “opening days” comprise the following:

Masonic Temple

Siegel, Cooper & Co.

Adams & Westlake company

Gormully & Jeffery

Monarch Cycle Manufacturing company

Western wheel works

The Inter Ocean, May 10, 1896

Typical Sunday newspaper bicycle advertisement.

For context, the 1899 Edition of the Lakeside Business Directory of Chicago, there were about three and a half pages (seven columns) of bicycle dealers/manufacturers. By 1907 that number has dwindled down to less than one half of a column.

Davis-Rankin Building

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Chicago Bicycles

Davis-Rankin Building, Arnold Schwinn & Co., Zimmerman Brush Company, Lake Street Lofts
Life Span: 1887-1888 Fire, rebuilt 1888-Present
Location: Northwest Corner Lake and Peoria Streets, 240-254 W. Lake Street, 900-912 W. Lake Street
Architect: Original architect unknown. Clarence L. Stiles (1888 rebuild), Stiles & Stone (1894 addition)

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1887

Davis & Rankin

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1892
Davis & Rankin Building and Manufacturing Co. Daniel J. Davis, pres; James A. Woodbury, sec. dairy supplies 240 W. Lake

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1899
Arnold Schwinn & Co bicycles 240 to 254 W. Lake

Chicago Tribune, May 1, 1886

Real Estate Transactions.
West Lake st. nw cor of Peoria, 75×100 ft., and 50×125 dated April 9 (E. V. and A. G. Throop to Davis & Rankin)…….. $15,500

Chicago Tribune, March 30, 1888

The hottest blaze the Fire Department has had to battle with for some time broke out at midnight in the Davis & Rankin Block, a five-story brick, 125×150 feet, located at the northwest corner of Lake and Peoria streets, and occupied half a dozen firms, the largest being Davis & Rankin, who deal in creamery supplies. In the building were also Zimmerman & Co., refrigerator manufacturers, Lane, Weaver & Co., oyster and fruit cans, the Gross Printing-Press Company, Lintholm, Picture-Frame Company, Chicago Egg-Condesing Company, and the Steele Key-Drive Chain Company.

It was just 12 o’clock when the watchman making his round of the building discovered the blaze, as he says, on the top floor. When he first saw it the fire had made considerable progress and was topo great to be put out by him. He hurried out and turned in an alarm at Halsted and Fulton streets. When the clatter of arriving engines awoke the people living in the neighborhood the upper two stories of the big block were ablaze from one end of the building to the other. The oils, butterine, and other highly inflammable materials stored in the building made the fire a furious one. No sooner had the engines arrived in response to the first alarm then a 4-11, calling out all the engines available, was turned in. In a few seconds a flood of water was being turned on the fire, but in a surprisingly short while the building became a total wreck.

The blazing building towered above a nest of closely huddled frame houses occupied mostly by workingmen. These little houses surrounded the big block, and every falling wall crashed a home. The fire was one of incidents, narrow escapes of firemen following each other in quick succession, and it was remarkable that no one was killed.

Marshall Murphy, with companies No. 17 and 34, made his way to the fourth floor as quickly as possible. Truck 2’s men were on the floor below. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion of hot air that knocked down every man on the fourth floor. All were badly bruised. They were:

Anderson and Kirkland were the most badly used up. All scrambled down the stairway and escaped. Most of them remained on duty, though it will be some days before they recover from the effects of the explosion.

Directly opposite the Lake street front of the building is the old Orpheus House, now occupied by a number of families, and half a dozen frame buildings. These houses felt the effects of the fire first. When the flames spread from the upper floors to the middle of the building the windows in the shanties opposite cracked and the pain melted off the walls. A few minutes later there was a flash throughout the lower portion of the block, and the entire building was a seething furnace. The flames poured out of the front of the building and surrounded the small buildings opposite.

Everything movable had been taken from these houses. When the buildings began to smoke the firemen turned their streams on them, and by the application of considerable water saved them.

The firemen turned their streams back on the fire just as a streak of oil-fed flame blazed through the front part of the building. The heat and wind were too powerful for the wall, and a moment later there was a loud shout from the immense crowd and a corner of the wall fell with a terrific crash. The members of Companies 21 and 17 had narrow escapes in getting away. The men stumbled, fell, and then turned about and pulled out comrades who had greater difficulty in extricating themselves from the hose and debris.

Lieut. Hannon and Truckmen Lacy and Seller of Company No. 40, who were working on No. 3’s ladder, had a stream in front of the building just before the wall fell. The heat was intense, but the men stood at the top of the ladder until a heavy sheet of flame scorched them, when they got down. A moment later the wall fell. The falling of the front wall was followed by a section of the west wall on a two-story frame at No. 248 West Lake street. This house and that at No. 250 were used by John Wagner and wife as a boarding-house. At No. 252 lived Mrs. Secor, a widow, and a family named Smith. All of these people got out long before the wall fell. The three buildings, which were owned by Allan C. Story, were destroyed by falling walls or burned.

On the Peoria street side of the burning building were the houses if James Thomas, No. 44 Peoria, and Mrs. Devinney, No. 46. The Thomas and Devinney families moved all their effects across the street. The Thomas house was separated from the burning block by a narrow alley, and was the first to suffer. The firemen made no effort to save it when it began to burn, for water could not be wasted. The entire neighborhood was alarmed, and for a time it was feared that the conflagration would spread for blocks. Myriads of sparks and flying embers set fire to buildings within two blocks of the Rankin Block, and lively work alone saved them. The immense blaze brought out thousands of people, and it required extra police officers from all the precincts to keep the crowd from getting too close to the firemen.

James O’Brien of Truck No. 8 was struck on the leg by a piece of iron pipe when one of the walls fell and was slightly injured.

The total loss will probably reach $300,000. Davis & Rankin owned the building,. which cost them $116,000 two years ago. The building had no interior walls, and therefore was the more readily burned. The owners had over $60,000 worth of stock, machinery, and fixtures, the whole of which, including the building, is insured for $90,000 by E. M. Teall & Co. Gross & Co. lose $50,000; insured for $25,000. The firm had ready to ship presses for the Denver Times, Mobile Register, and Chicago Arbeiter-Zeitung. The losses of the various other firms will bring the figures up to about $300,000.

No one seemed to know what started the fire. The watchman is sure it started on the top floor. A man passing by when the fire broke out says he saw the first blaze in the rear of the third story.

While driving Marshal Petrie’s buggy to the fire Joseph O’Malley was spilled into the street by the overturning of the vehicle at the corner of Milwaukee avenue and Peoria street, and was seriously injured.

Just after the fire started, when the sky was aglow with the reflection of the flames, it was reported that the immense factory of Frazer & Chalmers was burning. This report gained wide circulation, but proved to be unfounded.

Inland Architect, Volume 12, No. 2, September, 1888

Architect Clarence L. Stiles: For Davis & Rankin, six-story brick and stoneware-house, 201 by 142 feet, corner of Lake and Peoria streets; cost $125,000.

The Inter Ocean, February 22, 1891

Real Estate Transactions.
The following transfer has been recorded:
Lake street, northwest corner of Peoria street, south front, 200×100 feet; also Peoria street, 100 feet north of Lake street, east front, 50×125 feet, in rear of same; dated Jan. 1. L. Davis & Rankin to Davis & Rankin Building and Manufacturing Co., $350,000.

Chicago Tribune, February 18, 1894

Real Estate Notes.
The Davis & Rankin Building and Manufacturing company has transferred to the Lake Street Manufacturing Block company the property at the northwest corner of Lake and Peoria streets, 201×150 feet, at a valuation of $350,000. The immediate corner, 125×150 feet, is improved with a fine six-story manufacturing block, occupied by the Davis & Rankin company, and it is now the intention to improve the seventy-five feet of vacant ground to the west with a six-story building to correspond with the present structure at a cost of $100,000. The improvement will be made the coming season.

Chicago Tribune, March 18, 1894

Stiles & Stone have designed for the Lake Street Manufacturing Block, of which Messrs. Davis & Rankin are the principal owners, a six-story addition, to be built on the west side and adjacent to their present six-story business block at the northwest corner of Lake and Peoria streets. It will front approximately seventy-five feet with a depth of 145, and will have an L, fifty by fifty feet. It will be constructed of pressed brick and stone and conform in appearance to the present structure. The interior will be of mill construction and will be arranged for the use of light manufacturers. It will cost $80,000. Work will be commenced immediately.

Chicago Tribune, September 22, 1895

New Corporations
Arnold, Schwinn & Co., at Chicago; capital stock, $75,000; to manufacture bicycles; incorporators, Adolph Arnold, Ignaz Schwinn, W. J. O’Connell.

The Bearings, October 3, 1895

TO BICYCLE AGENTS.
I have purchased an interest in the large bicycle manufacturing concern of Arnold, Schwinn & Co., of Chicago, who are making the finest line of high-grades in the world.—E.C.Bode.

The firm is composed of the following gentlemen: A. Arnold, president, senior member of Arnold Bros., bankers and packers; I.Schwinn, first vice-president, eighteen years a superintendent and maker of high-grade bicycles in Europe and America; W. O’Connell, secretary, late treasurer of the International Mfg. Co.; H. Arnold, treasurer, banker and packer; E. C. Bode, second vice-president, from A to Z.

The company will build 6,000 extremely high-grade machines for the swell American trade, and will start shipments November 15. Deliveries will be guaranteed.—Adv.

The Bearings, October 17, 1895

NEW COMERS IN CHICAGO.
Among the later entries in the cycling field is the firm of Arnold, Schwinn & Co., of Chicago, recently organized with a paid-in capital of $75,000. The office and factory are located at Peoria and Lake streets, and comprise some 25,000 square feet of well-lighted floor space, which is rapidly being filled with the latest improved automatic machinery. It is the intention of the new firm to produce from 5,000 to 7,000 strictly high-grade machines for the season of ’96, samples of which will be out between November 1 and 15. The new wheel has not yet been named. Specifications of the frame are as follows: Head, 1¼ inches; top and bottom stays and diagonal, 1? inches; upper rear forks, ¾ inch; lower rear forks, 13-16 inch, all of best German tubing.

The officers of the company are: President, Adolph Arnold, of Arnold Bros., packers, and senior member of the firm of Arnold Bros. & Baker, bankers; vice-president and business manager, Ignatz Schwinn. Mr. Schwinn, although a comparatively young man, has had a long experience in bicycle building, having been superintendent for several years in the establishment of Heinrich Kleyer, at Frankfort-on-Main, Germany. In this country he has been with the Moffat and Fowler companies, and more recently with the International Mfg. Co. in the capacity of superintendent. Secretary, W. J. O’Connell, has been identified with the trade for a year past as secretary-treasurer of the International Mfg. Co. The treasurer, H. F. Arnold, is a son of the president. E. C. Bode is second vice-president and superintendent of agencies.

The Bearings, October 17, 1895

NEW CHICAGO FACTORY.
Arnold, Schwinn & Co. have an immense plant, and if they wished they could secure enough floor space to build an unlimited number of bicycles. Their present plant at the corner of Peoria and Lake streets, Chicago, is filled with the latest automatic machinery. They will make between 8,000 and 10,000 machines, all of the highest grade and finish.

Davis & Rankin building after the 1888 rebuilt and the first Schwinn factory,

Inside the Lake/Peoria Schwinn Factory

Machine Shop

Paint Shop

Frame Shop

Assembly Shop

Chicago Tribune, March 4, 2007

What could be more “Chicago” than a converted West Loop factory with CTA Green line trains running just outside its front door? That’s what tenants find at Lake Street Lofts, a 121-year-old building at 910 W. Lake St.

Until seven years ago the home of Zimmerman Brush, this 89-unit, six-floor building began life as part of the city’s meatpacking district. Small manufacturing buildings to the north and west reflect that commercial heritage.

At street level 19th Century-style double doors lead to a lobby, where high ceilings, tile floors and walls, plus industrial style light fixtures, echo the building’s history.

On the third floor a long hallway with exposed brick walls and pipes leads to 3-S, a two-bedroom, one-bath unit with 12-foot ceilings and Berber carpeting. In the apartment, giant wooden beams and support columns, exposed heating and air conditioning ducts, exposed pipes, enormous cast-iron trusses and windows with deep sills and traditional green-painted frames add to the atmosphere.

The front door opens on a coat closet and a 10-by-10-foot bedroom immediately to the right. The bedroom has a closet and a huge window facing north. The wall dividing the room from the hallway ends 4 feet below the ceiling, giving the space an airy feeling.

This also allows light from the bedroom window to brighten the hallway from the front door to the 15-by-16-foot living/dining area.

Laminated wood flooring distinguishes the kitchen. Gray laminate covers the kitchen counter and a large island with bar level seating. White cabinets, track lighting and white appliances including a dishwasher, complete the room.

An exposed brick wall surrounds three huge windows facing north in the living/dining area. There is wiring in the ceiling for a fan or light fixture. A gas fireplace is built into one corner of the room and could be a focus for furniture arrangement. The unit’s heating/air conditioning equipment is in a closet on the far left.

At the end of the living/dining area doors open to the bathroom, a linen closet and a 11-by-13-foot bedroom. The bathroom, done in white, is unadorned. The bedroom, with one large window, exposed brick walls and a closet with two sets of double doors has plenty of room for a king-size bed plus dressers. The walls for this room reach to the ceiling.

The building has commercial space on the ground floor. Management and maintenance are on site, along with bicycle storage space and laundry facilities.

There are numerous restaurants in nearby Greektown and Randolph Street. A grocery store is at Halsted and Madison Streets and the neighborhood has several convenience stores.

Though elevated tracks run down Lake Street, the nearest CTA Green and Blue Line station is about six blocks east. There is bus service on Washington Boulevard.

The Bearings, October 17, 1895

E. C. BODE’S CHANGE.
For years the public has been familiar with the name of E. C. Bode. He first made his bow as a “prominent Chicago wheelman,” and then as a racing man. He was quite successful on the path, but concluded that he could make more money in the trade, and so he started out as an advertising man on The Bearings. From this paper he went to the Moffatt Cycle Co., and later with the Hill Cycle Mfg. Co. After making a decided hit on the road selling Fowlers, he resigned his position to go with the Sterling Cycle Works. After spending one summer selling Sterlings he transferred his allegiance to the Peerless Mfg. Co. Now he has left that concern to accept the position of second vice-president and traveling representative of the new firm of Arnold, Schwinn & Co. Bode is perhaps one of the best known traveling men in the trade. He is a convincing talker and never lets go of a man until he sells him wheels. In his new capacity as an official of a company he will no doubt uphold his reputation and make the name of Arnold, Schwinn & Co. famous throughout the land.

The Wheel—Cycling Trade Review, October 18, 1895

The debut of Arnold, Schwinn & Co. as cycle manufacturers is more than ordinarily interesting to Chicago business folk. This firm is an old business concern who have been watch- ing bicycling for some time and who have for several months past prepared for this depart- ure. The factory will be located at No. 254 West Lake street, right in the business centre of Chicago’s West Side, where they will have 25,000 square feet of space. To this factory machinery of the latest pattern is now being moved.

The capital stock is $75,000. The president, Adolph Arnold, is a prominent Chicago banker. The vice-president and business manager, Ignatz Schwinn, will be the mechanical man of the company. His experience in bicycle manufacturing was gained in Germany years ago. In 1891 he came to America and went with the Fowler Manufacturing Company, leaving it to become a factor in the launching of the Inter- national Manufacturing Company, with which concern he has remained until the present time- The secretary, W. J. O’Connell, has had a banking experience, and was until recently secretary of the International Manufacturing Company. The treasurer is Hugo Arnold. The chief business of selling will rest entirely on the shoulders of E. C. Bode, the suave, the smiling and the genial, a man who needs no introduction to WHEEL readers.

The Bearings, November 21, 1895

ARNOLD, SCHWINN & CO.’S “WORLD.”
The “World” is the name at last chosen for the wheel to be manufactured by Arnold, Schwinn & Co., of West Lake and Peoria streets. The line will be a complete one embracing the several models that are likely to be called for from almost every maker the coming year. There will be a standard road wheel weighing 22 pounds and a light roadster that will scale 20. Both these models will be furnished in three stock heights of frame, 24, 25, and 26 inch, and to order with 22, 23, 27, or 28 inch frames. The ladies’ wheel will weigh 21 pounds and comes in two heights of frames, 21 and 23 inches. A ladies’ diamond-frame machine will be made with 20-inch frame and either 26 or 28 inch wheels. In addition to the light roadster a track racer will be built that will weigh from 16½ to 18 pounds according to tires, height, and equipment. Three tandems are promised, a full track machine weighing under 32 pounds, a double diamond at 37, and a combination a pound heavier. The specifications in general cover all the models and call for the highest grade of materials and fittings on the market. The frames will be made of Mannesmann tubing with drop forged connections throughout; hubs from solid bar steel, turned down; cups, cones, and spindles turned from tool steel, ground and polished to l-1000th of an inch. The cranks and crank shaft are in one piece and are forged from a low carbon tool steel, which permits the shaft portion to be oil tempered, leaving the cranks tough yet milder than the shaft.

The thin strong metal, all in one piece, and best wood rims and the Excelsior Needle Co.’s spokes will be used. Simonds Rolling Machine Co.’s balls go into the machines, 3-16 front, 5-16 in the crank box, and ¼ in the rear hub. The World will be regularly equipped with American Dunlops for a detachable tire, Morgan & Wright for inner tube, and Palmer and Vim for single tube, although any high-grade tire on the market will be furnished to order. A choice is offered of three styles of tubular seat-posts—direct, T, and L shaped. Handle-bars will come adjustable for the stock wheels or in five styles of bent bars.

For a departure from the well-known methods, the fitting of the one-piece crank shaft and cranks is to be commended. It is made with a right- hand thread on the right side and a left thread on the left side. The bearing cones engage with these, the stationary cone being on the chain side and being tapped with a larger opening than the adjusting cone, so that in putting it on the shaft or in taking it off no trouble is experienced by the interference of the crossed thread. The stationary cone sets close against a spider which is riveted with five countersunk rivets to a boss which is part of the crank. The spider is dished inward so that the tread, 4-7/8 inches, is not made so narrow at a sacrifice of width between ball races, the chain pull coming directly over and in line with the balls. The ball cases screw into the hanger with right and left hand thread, and are easily removable if it is desired to remove the cranks and shaft, which can be easily done by first taking down the set nut, washer, and adjusting cone, and then removing in both cases. To keep the balls in place and to prevent their loss or misplacement there is a retaining rim set in each case. The name-plate for the World will be of metal, embossed and gold plated. The design will be suggestive of the name of the wheel. For standard finish, black and maroon will be used, lined with gold or plain; other colored enamels to order. All striped frames will have a top coat of hard coach varnish, which is transparent and adds luster to the finish. The company’s strongest claim is that they will put out a bicycle more carefully assembled and more highly finished in detail than anything that has yet been put on the market and they invite comparison with the best.

The Bearings, December 19, 1895

The World.
The line of World bicycles manufactured by Arnold, Schwinn & Co., Chicago., is complete, and embraces seven distinct models, with various heights of frame in the singles. The standard roadster will be known as Model 1, and will be built after the following specifications: Main frame, 1-1/8 inch, 20 gauge tubing; rear stays, ¾ inch, 21 gauge; top, 13-16; bottom, 18 gauge on the chain side and 20 on the off. The head will be ¼ inch 21 gauge, and the fork-crown of the double open type with 1¼ inch forks. Frames will come in four heights, 20, 22, 24, and 26 inches, and the weights will be 22 and 23 pounds, according to fittings. Model 2 will be the light road wheel, and will follow the lines of Model 1 with the necessary lighten- ingoftires, saddles, pedals, etc., to bring the weight down to 20 and 21 pounds. Model 3 is a track racer built after the same lines with lighter gauge tubing, 24 being used in the main frame instead of 20, will weigh from 16 to 18 pounds according to height of frame and fittings. The ladies’ drop frame will be known as Model 4, and will be made with 21-inch frame, and will weigh 23 pounds. Model 5 is a double diamond tandem for road use, and will weigh from 36 to 38 pounds, according to fittings. Model 6 is a combination tandem, with drop frame in front, and will scale 38 pounds. The last of the string is Model 7, a racing tandem, single steering, and built throughout of light gauge tubing. The weight will be under 32 pounds, which will make it one of the lightest tandems on the market.

A novel construction will be seen in the tandem framing. The lower main tube is topped with a bracing of a tube of the same diameter, and the construction is said to be stronger than the usual framing. It is certainly very effective in appearance and looks strong. A single-piece crank-shaft and cranks will be used in all wheels of the line and the tread will be kept under 5 inches—in the racer it will measure 4-7/8 from outside to outside of cranks. The tandems will follow the measurements in tread of the singles and will be 4-7/8 for the road machines and 4-7/8 for the track. All the connections are drop forged, set inside of the tubes of the frame, making flush joints. Black and maroon enamel, striped or plain, will be the standard finish. Other color enamels will be furnished to order.

The Bearings, January 16, 1896

When introduced, the Schwinn World Record ranged in price from $100 to a $125.

The Bearings, January 16, 1896

The World.
The line of World bicycles manufactured by Arnold, Schwinn & Co., Chicago., is complete, and embraces seven distinct models, with various heights of frame in the singles. The standard roadster will be known as Model 1, and will be built after the following specifications: Main frame, 1-1/8 inch, 20 gauge tubing; rear stays, ¼ inch, 21 gauge; top, 13-16; bottom, 18 gauge on the chain side and 20 on the off. The head will be 1¼ inch 21 gauge, and the fork-crown of the double open type with 1¼ inch forks. Frames will come in four heights, 20, 22, 24, and 26 inches, and the weights will be 22 and 23 pounds, according to fittings. Model 2 will be the light road wheel, and will follow the lines of Model 1 with the necessary lightening of tires, saddles, pedals, etc., to bring the weight down to 20 and 21 pounds. Model 3 is a track racer built after the same lines with lighter gauge tubing, 24 being used in the main frame instead of 20, will weigh from 16 to 18 pounds according to height of frame and fittings. The ladies’ drop frame will be known as Model 4, and will be made with 21-inch frame, and will weigh 23 pounds. Model5 is a double diamond tandem for road use, and will weigh from 36 to 38 pounds, according to fittings. Model 6 is a combination tandem, with drop frame in front, and will scale 38 pounds. The last of the string is Model 7, a racing tandem, single steering, and built throughout of light gauge tubing. The weight will be under 32 pounds, which will make it one of the lightest tandems on the market.

A novel construction will be seen in the tandem framing. The lower main tube is topped with a bracing of a tube of the same diameter, and the construction is said to be stronger than the usual framing. It is certainly very effective in appearance and looks strong. A single-piece crank-shaft and cranks will be used in all wheels of the line and the tread will be kept under 5 inches — in the racer it will measure 4-7/8 from outside to outside of cranks. The tandems will follow the measurements in tread of the singles and will be 4-7/8 for the road machines and 4-7/8 for the track. All the connections are drop forged, set inside of the tubes of the frame, making flush joints. Black and maroon enamel, striped or plain, will be the standard finish. Other color enamels will be furnished to order.

The Schwinn Quintet

The Bearings, January 16, 1896

“ME AND JOHNNY” ABROAD.
Tom Eck has made his plans for the trip abroad and will start the last week in February. Johnson will ride a World wheel. Weinig and Pat O’Connor will accompany him. A quint is being made under their directions in the factory of Arnold, Schwinn & Co., and it is claimed that this machine will be the best of its kind ever turned out of any factory, light and compact and having many new features. Eck claims that Johnson has never had the proper pacemaking machines and that he has yet to find a machine that can run away from him. Eck claims that Johnson would now have the records, had he had the proper machines with which to get them. Eck has been abroad with racing teams on two past occasions, but this late trip will be a novel one with him, as his man will enter only in the principal events, and will go more for track and world’s records whenever he appears. In England he will be sent for a paced mile under two minutes on any track that the Englishmen may select, and the officials will be the men whom the Englishmen appoint officially every season.

Chicago Chronicle, May 10, 1896

QUINTET TO PACE JOHNSON.
Will Be Shipped Tomorrow.
The quintet that is to pace John S. Johnson, the champion cyclist, for all existing European records, will be shipped to Paris tomorrow morning by Arnold Schwinn & Co. This morning it will be ridden around the city by the members of the “Kindergarten” team, as follows: John Lund, steersman; H. Van Heuk, No. 2; Fred Rau, No. 3; H. Vogt, No. 4; W. Bainbridge, No.5.

The “quint” will be in competition first in Europe on the Seine track at Paris, where it will pace the match races arranged between Johnson and Morin, the champion of France. It will then be taken to the Catford circuit in England, where “Johnnie” will atempt the European mile record of 1:52 2-5. The prince of Wales will give the word “go,” and Johnson, if successful, will receive $1,000.

The meet at which the trial will be made is for charity and the members of the royal family have promised to attend.

After this trial Johnson will go into strict training for matches with Michol, “the boy wonder,” who has so far never been defeated in a paced distance event. Johnson has never been shaken by pacemakers and has ridden miles repeatedly faster by seconds than his Welsh competitor.

This “quint” is said to be the fastest type of a pacemaking machine ever built and back of it Johnson feels confident of upholding the stars and stripes u=in all of the European events. The accompanying team, with the “quint,” will appear at Louisville at the L.A.W. meet Aug. 10 to 15.

Johnson has signified his willingness to go for the world’s mile record now held at 1:39. A special sanction has been asked from the chairman of the board.

The “quint” will then make a tour of the large cities, where it will be used on the national circuit to pace open events and competitive record trials and races.

1897 Schwinn Catalog

The cycling public now, more than ever before, appreciates the degree of perfection in designs, mechanical skill, materials and workmanship necessary in the production of an up-to-date modern bicycle. The season of 1897 finds “World” bicycles in undisputed possession of an established and recognized reputation for true worth, superiority, and perfection of modern cycle construction, judgment having been passed by a most critical and exacting cycling public from Klondike’s glacial realms to South America’s Horn; from Iceland’s icy shores to Africa’s end of Hope; from Siberia’s snowy fields over China’s Wall of Stone; under Japan’s balmy skies to the Land of the Kangaroo—North, South, East and West, wherever man may roam, “WORLD Cycles” have found a home and are synonym with BEST.

1899 Schwinn Catalog

The Referee & Cycle Trade Journal, November 12, 1896

NEW “WORLD” IS OUT.
Arnold, Schwinn & Co. Exhibit Their Sample 1897 Model—Many Improvements.
Arnold, Schwinn & Co , makers of the World, have alieady put out their 1897 sample machine and it is now on its way east to be shown to the ade. There are, of course, a number of decided improvements over the 1896 model, though the design has been altered very little. The illustra- tion will give a good idea of the appearance of the machine. The use of flush joints gives the wheel an extremely fine appearance, permitting a much nicer finish than if otherwise. Single forged cranks and shaft are to be found on the 1897 World.

The Bearings, August 1, 1895

ABOUT MARCH BICYCLES.
In the last issue of The Bearings was an article headed the same as the above, to which the March-Davis Cycle Co. takes exception. A. R. March, a former member of the firm, organized a new firm called the A. R. March Mfg. Co., and began the manufacture of bicycles, calling them Marches. The March-Davis Cycle Co., who have been making and selling bicycles under this name since February, 1892, naturally took exception to this proceeding, and have brought suit to compel the new firm to cease using the name. They advise us that since the suit was brought the new firm has agreed to use the name March only in connection with the name of the firm and not in connection with bicycles. Zitska & Monyhan are not the representatives of the March-Davis Cycle Co. in San Francisco. The firm has a branch house in that city at 739 Market Street, under the management of J. G. French, who has distributed over 1,000 March bicycles on the Pacific coast this Season, in addition to operating the Class B team, comprising Billy Burke, Casey Castleman, Floyd McFarland, and Nissen.

The Bearings, December 26, 1895

The Bearings, January 2, 1896

Chicago Tribune, February 9, 1901

Receiver for a Bicycle Company.
The March-Davis Cycle company, which has been engaged in the bicycle manufacturing business for several years, went into the hands of a receiver yesterday, F. S. Hebard being appointed by Judge Kohlstaat. Bonds were fixed at $40,000. This action was taken after a petition had been filed by Fayerweather & Ladew of New York, Fuller & Fuller, and the Chicago Handle Bar company. The debts of the company are said to exceed its assets.

The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review, March 7, 1901

March-Davis.
The end of the embarrassed March-Davis Cycle Co. is in sight. The factory in Chicago is to be sold on Friday and there are good prospects that it will bid in by Arnold, Schwinn & Co., who have offered $22,000 for the property.

Ed Davis, who was the active man in the company, has gone West to share in the management of a mine in which his father is interested. Davis, Sr., who was the “angel” of the company, has gone to Florida, after writing his check for $30,000 of the concern’s debts, which he had guaranteed. It is stated that an advance of but $500 would have saved, or at least delayed, the March-Davis failure, but the elder Davis was inexorable and refused to put up another penny; the crash promptly followed.

The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review, March 14, 1901

Winding Up March-Davis Affairs.
The bid of Arnold, Schwinn & Co. for the factory of the defunct March-Davis Cycle Co., Chicago, reported in last week’s Bicycle World, was accepted and the first mentioned firm is preparing to remove from its present location and take possession.

It is now reasonable certain that the March-Davis creditors will receive about 40 per cent of their claims.

1895—27 Mile Bicycle Route

Chicago Bicycles

Chicago Tribune, April 2, 1897

Harrison a Long-Time Wheelman.
Candidate Harrison has long been a bicycle rider. He rode a great deal last year. Altogether he made over 4,400 miles and covered twelve centuries (100 mile rides). In fact, he is almost as enthusiastic a cyclist as his brother, William Preston Harrison, who only left traveling through Europe on a wheel to come home and take part in the political campaign. Mr. Harrison wears the regulation suit. He donned it especially when he had his picture taken last week for this occasion.

Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1895

This is the story of a bicycle spin around Chicago over the boulevard route and through the parks. It is the result of a trip taken by a rider who started from The Tribune office, went around the town and at finished at the starting point. It took the rider four hours of busy pedaling to make the run. Swift scorchers can do the job in much less time, but the man who furnished the material for this story did no scorching. He plodded along, kept moving all the time, and watched for points of interest. He found many and came back satisfied that the ride over the big system of boulevards and through the beautiful parks of Chicago is worth the time and energy it takes to accomplish it.

In the first place the distance is determined. The route traversed is often covered, but few riders can tell when they take a boulevard ride just how far they have gone. Of course, there are many little crooks and turns in a park ride that cannot be estimated. A rider who carries a cyclo-meter can tell just how far he has pedaled he figures up at the end of a trip, but the straight lines on the boulevard-park trip, as done by the man who went over the ground for The Tribune, results in a correct computation. D. E. Maher, civil engineer in the map department at the City Hall, figured out the miles traveled by the rider and here is the result:

Now comes the story of the ride, what streets were used and what parks were visited. The 27.67 miles, it must be understood, are as the crow flies, and do not include little turns and rounds in the parks unavoidable in looking at the beauties and of points of interest.

Start on the Pretty Bide.
First, The Tribune office, as everybody knows, is located at Madison and Dearborn streets. The bicyclist left that point at 8 o’clock a. m. and went directly east to Michigan boulevard. There he turned south, passing the Lake-Front Park on the left and the Auditorium and other big hotels and buildings on the right. At Park row the big Illinois Central depot was passed, and along down at Twenty-second street the Lexington Hotel. From there the run was direct south to Thirty-fifth street, where a turn to the east brought the rider to Grand boulevard, with its beautiful stretch of street and lines of trees. Southward the wheelman went and reached Oakwood boulevard. Another eastward turn was made along that thoroughfare to Drexel boulevard. reached at that beautiful junction just below Thirty-ninth street. Then the bicyclist turned south on a splendid piece of road and pedaled directly south to Fifty-first street, where a little turn to the west brought him into Washington Park.

People who live on the South Side say Washington Park is the loveliest spot on earth. Just now it is fresh and new. The grass Is just long enough to need a lawn mower for the first time and the trees are bursting with their foliage. Skirting along the eastern part of the park the rider reached the Midway, haunted with memories of Old Vienna and the other picturesque attractions that flourished there in the reign of the White City. Going east on the north road, which is completed, the rider covered its entire length and made a circle round the Field Museum and then turned west once more, retracing the track and once more going into Washington Park.

Those splendid floral pictures that add so much to the summer beauty of the park are just commencing to burst into life. On the eastern part is the palm house, full of rare plants and the pride of the gardener. The landscapists have done well there and this spring Washington Park is well nigh perfect. Finally the refectory on the west side was reached, and, although it was early in the day, there were many wheels stacked up against the verandas, while inviting signs told wayfarers that business was under way.

Bird’s Eye View Showing the Bicycle Route Through Chicago’s Parks and Boulevards

On to the Western Parks.
But The Tribune wheelman pushed on past the refectory and got a line in Garfield boulevard. Passing under the tracks of the Alley “L” the rider saw that beautiful stretch of street loom up ahead. He had the choice of two roadways and took the north one. There was enough of an east wind to make it easy work, and the wheelman fairly flew along westward. At State street three paths opened up. The middle one is the west. Children romped on the new grass along the boulevard; babies rolled on it; nurses talked with strolling policemen. Some fine houses and here and there a store were passed as the rider sped across Ashland toward Western avenue.

Finally the corner was reached. Where Gage Park is situated Western avenue boulevard branches north. Gage Park is a little spot away out there. It has diagonal paths, and even if it is little it is mighty pretty and a delightful spot. Then comes Western avenue. The rider turned north upon it and found himself obliged to ride in the cement gutter. The street was full of small bits of crushed stone which had not been rolled down. However, there is nothing better than a cement gutter for a bicycle path.

A hint to men who take women over this course may be dropped here. Fill up on refreshments at Washington Park or at Ashland avenue and Garfield, for Western avenue is dry. There are only three or four refreshment places on the way to Douglas Park. Soda water is plenty, however, up about Twenty-second street, but it’s a long, dry run from Garfield to the fountains that fizz.

Up at Thirty-second street the rider found a sort of hiatus in Western avenue’s good road. In fact, for two blocks the street is absolutely unrideable. There should be a turn to the west there to Southwest boulevard, but it pays to put up with Western and continue north to West Sixteenth street. The rider found the street lad for a few blocks, but it gradually grew better. At Sixteenth street the turn west made and a run of four blocks brought the rider into Doualas Park.

Beauties of Douglas Park.
Douglas Park is four miles southwest or the Court-House and contains 179 acres. The chief beauties the rider found were its splendid lake, its foliage trees, its floral decorations, and the large house, called the Winter Gardens. This house fronts on Ogden avenue, a pretty little bit of asphalt, and is midway between the east and west sides of the park. There is also a large lawn at the southwest end, and young girls, carrying lunch-baskets, were already preparing a tennis court. There are some pretty terraces worth looking at in the park, the palm house being In the midst of them. The artesian well in a grotto feeds the lake, and its water Is said to be medicinal. There is a good refectory in the park.

From Douglas the rider headed for Garfield Park. He wheeled out on Douglas boulevard, went west for a dozen blocks, and then turned north on Douglas and Central Bark. Garfield Park is ten blocks north. There children play all day and bicyclists enjoy good, easy roads. There are 185 acres in Garfield, all thickly planted with shade trees and shrubs. Pretty little groves we found everywhere, and the big green-house in the southwestern corner is a beauty the rear around. There are rare orchids in it. The park lake has two islands and is now beginning to take on a lively air. Boats dotted its surface even if it was early In the day and as the rolled out of the park he met a wagon carrying three pleasure craft.

Out of Garfield sped the rider on Central Park boulevard—an excellent wheelman s road. He was bound for one of the prettiest of all Chicago’s parks—Humboldt. It is less critical than the others. It looks more like a bit of virgin forest. Method is not carried out there to the extent it is in other pleasure spots. The trees and shrubs seem promiscuous and the aspect is more that of a bit of country. The landscape was manufactured, but it certainly has less sign of it than do other parks.

Attractions of Humboldt Park
Of course the chief attraction in Humboldt Park is the bronze statue of Alexander von Humboldt, for whom the park was named.

It was unveiled in 1892 and stands in a commanding position, facing the east. It was presented to the park by F. J. Dewes. The right hand, half raised, holds a flower, while the left has in it a book. Other symbolic figures are grouped about the feet. There is also a monument of Fritz Reuter in Humboldt Park. The driveway and footpaths in the park form a perfect network of beauty. The greenhouse is perfect, and the large lawn in front of It is just now gorgeous with tulips. Large beds of these flowers the lawn and are skillfully grouped around the park. The colors are fairly dazzling and startling when first sprung into view. The large lake furnishes scenery that is rare and natural enough to suit even the men who don’t believe in improving upon nature’s handiwork.

Leaving Humboldt Park reluctantly The Tribune rider once more faced the north. He ran on on to Humboldt boulevard and pedaled toward Palmer Square. This unique bit of speeding track is at Belden avenue and is a rare spot indeed for the wheelman who wants to scorch. It is rather oval than square in form, however, and a spin around it a few times will warm the blood and make the nerves feel the good there is in a bicycle ride. From Palmer Square the rider turned east instead of taking Humboldt boulevard, and on reaching California avenue sped northward to Fullerton. There are not many houses in this part of town just yet, but those that are there look as if their owners were prosperous and thrifty. At Fullerton avenue the rider wheeled toward the lake and commenced the run toward Lincoln Park.

Ending Up the Run.
Fullerton avenue is not bad for a bicycle. There are fragmentary street car tracks at intermittent intervals, but the pavement is cedar block in good condition and the most of it is fairly smooth. It is a long, dusty ride. however, at its best, but it is probably the best route just now to Lincoln Park from the West Side. Down where Fullerton crosses Milwaukee unmistakable signs that this is the real North Side begin to appear in the way of advertising boards with picturesque names and the men and women with “growlers.” Away off In the distance were seen the trees of the famous North Side park and in a short time The Tribune was once more amid trees and flowers and fragrance.

Lincoln Park is always interesting. There are the animals, the flowers, the palms, the statues, the ponds, the big trees, the shrubs. and the green grass. Passing south past the greenhouse the rider wheeled over to the caves and dens and cages containing the wild animals. From there a zigzag route was chosen and past the “Signal of Peace” monument the rider went, up the grade to where the effigy of Grant, “The Silent Man,” sits a-horseback, and then down to where Lincoln’s bronze monument rests. Then came a turn east once more, and the Dearborn avenue asphalt seemed more inviting than the prospect of a whirl down the Lake Shore drive. Down Dearborn went the wheelman and then came the only time when he was at any time in danger. Teamsters act as if they would rather run over a bicyclist than let him ride along in safety. Passing over to the Rush street bridge. The Tribune bicyclist carefully wended his way between the bloodthirsty coal wagon drivers and got up to Lake street, where he once more turned west to Dearborn. Then he moved directly south to The Tribune office and landed at the front door just as the clock pointed to 12 m.

The 27.67 miles had been reeled off in exactly four hours.

Nicholson Paved Road

1868-1902—Chicago Bicycles History

Chicago Bicycles

Chicago Tribune, August 26, 1868
The aristocratic denizens of Michigan and Wabash avenues are just now experiencing quite a sensation, produced by the advent of one of the famous Paris velocipedes. This fashionable means of locomotion, upon which the Parisians, over enthusiastic over novelties, have liberally expended money and muscle, promises to receive much attention in this country. Already universal curiosity to see and use the vehicle is expressed by the Chicagoan, and it may be prophesied that shortly “Shank’s mare” will become totally extinct as a locomotive power. This sample of the favorite French vehicle was recently imported by Mr. Augustus Wheeler, who resides at No. 932 Indiana avenue, and has been on exhibition at the Health Lift rooms, on Dearborn street, near Madison, for a few days past. It must be acknowledged as a valuable and wonderful invention, indicative of the rapid advance of science.

It has gained the favor of the Parisians, who are ecstatic in their commendation of it. But a few years ago the velocipede was used only as a plaything for children, but its merits and capabilities have gradually been seen and understood, until now it has in its improved form become quite general in use. The one in the possession of Mr. Wheeler can be witnessed almost every day on the avenues, speeding along at a rate almost rivaling Dexter’s latest time.

It consists of two large wheels lightly constructed, a steering wheel in front and in its line behind another of equal size. It must be kept in an upright position while in motion by the skill of the rider, who, naturally, at his first attempt in managing it, meets with little encouragement. The power for propulsion is applied by the feet, which are placed upon a treadle attached to the hub of the front wheel. A bifurcated arrangement, constructed of iron or steel, extends from the hub as high as the breast of the rider, seated between the two wheels, who guides the vehicle by a lever worked by the hands. To acquire proficiency in riding much time, care and patience must needs be expended, but the art once learned is as fascinating and beautiful even as skating.

The seat can easily be adapted to the use of ladies by the construction of a seat after the style of a side-saddle. It is said that by a rider of mediocre experience some fifteen miles an hour can easily be attained without the slightest danger of capsizing should care be exercised.

In scientific circles it is verily the sensation of the day the acquisition promising to make services inroads upon the customary modes of traveling in the city. Much is expected of it, and that it will become general in use throughout the Western States is certain. Its adoption in apposition to hacks, buggies, street cars and like vehicles, for the transportation of the human species, will bring about an epoch in the history of science, which will crush those monopolies of the day and give to the people healthful and invigorating exercise.

Inter Ocean, November 7, 1872
Chicago Evening Mail, November 12, 1872
Originally published in the New York Times.

THE BYCICLE (sic).
Why It Is a Failure—Why It Is of No Value in the Absence of Horses.
The utter failure of the velocipede as a substitute for the saddle-horse is just now emphasized by the fact that, in the present dearth of horses, no one has alluded to the velocipede as a possible solution of the problem how the business man is to reac his office, in case the cars and stages should cease running. It is true that a gleam of hope has illumined the sadness of those injudicious persons who, four years ago, built or bought hundreds of velocipedes, which they have never been able to sell. They have now exhumed a few of these machines from the cellar and garret, and placed them in show windows with seductively low prices affixed to them. Still, nobody buys them, and it is safe to say that nobody will, so long as the cause which originally prevented the velocipede from attaining popularity among us still remains.

The failure of the velocipede was not due, as many suppose, to any defect in me machine. It could easily be managed in streets not excessively crowded with vehicles, and though some goad we effort was required to set it in motion, it could be with comparatively little exertion. Of course, more strength was needed to make a single revolution of the driving wheel than is exerted by pedestrians in making a single step, but since one turn of the driving wheel propelled the velocipede nearly three yards, while the pedestrian gained but about 20 inches in a single step, it is probable that the rider of the velocipede traveled over a given distance with less effort than the pedestrian.

The real cause of the failure of the velocipede was the tyranny of the small boy. This shameless and exasperating mouthpiece of crude and unreasoning public opinion, crushed out the velocipede and drove its patrons into the obscurity of back yards and private piazzas. Whenever a man presented himself on the street, mounted upon his bicycle, the small boy, multiplying himself in the appalling manner which is his habit on occasions when his presence is particularly undesirable, surrounded him like a poisonous cloud. Shut out from the sight of his fellow men by the crowding and clamorous foe, the velocipede rider was exposed, unaided, to the jeers and insulting comments of his tormentors. His style of riding was ridiculed; his dress, and especially his boots, were openly disparaged, and contemptuous were loudly laid upon his probable mental condition. The bravest rider qualled before this ordeal. No man would consent to ride even the finest Arabian horse in existence were he to be surrounded with hundreds of shrill-voiced enemies, shouting, He can’t ride!” “Hi! Look at his boots once!” and betting peanuts in support of the proposition, “He’s afraid of falling; see how pale he is.” Much less would any man brave such a trial in behalf of the possible pleasures of bicycle riding. The small boy banished the bicycle so thoroughly that no one now dares even to mention the machine that called forth such universal juvenile reprobation. It is only by force of numbers that the small boy can be overcome. Had the riders of bicycles gone forth in companies of fifty or a hundred, they would have mutually encouraged one another, and thus defied the sneers of the small boy until the velocipede had lost for him its novelty, and consequently its interest. Had this plan been adopted, we should now find the bicycle a general favorite, and we should look to it as a possible means of temporarily supplying the dearth of ordinary means of convenience.

James Starley, the Father of the Bicycle.

April 21, 1830 – June 17, 1881

Pall Mall Gazette (London), June 23, 1881
An abridged version of this article appeared in Chicago’s Inter Ocean on July 7, 1881

A Modern Inventor.
A very remarkable career has just closed. Mr. James Starley, the inventor of the modern bicycle and tricycle, has this week been laid in his last resting-place in the Coventry cemetery, His career, which has bean cut short at a comparatively early age, was a striking illustration of the strength with which inborn talents assert themselves. Born about fifty years ago in the village of Albourne, Sussex, the son of a poor farmer, he received but little education, and at the age of nine was put to agricultural labour.

In 1846 or 1847, while still a lad, he left home to seek his fortune in London, and, after some changes and vicissitudes, he finally settled in Lewisham, Kent, where he married. For some years he followed the occupation of gardener, and in that capacity was employed by the late Mr. Penn, the proprietor of large machine works at Greenwich. He probably found his way into Mr. Penn’s factory, if he did not gain occupation there, for it was at this time that his mechanical genius first showed itself by the invention of an adjustable candlestick, the one stringed window-blind, and the magic bassinette, which will probably be remembered by anxious mothers of that date as warranted (per advertisements of the period) to soothe and lull the most tiresome of infants.

About 1855 he found congenial occupation in improving the Newton-Wilson sewing machine, and in a few years afterwards he settled in Coventry, bringing with him a newly invented machine of the same description called “The European.” The collapse of the Coventry ribbon trade in 1860 and the social distress by which it was accompanied led to the introduction of new industries into the city. Among the earliest of these was the Coventry Machinists’ Company, of which Mr Starley was appointed foreman.

His active mind was ever bent on inventions and improvements on inventions, and during this period he produced many varieties of sewing machines, some of which are in the market under names which he himself could not have recognized. Twelve years ago he began a study which was to prove a turning-point in his life, and which constitutes his chief title to remembrance.

A French bicycle was brought under the notice of the Coventry Machinists’ Company, who took up the manufacture of it for a Paris firm. The “bone-shaker” is a machine which the rider of to-day would more than disdain; it bears the same relation to the modern bicycle as a carthorse does to the winner of the Derby. But the rude contrivance contained an idea which fell upon a fruitful soil. Mr. Starley first improved it, and then he improved it out of existence, by inventing a machine of an entirely novel construction.

He first gave to the world the “spider wheel,” which has wrought a complete revolution in the wheel world, and which marks the commencement of the present era of ‘cycles. The first of the new style of machines was “the spring and step machines, or the Coventry model.” The superiority of this machine was self-evident, the old coach-like wooden wheels being superseded by wire spokes and shaped rim and india-rubber tyres, a curved spring, and a small hind wheel near to the driving wheel.

The Ariel (1870), invented and patented by James Starley and the diamond-framed Safety bicycle (1884) by his nephew John Kemp Starley. The high-wheel bicycle was nicknamed the “Penny-farthing,” because the ratios of the wheel size were comparable to that of British coins. After the “Safety” style was introduced, Penny-farthing was referred to as the “Ordinary.”

The “Ariel,” a light and graceful machine that fully justified its name, afterwards followed, and embodied the important improvement of pivot-centre steering. Starley’s next triumphs were the “Europa” sewing machine and the “Tangent” bicycle, by which greater strength was obtained in the wheel. Regarding the bicycle as practically perfected, he now began the study of the tricycle, the machines of this name hitherto in use not being particularly remarkable for lightness or beauty. The “Coventry” tricycle was the first fruit of this application; in due time came the “Salvo-Quadri-cycle,” which Mr. Starley regarded as his magnum opus. He improved the ” Salvo,” till he considered it as nearly perfect, and the principle of its construction is regarded by experienced judges as not likely to be superseded.

Early this year, the Queen having ordered one of these machines for the Princesses, it was taken to Osborne by the inventor himself. At this time he was suffering from a hopeless disease, although the malady had not developed so as greatly to impair his power, or at least his desire to work,

Mr. Starley patented a number of his inventions; but he had little commercial keenness, and, speaking broadly, his inventive genius was freely given to the world. He has left behind him no fortune, though latterly he was feeling his way to a competency. Mr. Starley was a man of great simplicity of character, free from every taint of self-assertion or arrogance.

Chicago Tribune, January 9, 1879
Reprinted from the Boston Advertiser

THE WINGED HEEL
Some Interesting Facts and Reflections Relating to Bicycle Navigation.
Mounted on his fifty-two inch wheel, with the wind humming in the spokes, and the mile-stones fitting behind him, the bicyclist appropriates the esthetic meaning ot the “winged heel” with which the ancients endowed the messenger of the gods. The prophetic myth of the wise and athletic Greeks has become a modern reality. To get over the ground and through the water in the quickest manner is the goal for which ardent spirits in all ages have put forth their best endeavors. The bicycle ranks among those gifts of science to man, by which he is enabled to supplement his own puny powers with the exhaustless forces around him. He sits in the saddle, and all Nature is but a four-footed beast to do his bidding. Why should he go a-foot, when he can ride a mustang of steel, who knows his rider and never needs a lasso?

This is no boy’s plaything. There are plenty of men, and their numbers are increasing, who prefer it on some accounts to a horse or a yacht. It is the only way by which you can run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. Bicycling is walking with scientific economy of expended energy. It is an extension of the person, an enlargement of the bodily functions in the direction of locomotion. It seems difficult to the uninitiated to keep one’s balance on a vertical wheel, but the mechanical principle, or knack of the thing, is as easily acquired as skating, and much easier than to balance a load on the head. The erect posture of the human frame, sustaining and maintaining a lengthened column of bones on the foot, is a mechanical marvel, but it comes by practice. The exhilaration of bicycling must be felt to be appreciated. With the wind singing in your ears, and the mind as well as body in a higher plane, there is an ecstasy of triumph over inertia, gravitation, and the other lazy ties that bind us. You are traveling! not being traveled.

You look upon horse machines with contempt, and even your old acquaintance, the pedestrian, with pity. The saddle, firm as a pillar, bears up your 170 pounds dead weight, which in waking you have to raise up and lower with every step. Your body is at rest; the legs are in motion, and your walking stroke geared up to a wheel thirteen feet in circumference, shod with rubber. You sit and glide with scarcely a perceptible jar, but the towns and villages dwindle as you pass through them. The birds that cleave the air have a like motion with yourself. By moonlight on a bard road the enjoyment of yourself as a centaur is intense. To see a close-knit, sun-browned fellow in fitting costume, shouting down a long hill with perfect composure, dispensing with hands, or feet, or both, at a pace exceeding that of a race-horse, is fearful, but it is pretty. Experts go up hill or down a long hill with acquired ease, and in single rute for miles at the sides of country roads; but the better the road the better the ride, which is equally true of all other vehicles. All modes of transit along the highways of travel, ox-power, horse-power, steam-power, electric, or any other motor, pedestrianism and pedalism, have each their hour and right of way for the time being, according to law.

Though there are difficulties to be overcome, we claim that any one of ordinary patience and pluck can learn to ride a bicycle satisfactorily. The feat is somewhat gyroscopic and less than it looks to be. Once learned, it is an elegant and healthful accomplishment, worth all the time and money it costs. “Good-by sick list! is the hail of a good bicyclist as he leaps into the saddle fora ten-or twenty-mile run. The bicycle is not intended to be a “common carrier,” but it will carry a man with some light baggage and give him the equivalent of a pair of legs ten feet long. There is no sensation in the saddle of being balanced on a knife-edge. This feeling is an element of danger in itself, and must be overcome. As to safety in general, the bicycle being a machine is safer than a horse, for the latter has a will of his own to be consulted and controlled. Bicycling is an institution, having already developed the elements of permanency. It takes with the “sana mens in corpore sano,” and none but those who have outlived or forgotten their youth will call it in question. The mechanical principles are good, as far as they go, and each new improvement (there is plenty of room yet) gives it a firmer hold with the athletic. Every boy in the coming generation should be trained to it, commencing with the velocipede at an early age. Get a good machine by all means; and, if you can afford it, indulge in the luxury of a first-class article; one that you can ride with the loose rein of confidence. throwing your entire muscle into a level spurt or a step ascent, with no nervous apprehension of a badly-made screw, or a loose rubber, or subsequent repairs. The preference given to a “hand-sewed” shoe applies to bicycles, especially while important portions require to be forged. Each part should be perfectly fitted to the other, and to no other, the grouping of the whole constituting a precious individuality which is not to be found in “books.” Clothespins can be turned out by the thousand, but telescopes, electric clockwork, and bicycles are the product of a high range of art. Indeed, the bicycle may be considerable as the outcrop of the age, the necessity for rapid transit having given birth to the invention. With full faith in the progress of thugs, we look beyond this machine of to-day, and see private carriages to and fro on our best roads, impelled by small petroleum engines of light horse-power. This is a favorite subject with some of our advanced mechanicians, and by them considered so feasible as to be almost a reality. When the first machine comes along, and it will come in due time, it will be another winged heel. We give it in advance a hearty welcome.

The Daily Telegraph, July 18, 1880

Editorial.
There is a violent prejudice against the bicycle. It is regarded by some as a nuisance, by others as the “Devil’s own invention,” and by all as a horrible innovation.

We take issue with this public sentiment, and assert without fear of successful contradiction, that the bicycle is an incubator of good morals and has hatched out better results than can be attributed to an equal amount of buggy-riding. No scandals are connected with tye bicycle, no suspicions attend its midnight uses. It has no cover to it like a top buggy, and no one presumes to charge the driver with taking a passenger on board surreptitiously. The bicyclist has all he can attend to without taking toll under covered bridges. Girls generally, are down on “the pesky thing.” It makes them hopping mad mad to foot it alone to school as the big boys glide gracefully by on two wheels. If this custom obtains they will certainly insist upon a dress reform that will enable them, if not outstrip, to at least catch up with the bicycle chaps.

No temperance advocate should denounce this ostracized vehicle. It is better than a Murphy movement. As a conveyance it will not tolerate mixed drinks. In former times the old family nag could be relied upon to tote a fellow home—no matter how much so—ever he might be elated, not so with the incorrigible bicycle. It wous just flop him in the mud, and no amount of tall kicking it in the side would compel it to stir. So all topers as well as girls, are down on bicycles. But if you would unearth its greatest enemy, look uop an average hackman. They have no confidence in brain power. They maintain that a vehicle drawn by horses is safer than a conveyance propelled by a man. They preach the doctrine to the City Council, who, like themselves, have great faith in horse sense. To manifest their faith vy their works, they prohibited the use of vehicle on Michigan avenue and the boulevards. These smooth ways are reserved for gouty men in cushioned carriages. Here is a fit occasion for a riot—wheelbarrows, go-carts, street cars and locomotives. have guaranteed rights not awarded to the bicycle. But fear not; there will be no bloodshed. The wheel-behind-the-wheel will prove a reformer. It will foster a race of strong men who will not always be crowded in the gutters and compelled to travel on back streets. Being a new thing, the bicycle must have its day of ridicule, of persecution, and of martyrs. When the world slow, the iron horse bade the people mount. They did. Kings loitered with their leveried coachmen and were left. So again, a thing of health, of economy, of grace, and of speed glides by the gout-producing conveyance of old paralytic aristocracy. He shakes with anger his crutch as the receding for, and demands of his dazed jockey;: “What is that?” The tardy reply is: “It is young Enterprise on a bicycle.”

The Bicycling World, December 10, 1880

Chicago Notes.
The glorious months of autumn, with its hard, smooth roads and bracing atmosphere, are drawing to a close, and with them ends the first fiscal year of organized bicycling in Chicago. Perhaps our experience may be of some interest to our brethren of the wheel, and I will briefly review what we have done to advance the useful and noble sport in this city.

In October, 1879, we gathered together a band of a little over a half-dozen riders, all enthusiastic devotees of the steel horse, and entered into a union for mutual aid, comfort, and protection. This was made necessary on account of the hostile spirit which was being displayed toward the bicycle, and rendered an organized effort on our part necessary to protect our own interests. When the first bicycle was introduced in Chicago, over two years ago, it was regarded with much curiosity by everybody, but its numbers seemed to increase very slowly. One year more found about half a dozen of the machines in constant use about the city, and everybody’s attention was directed toward them with considerable interest. As is usual with every shining mark, it began to be assailed by those whose interests were thought to be in some manner endangered, and the first check placed upon our freedom was a refusal of admittance to Lincoln Park. This was caused by a wooden machine, in the hands of a reckless boy, scaring a horse. By this time a great many of the wooden machines were abroad in the streets, ” raising Cain ” generally ; and, although our skirts .were clear of any charge of scaring animals and running down baby-carriages and women, still, like Old Dog ‘ Tray, we were in bad company,— at least the people who did not know the difference between the two classed us as one, and we had to share the odium. The south parks and magnificent boulevards were next wrested from us, and we began now to feel that something serious was in store for us. This was rapidly followed in December by an effort on the part of the livery- stable keepers of the city to prevail upon the council to pass an ordinance prohibiting our use of the streets. The matter was referred to the city attorney, and he gave it as his opinion that this was in effect unconstitutional, and therefore we escaped this dire calamity. In order to ascertain just what our rights were in this world, and to know whether we really were intruders, seeing that everybody called us such, we had recourse to a legal opinion in regard to the matter, and were much cheered at the decision of one of our most eminent law firms to the effect that we had a right to the parkways and boulevards, highways and streets, just the same as other vehicles, and that our actions and conduct upon the road were subject to the same laws as governed the motions of carriages. This opinion was published in the World of 24 July Upon this platform we proceeded to act and to regain our lost ground in the parks, but without success. We were on the point of getting a favorable decision from the board, when a small wooden tricycle on the sidewalk of the grand boulevard frightened the horse of a lady, and that was the last of us. An order was immediately drawn up even more stringent than before, forbidding us to even show our shadow upon the pavement. As some of us lived upon the drives, it behooved us to sneak up a side street and alley, and get our machines into the house in the best vjay possible under the circumstances. Still our numbers increased. In the spring we had a dozen members or more, with an occasional “unattached.” The grand six days’ tournament participated in by Keen, Terront, Cann, and Stanton, in the fall, had sowed the seed; and while, for a time, it fell on barren ground, and proved a financial disaster to the sowers, yet its effect was not lost. It set people to thinking, and when they think they generally investigate, and if they see a good thing they usually buy. But they were slow to see a good thing, considering the attitude of the city government, and the then horrible condition of most of our streets. In the latter respect we have improved wonderfully this summer. In fact, the western division of the city has been almost generally rejuvenated, and broad avenues of smooth cedar block and glistening macadam are springing into line with great rapidity. A grand boulevard system of thirty-five miles surrounding the city only lacks a short stretch of being completed, and when that is done Jericho will be outdone in being encompassed about. The spring and summer, with their jolly social runs, found us prospering and increasing. Fourth of July was celebrated with a grand run from Milwaukee through the beautiful hills and lakes of Waukesha County, lasting three days, in which we were joined by representatives from other cities, and communication and exchange of views with our neighbors served to infuse new enthusiasm into our ranks. Late in the summer another club, the Ariel Bi. C. was organized, with a dozen members, which is constantly receiving additions, and with our membership of nearly twenty, besides the numerous “unattached,” we were beginning to assume quite an importance. The Park Commissioners have granted us permission to ride upon the boulevards whenever -we desire to have a ” club run,” and we have generally presumed upon this privilege to ride thereon at all hours after sunset. I trust the future is not far when everything will be again open to us.

Last week we celebrated our final run of the season. Our neighbors were called in to help us have a good time ; and although the weather proved somewhat unfavorable, with high wind and gusts of snow, still the hard, calendered roads, and a permission to run the boulevards, were irresistible to a goodly few, a round “baker’s dozen,” and off we started for South Chicago before the smacking breeze. As we always do, we had a glorious good time, and the afternoon’s run of twenty-eight miles over perfection itself in the way of bottom was voted, as usual, ” the best and most enjoyable one yet.”

For this winter’s sport we have secured the Exposition Building, with a magnificent gallery of about four laps to the mile, and we propose to do noble work in the way of speed before spring. The captain of our club has already reduced time down to a mile in 2.55 on a common country race-course, with a machine two sizes too small, and with a bicycling experience of only six months. The world will yet hear of us!—Steno, Chicago, November 20, 1880

The Bicycling World, May 13, 1881

Although Boston may be said to be the central point of the interest in bicycle riding, as it is the birthplace of the sport in this country, and contains more riders than any other city, it has by no means a monopoly; and before many years it will doubtless find itself at the periphery instead of on the hub of the wheel, so rapidly does the bicycle push to the front in the Western cities. Already a club in Milwaukee claims the largest club representation in the League, and Chicago, Detroit, and other more easterly cities are strong competitors in the friendly rivalry.

Chicago Tribune, September 7, 1884

Within the last few years the bicycle has come into prominence as a means of locomotion. It has not been utilized for business purposes, at least in the United States, and is ridden here more for health or pleasure. In England the “bike” is much used for business purposes, and it is said that in some parts of the Kingdom families have sold their horses and carriages and now go to church, to market, to the bank, etc., upon the horse that eats no oats and is not subject to glanders. It is not so long ago when the passage of a bicycle along a public street would cause people to turn about and gaze after it, when a horse at sight of the bicycle and rider would stand upon its hind legs and paw the air, or split the atmosphere in a vain attempt to leave behind the memory of that frightful apparition. But now, when the swift, noiseless wheel hums by the gaze of languid curiosity is directed to the bicyclist more to learn whether his horse are green, red, or striped than anything else. The staid, old carriage-horse merely twitches one ear and winks an eye, as if to say:

You can go faster than I can, but your bones will never be fit for oleomargarine.

The late idler in the park in paths sacred to pedestrians will have the breadth taken away by the flash of nickel-plated wheels controlled by a young man in short clothes, and making no more noise than the passage of a bat or a night-hawk. Should you drive out on the boulevards never so far you will find the bicyclist. He enjoys the fun of passing your crack trotter; he saucily dodges in and out on the crowd of equipages. On country roads you will find him; his presence is discovered in the grass-grown lane. A year or two ago, when the bicycle was new, it was as much as the rider’s life was worth to venture upon the rural roads. The matron driving old Dobbin to the market town would be terrified nearly unto death at the sudden apparition of “one of them velocipede fellers.” As he approached and Dobbin’s ears pointed forward she would stop and begin to pull on the reins. The docile old horse would begin to back, in obedience bred, and this would be a fresh source of terror to the worthy matron of the wagon. Often-times an accident would be averted only by the bicyclist springing from his vehicle and catching the old horse by the bridle. His reward would be then tart remark, that if he had “only stood still” there would have been no harm done. Alas, poor bicycle! Unlike the horse, its best hold is not in standing still. It is in best control when in the most rapid motion.

The Bad Small Boy.
But the bicycle is likely to fall into unworthy hands. The half-grown boy in the quiet side-street, where the policeman comes only upon his tri-weekly visit to his “cold-chicken” girl, has everything his own sweet way. He usurps the sidewalk, and, not content with driving off the baby-wagons, bumps into the pedestrian. The earth is his, and the fullness thereof, and as long as the “pa” lives on the street the boy considers that he has a warranty deed upon the sidewalk for two blocks each way. The bitterest thing ever said against the bicycle was several years ago, when a paragrapher stated that bicycles had no rights upon the street; and when a young man’s “pa” was rich enough to buy him a bicycle the old man should throw in a forty-acre lot for him to ride in.

The use of the bicycle keeps pace with the rapid increase of the wealthy of the community. A first-class machine of the kind costs between $75 and $150. Dry-goods clerks on a salary of $12 per week with a family to support don’t use them. The possession of a bicycle is as much an indication of well-to-doness as the livery upon the coachman.

Its Rights Under the Law.
As the use of the bicycle is becoming so common the natural inquiry is as to the law and the rights of the bicyclists on roads, streets, and other highways. In Chicago there are no restrictions upon its use. The streets, boulevards, and parks are open to the use of bicyclists. There is an ordinance prohibiting the riding of bicycles, etc., upon sidewalks, but it is not and never has been enforced. The smooth roads, boulevards, and streets of this city and vicinity have given it the name of the “bicyclists’ paradise.” Quite against the law the gentleman with short pants rides upon the footpaths of the parks, and quite against the law he frightens the nursemaids and toddling babies.

The question now in a great many minds is, Has the bicycle a right to part of the road as against other vehicles? A correspondent from Geneva, Ill., sends the following extract from the statutes, which he thinks ought to settle the question:

SEC.68.

SEC. 77. Whenever any persons traveling with any carriage whatsoever shall meet on any turnpike, road, bridge, or highway in the State, the persons so meeting shall seasonably turn their carriages to the right of the beaten track so as to permit each carriage or vehicle to pass without interruption or interference, under penalty of $5 for each offense, to be recovered by the party aggrieved. Provided, This act shall not be construed to apply to a case where it is impracticable from the nature of the ground for the driver of the carriage or vehicle to turn to the right of the beaten track.

“Secretary Sherman,” says this corespondent, “under advice from the Law Department at Washington, June 30, 1877, decided that the bicycle was a ‘carriage” and dutiable as such.”

A Friend in the Pulpit.
This at once opens a great field of inquiry. Is a bicycle a vehicle? A reporter for The Tribune yesterday called upon a man well known as a clergyman, and as an owner and rider of a bicycle, for an answer to this question.

“Yes, sir; I am a bicyclist,” he responded to the first question.

“Do you consider your bicycle a vehicle?”

“I do,” he replied. “Though I have no room under the seat for lunch baskets, and there is no chance for a dispute as to who shall ride backwards, I consider it a vehicle.”

“Do you often take long rides?”

“Oh, yes; I often step over to Racine before breakfast, and stop to Janesville for lunch, bringing up at Western avenue in time for a 5 o’clock dinner.”

“Are the roads always good?”

“There is one peculiarity about the Illinois prairie road in connection to with a bicycle. The either carries you or you carry the bicycle.”

“When you meet a team to which side do you turn?”

“If the man looks very mad I generally get off and wait until he passes by.”

“Don’t you know there is a law compelling every ‘vehicle’ to turn to the right upon meeting a team?”

“I have heard so, but never yet knew a team to give an inch to a bicycle rider.”

Has the Rights of a Vehicle.
Mr. J. O. Blake of the John Wilkinson Company is the head centre of the bicycle riders of the city. To him went the reporter.

“Bicycles coming into this country,” said Mr. Blake, “are classed as pleasure vehicles.”

“How about a share of the road?”

“Though we have never asked for it, we are entitled to half the road in meeting teams. This principle has been established in frequent cases in the East. As classified in customs duties bicycles are ‘vehicles,’ and come under law as such.”

“How about the local laws on the subject?”

“In a test case in Springfield, Mass., the other day the city law was declared null, because it conflicted with the statute laws. It will win every time a case is brought.”

“Do the truckmen and many teamsters take kindly to this law or decision.”

“No, they are inclined to be a little saucy in every instance. In Boston two or three examples have been made at them, and now they are passably civil. The courts uphold the bicyclist every time on that point. Why should people have such a prejudice against the bicycle? According to the statistics there has thus far been one fatal accident occasioned by a bicycle in frightening horses or throwing riders. Can you name any other vehicle of which the same can be said? Even in England, where thousands are used, no accidents have occurred, though they are in the streets all the time. The fatal accident spoken of was a collision with a carriage, where, the rider was thrown under the horses’ feet.”

Has Come to Stay.
“How many riders are there in the city?”

“Between 600 and 700 who own fine bicycles.”

“You have many privileges in Chicago as bicyclists?”

“We hawve full permission to ride on all streets, boulevards, and in all the parks, but not on the sidewalks, and if the law was strictly enforced as to sidewalks there would be no complaint. The whole trouble arises from boys who get a bicycle or velocipede and rise on the sidewalks or in paths of the parks.”

“Is the pastime growing?”

“Yes, beyond all account. Here is a new club just formed on the North Side which includes two clergymen, three attorneys, one general manager of a railway, two prominent physicians, and the rest, twenty-six in all, merchants of wealth and standing. Yes, there are in this club three married women tricyclists and one unmarried, al of the higher circles, who ride for health and pleasure. You have no idea how popular this amusement is becoming; but it has come to stay.”

“A Game For Byes Sorr!”
Dennis Maguire, who drives a heavy two-horse goods truck for a South Water street wholesale grocery house, was interviewed. He said:

“Is it give the road to them fly-away divils in their short pants? Sure Oi’ll nivir do it, Let them git out uv my way or Oi’ll droive over them! Be the bomes of Fayther John but it would be the great fun to see them run into me truck. They’d be wilcome to all the satisfaction they got.”

“Dennis,” asked the repoorter, “do you consider the bicycle a vehicle?

“Divil aq bit ov a vayhacle.”

“What is it then?”

“A game for boys, sorr.”

“Would you not turn out and give them half the road?”

“Whin Oi do, ye’ll foind me last sickness coning on, sorr.”

The information gathered seems to establish the fact that the laws on the subject are just a trifle hazy. The status and rank of the “swift, noiseless sheel” should be fixed beyond a doubt.

The Wheel and Cycling Trade Review, May 4, 1888, and July 6, 1888

Starley’s “high wheeler” started the bicycle boom in America. It was nicknamed the “Penny Farthing” near the end of its popularity and then called the “Ordinary” after the Safety bicycle was introduced.

Chicago Tribune, May 17, 1896

There is a new division of mankind. It is no longer the man who buys his winter coal at wholesale in the summer and the man who buys is by the load when the bin is empty. The boundary line between the tailor-made man and the ready-made man is obsolete. There are no longer carriage folk and street car people. The girl with and without the chaperon speak as they pass by.

All the old kings are dead. Long live the king!

His name is King Bicycle and great is his power of the land.

All the world is divided into two parts—the part which rides a bicycle and the part which doesn’t.

In the fall of 1888 the solid-tired “bone-shaker” safety bicycle made its appearance. It was regarded as a curiosity. But it was a safety.

Today there are 4,000,000 riders of safeties in the United States, whose wheels cost them $300,000,000. And more wheels are coming at the rate of 1,000,000 a year.

In Chicago alone there are 200,000 riders, whose wheels cost them $15,000,000. A total of over $30,000,000 is invested here in cycling in one way or another.

Now, whether you are a rider, or think you will get a wheel someday, or entirely and condemn the bicycle, these astonishing facts and figures must interest you as a loyal American and a thinking person. For these facts mean much—fortunes invested in the manufacture of wheels, bicycle clothing, and sundries; hundreds of millions of dollars diverted from the usual channels of trade; armies of men employed at a new trade and in new lines of business; fortunes made by those in line with the craze; depression in trades and businesses out of the line; a revolution in our habits of life, and consequent changes affecting the mental, moral, and physical condotion of the people of the United States.

Some of these facts and conditions, and problems are herewith presented by The Tribune for its readers.

Chicago Tribune, May 17, 1896

Two hundred thousand wheels in use in Chicago!

What an immense aggregation of iron, rubber, leather, and wood this is few persons stop to consider, and the numbers which a little figuring gives are almost beyond belief. The combined weight which this number will support is 150,000 tons, or several times the weight of the Masonic Temple. The combined weight of the wheels themselves is 2,500 tons, or nearly the weight of the United States steel-armored man-of-war Boston. If all the tubing used in these wheels was put in a straight line it would extend from here to New York. Furthermore, if all the material used in these wheels was to be combined in one large wheel it would require the entire United States to make a suitable bike path for it to run on.

It is needless to say the public has paid out an extraordinary amount of money to obtain and use these 200,000 wheels. At an average cost of $75 apiece, the sum invested in wheels alone by the people of Chicago is $15,000,000. When we come to consider the factories, repair shops, and retail establishments; the clothes, sundries, and appliances owned by the riders; the bicycle club-houses and property; the racing tracks and racing paraphernalia, the total money invested by Chicago in the bicycle craze amounts up close to the tremendous total of $33,000,000.

By this sum it is not intended to say that $33,000,000 could be realized on cycling property. That is far from the case. Just as the average cost of each wj=heel was about $75, the present average value is about $50, making the total marketable worth of the cycles in Chicago about $10,000,000. Following up this estimate it is safe to say the market value of all wheel goods owned in Chicago is about $25,000,000.

Chicago the Cycling Center.
When it comes to an estimate of wheels and riders, bicycle makers and bicycle investors, the fact sticks out with unsuspected prominence that Chicago is the bicycle center of the United States. On this account, as startling as are the figures for the whole country, the estimates for Chicago are even more remarkable and naturally of more local interest.

Last year a couple of trade journalists made an exhaustive estimate of the number of bicycle riders in the City of Chicago. It was an impossible task to be exact, and will probably never be accurately accomplished until its is made a part of taking the census. The figures obtained, however, pointed to a total of 150,000 wheelmen in the city. Figuring on a conservative estimate of a one-third increase this year, which the retail dealers say is more than justified by the amount of their sales, this would put the total number of bicycle riders in Chicago at 200,000.

This estimate, made by a careful system of observation and computation, is astonishingly near those made by other means. The leading manufacturers, retail dealers, and cycling club members all have means of forming an expert opinion, and their guesses ran from 100,000 to 300,000. It is thought by some of the delegates to the Associated Cycling clubs thaqt twenty men ride wheels for everyone belonging to a club. As about 100,000 members are enrolled in the Associated Cycling clubs this still keeps the estimate at 200,000.

To find what per cent of the 200,000 riders in the city is women and children is another task which defies accuracy. Counts made of the number of women and men riders passing a given point in a given time show a wide variation according to hour and locality. On Michigan avenue during the hours when people are going to and from business the average of women is about one in fifty. Take the same place in the evening or on a Sunday afternoon and the per cent runs as high as one in three. From a series of observations and from the opinions of dealers the proportion of women riders in the city has been settled upon at 20 per cent of the whole number of bicyclists.This would give 40,000 women riding wheels.

A like computation puts the number of children at 1 per cent, or 2,000.

Leads in Cycle Manufacturing.
Not alone as a wheel-riding town is Chicago at the front in the whole of the United States, as a wheel-manufacturing center it also easily leads all American cities. The principal makers of bicycles here, in fact, declare Chicago’s prominence is more marked in the production than in the consumption of wheels. Yet this city builds this year barely 50,000 more bicycles than are now in use by its inhabitants.

Twenty-five wheel factories, each producing at least 1,000 bicycles this year, are located in Chicago. Their combined output is close to 250,000 wheels, or one-fourth of the entire probable output in the United States this season.

Among the Chicago concerns is the largest single manufactory of wheels in the world. Its output is variously rated at from 40,000 to 60,000 finished machines. Close behind it comes another Chicago concern, making 30,000 wheels. Tied for third place are two other factories each building 20,000.

Referee & Cycle Trade Journal, May 14, 1896

Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1896

BICYCLES AND JACKSON STREET
Boodle Aldermen are seeking to sell to a street railroad corporation the only free east-and-west street left which traverses the business district and which can be used for bicycle and social travel by residents of the West and South Divisions or by other Chicagoans. How much boodlers are to get for their corrupt votes is not publicly known. Some of thom may receive as much as two or three thousand dollars. The cheaper ones may have sold their votes and their constituents for ten to twelve hundred apiece.

But the value to the people of what these corrupt rascals propose to give away to a grasping corporation is inestimable. It can hardly be measured by millions. When Chicagoans once come to understand what the effect would be of the passage of the “Central Electrie” Jackson street ordinance over a veto of Mayor Swift they will mark for political death every man who may have had anything to do with it.

One street after another in the heart of the city has been sold to the railroad companies. At present the only street connecting the South and West Side Park systems which can be used for social travel is Jackson street. There the tens of thousands of bicyclists can get along safely and comfortably. As long as that street and its wide, splendid bridge remain free and unobstructed the boys and the young men and women who take pleasure in a most healthful and enjoyable form of exercise will have perfect facilities for getting from one park of the great system and city to another.

The bicyclist starting from Garfield or Douglas Park can follow the boulevard streets of the West Side eastward. He can cross the South Branch at the fine Jackson street bridge, and go on, unobstructed by trains of street cars, to Michigan boulevard. There he can turn northward to the Public Library or southward to the Art Institute or Auditorium.

Continuing south along the smooth Michgan boulevard he can reach the South Parks. Then turning eastward to the lake and Jackson Park, westward on the Hyde Park and Lake boulevard, which forms the outside connection of the two park systems, he can complete the grand circuit back to Garfield orto Humboldt Park and return to his starting point. And this grand exercise for tens of thousands of young people!

Take away Jackson street, from Michigan to Canal, including the bridge, and he cannot swing around the grand circle.

Take away Jackson street, from Canal to Michigan, and one side of the loop is gone.

It will not be long before Michigan avenue and the Lake Shore drive to Lincoln Park are connected, so that the wheelmen can go with ease over smooth roads from Evanston to Lincoln Park, thence to the Field Columbian Museum.

But if Jackson street from Canal to Michigan boulevard is sold by the boodle Aldermen to the “Central Electric” the North-Siders must ride to Humboldt Park on a Lake View cross street in visiting West Side parks and then return the way they went. Will any of the North Side Aldermen vote to cut off this connection for the bicyclers via Jackson street and the West Side parks and boulevards?

With Jackson street kept preserved for social and family vehicle use there will be two grand loops for the tens of thousands of wheelmen of all parts of the great city, with one side of each extending through the heart of Chicago.

With Jackson street bartered away for bribes the bicyclists can see where they will be. The immense West Division will be pretty much cut off from the others.

The numberof wheelmen in this city must already exceed 100.000. There are multitudes of thousands of them who are voters now and are able to strike a blow at the at the treacherous boodlers who have sold out the people s social rights in this city. There are many tens of thousands more who are not voters yet, but who wlil soon be. There Is not a ward in this city which has not bicyclist voters enough to destroy any Alderman who sells out the rights of the bicyclers in this vital connecting street.

Chicago Tribune, April 2, 1897

Harrison a Long-Time Wheelman.
Candidate Harrison has long been a bicycle rider. He rode a great deal last year. Altogether he made over 4,400 miles and covered twelve centuries. In fact, he is almost as enthusiastic a cyclist as his brother, William Preston Harrison, who only left traveling in Europe on a wheel to come home and take part in the political campaign. Mr. Harrison wears the regulation suit. He donned it especially when he had his picture taken last week for the occasion.

Chicago Chronicle, April 18, 1897

There are more than 1,500 idle blacksmiths and horseshoers in Chicago who attribute their lack of profitable work to the advent of the bicycle. That is the estimate given by the secretary of the Horseshoers’ union, and he has good opportunities of ascertaining whereof he affirms. Not only are these men out of work, but there is little prospect that they will obtain employment for a long time to come. For the most part they are good mechanics, expert in shoeing horses and in the manufacture and repairing of carriages of every description. They are sober and would be industrious if they had the chance. A majority have families dependent upon them for support—aged parents, younger brothers and sisters or wives and children. When they had learned their trade they fancied they were secure against poverty and that as long as health and strength remained they would be able to earn a comfortable living for themselves and their loved ones and lay by a small sum yearly for use in the days when age or infirmity should overtake them. But now, through no fault of their own, they are threatened with want and are compelled to idle away their time as best they can, while their small savings are growing less day by day. They are as competent as ever and can shoe a refractory horse or make the necessary repairs upon a carriage or buggy as skillfully as ever before in their lives. But there are few horses to shoe nowadays and the vehicles that remain in use require less tinkering, for they are not used as much as formerly, and require fewer repairs.

Charged to the Bicycle.
The woes of these artisans are directly traceable to the use of the bicycle. Thousands of young men who in former days were wont to take their best girls on a buggy ride on Sundays, holidays or of a pleasant evening have abandoned the practice. Instead they take a spin over the boulevards mounted on their two-wheeled steeds, either tandem or in pairs. They save money by the change, for they have no livery bills to pay and reck not that the liveryman has been obliged to sell half his stock and seldom has a call for that which remains. Citizens generally who once kept a stable of from two to a dozen horses, with equipages of various sorts, now find that one or two will be sufficient for their needs, for the sons and daughters of the household, and frequently the fathers and mothers and the grandfathers and grandmothers as well, have taken to the wheel as a means of recreation and exercise.

There has not been much diminution in the work of the downtown horseshoeing and wagon repairing shops; scarcely any in the shops owned or controlled by the express and omnibus companies and the leading wholesale houses. A few of the retail merchants have utilized the bicycle for the delivery of small parcels to their customers, and have thus been enabled to dispense with some of their delivery wagons, but as yet the horse has not outlived his usefulness in their service. It is in the residence districts that the bicycle is most in evidence, has got in its most deadly work and has driven the neighboring blacksmith and horseshoer to the verge of bankruptcy and despair. Hyde Park, Englewood, Auburn Park and Woodlawn a score of blacksmith shops have been closed, while many others are kept open merely as a matter of form. The forges, however, cast a less ruddy and more spasmodic glow. than was their wont three or our years ago, and “the boss” himself has taken his place at the anvil. He has fewer journeymen to look after and less work to oversee than he once had, and is looking forward to the advent of the horseless carriage as an event that will complete his ruin.

A Story of Adversity.
A horseshoer in State street who employed more than a dozen men three years ago and had all the work they could do was found yesterday plying his hammer vigorously on an old horseshoe. He paused a moment, wiped the perspiration from his sooty brow and said in a tone of sadness:

“Yes, the bicycles have played the mischief with my business. I used to take in $250 to $300 a week. Now I’m in great luck if I reach $100. I’ve got to do a good deal of work myself in order to meet expenses, for although business has fallen off rents and taxes are the same or greater. I have been living in the hope that the bicycle craze would expend itself and that people would return to their senses. But it seems a hopeless case. Everybody has gone clear crazy over wheels. I really believe the majority have wheels in their heads.

“What do I think of the horseless carriage? Well, it hasn’t got here yet, and I don’t believe it’s coming. But if it should be a success I suppose I’ll have to take my medicine with the rest. It can’t make business much worse than it is. I’m looking into the new machines, and if they are ever generally introduced I predict that there will be lots of accidents—oceans of collisions and breakdowns, which will make work for me. I’d as soon mend a carriage broken by electricity as one smashed by a runaway horse. And I’m going to be up to all the wrinkles when the time comes, if it ever does reach us. But I’m not going to fight windmills; I’ve got enough to do now in fighting to keep pace with the bicycle fever. That’s the only thing worrying me at present. If the mania continues I’ll have to put out a sign ‘Bicycle Tires Inflated Here’ and use my bellows for a pump.”

Having a Hard Struggle.
Three out of the seven forges in a West Lake street blacksmith shop were “dead” when The Chronicle man stepped in at the door. The proprietor, a picture of Vulcan himself, stalwart and muscular, looked moody as he surveyed his surroundings.

“Yes,” he said, with a sigh, “business is dull, and the worst of it is the dull season has only begun. People had to have their horses and buggies when the snow was on the ground, but now that pleasant weather has come I suppose they’ll take to their wheels again. It takes a mighty good man to make expenses in this business nowadays. so many people have sold their rigs and taken to the wheel. No; we get very little bicycle repairing to do. That’s a separate trade, and there are others to do the work. A blacksmith isn’t a success at tinkering bicycles. It isn’t in his line.

“The greatest falling off in my business, he continued, “is in the family trade. Two years ago I had fifty families at least, with from one to three horses each to keep shod, and buggies to keep in repair. I have less than half that number now. All the rest have sold their rigs and invested in wheels. But I am no worse off than my neighbors except that my investments in my business are a little larger. horseless carriages? Well, I suppose they’ll be the next thing to help along the work of driving us out of business. The way things are going is enough to drive a fellow to drink. But I don’t intend to quit the business; I can’t, in fact, for I don’t knew any other, and am forced to struggle along as best I can. It won’t do any good to kick, and so I’ll have to take things as they come.”

Heavy Teaming Not Affected.
At the shops of the express companies, the omnibus lines, and the leading wholesale dealers the customary activity was apparent. The superintendent of one of the largest of these establishments responded in cheerful mood to the reporters inquiries.

“The bicycle mania hasn’t hurt us any as yet, and I don’t see how it can. The large houses must have teams, and heavy ones at that. You can’t use bicycles for teaming heavy goods. The strongest, and largest draught horses in the market are required. We are not fretting, either, about the horseless carriages. They won’t affect us even a little bit. I tell you there’s nothing like horseflesh. It’s both convenient and economical. You can’t supersede it, at least for teaming purposes, unless you have straight, smooth roads, unobstructed by car tracks. Of course, I may live to see the horseless carriage on the boulevards used for purposes of pleasure, but for business in the heart of the city the horse will hold his own.

“Are we busy? Well, I should say so—busier than ever. You see a set of shoes doesn’t last long on granite block pavements such as we have downtown. Our horses have to be shod twice as often as formerly. They need the strictest care, for they are no ordinary plugs. It means a considerable loss when one of our animals goes lame or breaks a leg because of defective shoeing. We employ only the most skillful shoers, and as long as they are sober and attend to business they are sure of a job. Bicycles may have hurt the trade in some classes of work, but they have had no effect here, and I don’t see how they can hurt us if every man, woman and child in the city should get a wheel”.

The keepers of livery tables and the cab drivers are the loudest in their complaints of ruin to their business caused by the bicycle. The demand for the conveyances they have for hire has fallen off from 50 to 75 per cent, and seems to be still decreasing. Boarding stable keepers are also complaining of a decrease in patronage, and they see no immediate prospect of an improvement. But the classes that have suffered the most are the blacksmith, the wheelwright and the carriage-maker and repairer. These have been compelled to curtail expenses by reducing the number of employes, while not a few have been forced out of business altogether.

Chicago Tribune, May 30, 1897

Woolen sweaters and red and green clocked stockings are no longer en regle in the big wholesale houses clustered around Adams and Franklin streets, and the salesmen and bookkeepers do not push their wheels between bales of prints and stacks of white goods. These establishments do not discourage the use of the wheel, but when it comes to appearing for work in short breeches the managers interpose an emphatic veto.

The new regime was not thoroughly established at Marshall Field & Co.”s until three young men were sent home to dress again a short time ago.

The bicycle craze has run the usual course in this district. At first the riders were few and the number of those who were willing to risk their lives and limbs in the downtown district was comparatively small. Their employers were disposed to be liberal, and the bikes soon began to find space in odd corners in offices, under stairways, and beside the boilers in the basement.

Inconvenience Increases.
The inconvenience was borne with until the golf craze followed and gave the wheelmen a new garment, which remodeled the old “clips” for the trousers antiquated. Sweaters followed as a matter of course when the riders became imbued with the spirit of the road and declined to allow themselves to be passed by anything except railroad trains without a struggle. White shirts and stiff collars did not look well after exercise of this character.

The Referee Trade Journal, April 1, 1897

Hints Effective in Some Cases.
When the evolution was completed and the salesmen began to arrive for duty clad from head to toe in road costume, hints began to drop that it did not look well for salesmen to wait on costumers dressed in an unusual manner.

“While we are in the bicycle business to a certain extent,” the merchants said, “we also handle dry goods, and do not think all the salesmen ought to advertise one department.”

These hints were effective with some of the wheeling employes, but only partially so with others.

As early as last summer the permissibility of sweaters and Scotch stockings became a question on Fifth avenue, Market and Franklin streets. Drastic measures were not resorted to, and after a time first knee breeches and then sweaters made their reappearance from time to time until cold weather.

At the beginning of this season the number of wheelmen was found to be nearly doubled and the interference with business occasioned by the accumulating wheels and abbreviated costumes was sensibly felt. More emphatic hints were dropped on the subject, followed later by warnings.

Three Clerks Sent Home.
“If you have on bike clothes again you will not be admitted to the house,” was a final warning directed by Joseph Girard, usher in Marshal Field & Co.’s place, to the more persistent offenders.

One day three young salesmen who have been leaving their wheels and “bike” clothes at a friendly “bike” stable tarried on the road longer than they thought and had no time to make the change. They determined to run the gantlet. One by one they passed Mr. Girard’s desk and they were sent back home. Since then long trousers and white shirts have had exclusive possession of the field.

Another edict was issued in this establishment four weeks ago. It forbids wheelmen from bringing their machines into the store. They had been allowed to store them where they could find space for them and were accustomed to roll them in and out the main entrance. Sometimes they were muddy and women came to grief on their account., especially at noon and at the closing hour. Now the cyclists must find storage elsewhere. A Quincy street restaurant has set the pace by giving free storage.

Rules at Other Stores.
Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. had a somewhat similar experience with cycling costumes. They never allowed wheels to be stored on the premises.

The John V. Farwell company has set apart a room in the basement, with an entrance on the alley, for the use of the wheelmen. They furnished it themselves and employ one of the porters to take care of the wheels. The man arrives half an hour before working hours and is on hand at noon until all the wheelmen are gone in the evening to check the vehicles in and out. At present none of the salesman in this house appears in bicycle costume, though some of those in the clerical departments who do not come in contact with customers and the general public perform their duties dressed for the road, especially on Saturday, and nothing is said about it

Chicago Tribune, September 1, 1899

FINALLY FORM BICYCLE TRUST.
New Corporation as Completed Includes Nine Chicago Firms and Has $30,000,000 Capital.
New York, Aug. 31.—[Special.]—The bicycle trust, which has been in process of formation for two years, was finally completed today by the election of the following officers and directors:

The other members of the Board of Directors which will consist of fifteen will be elected at a subsequent meeting.

The title of the new trust will be the American Bicycle Company.

Chicago Concerns Involved.
The concerns that have been purchased and have become part of the company include the following from Chicago:

Other Companies Purchased.
The other concerns that have been purchased are the following:

For the purchase of these various plants there will be issued $10,000,000 5 per cent twenty-year gold debenture bonds; $10,000,000 7 per cent preferred stock, and $20,000,000 common stock, leaving in the treasury ample means for the purchase of such additional plants as may be desirable and for the extension of the business, especially in foreign countries.

The manufacturers have taken all the $10,000,000 preferred stock and the $20,000,000 common stock, and have subscribed for a substantial part of the debenture bonds.

Chicago Tribune April 10, 1900

DECLINE OF THE BICYCLE CRAZE.
Railroad men are congratulating themselves on the decline of bicycling as a fashionable fad. They confess that in the last four or five years the passion for bicycle touring has seriously curtailed their receipts. especially in their summer resort traffic. The general passenger agent of a Chicago—Wisconsin system says the wheel has been costing his line thousands of dollars every season, but he believes that there will be less country touring on wheels this summer and that his road will no longer be troubled with empty trains from this cause.

This official is probably correct in his belief that “the bicycle as a fad died,” but it is also probably true that there will be more wheels in use this than ever before. Bicycle stores are already crowded with anxious customers seeking repairs for their old or new wheels. The wheel has lost none of its popularity, but its vogue has shifted to another social class. Apparently it is no longer so much “the thing ” in fashionable circles to ride the wheel. Perhaps the automobile is to be the new fad among the comparatively wealthy. The craze for bicycle clubs and for century runs has also abated, and the humped-back scorcher has lost whatever caste he may once have had. Country touring among men in the social swim has probably abated, and the railroad managers are right in surmising that their moneyed patrons are again in a mood to pay carfare.

Nevertheless, it would be an error to imagine that there will be less wheel riding than before. The wheel has come to stay amd the change only placed it on a more solid and legitimate basis. The people who are now riding or preparing to ride the wheel are doing so not because a fad of fashion has decreed it but because they find pleasure, health, or profit in so doing. The great bulk of the riders are people of moderate means, who find the wheel a valuable and fascinating means for getting fresh air and a glimpse of the country without much expense. The bicycle manufacturers have wisely sought and secured the patronage of this great public by making wheels at reasonable prices. In spite of the doubling of prices of steel, the best of last year’s model are now built and sold for $5 less a year ago. The bicycle is now practically within reach of everybody, and, while the change in its clientele may benefit the railroads, it is likely to be felt adversely by the street car companies.

The men and women of all classes of society who have any independence and who like wheel riding for its own sake vill continue to indulge in this fine and healthful modern sport, both in the city and in the .country. These are not the “scorchers,” and all true lovers of the wheel will probably be as glad as the railroad men that the fashionable craze among the intemperate has waned.

Chicago Tribune, September 4, 1902

With the collapse of the American Bicycle company, which has asked for the appointment of a receiver in New York, the finale can be written of the most remarkable fad the country has ever known.

Commercial recognition of the wane of the cycling craze was the last to come. Cyclists themselves cast aside their wheels and wrote epitaphs two years ago, but manufacturers and retailers clung to the hope that business uses would stimulate the demand after the sport had died.

Various reasons for the puncturing of the bicycle trust are urged by bicycle dealers—all reasons except the essential one—the main output of the companies whose stock it held was unmarketable. Automobiles and even street sweepers are blamed for the collapse. Dealers assert that the company lost money branching out into the manufacture of these articles.

There still is a market for the bicycle, the dealers say, yet figures show that sales have fallen off more than 80 per cent in the last three years.

Greatest of All Crazes.
No sport ever became a mania of the proportions of cycling. Six years ago wheelmen were a guild with political power. In some cases they dictated legislation. They were responsible for road improvement. They started in the fave of opposition and fought their way against prejudices. They became so strong numerically that politicians began to play to them for their support. They forced recognition to their rights in the roads. Their races became events of the year. Their clubhouses were costly, their organizations highly perfected, and the optimistic could see no end to the career of the bicycle.

But with a suddenness as sensational as the growth of the fad, the bottom dropped out of it.

Six years ago the main boulevards were so covered with wheels that it was almost worth a pedestrian’s life to attempt to cross them. Yesterday one could have crossed and recrossed Michigan boulevard without seeing a bicycle.

Figures Show Growth and Fall.
The statistics of the fad speak for themselves. In 1898 the Illinois Cycling club, said to be the largest in the world, had 820 members. In 1899 it had 180, and shortly afterwards was disbanded. In 1898 the organization had a $45,000 clubhouse and the next year it was out of existence.

Illinois was represented in the League of American Wheelmen with 4,500 members. A report of that organization now shows fifty-five members from the state. New York had more than 27,000 members in the league. The state now has less than 2,000.

A man who was president of one of the big cycling clubs said:

I have seven wheels in the basement of my residence. Many of them are as good as new, but I have no use for them.

During the height of the fad a census of wheelmen was taken in Chicago by representatives of cycling societies. There was no infallible method of making the count, but the wheelmen systematized it as well as they could. At the end of the season it was estimated that there were between 200,000 and 300,000 wheelmen in this city alone.

Races Like a Derby.
In 1894, 1895, and 1896 the great yearly event of western wheelmen, the Chicago road race, bid fair to eclipse any sporting event in the country. As high as 506 contestants started in one of these races and the spectators were in uncounted thousands. Not even the American Derby has aroused more interest that was displayed in these road races.

An illustration of popularity of the sport can be found in the fact that on the occasion of the election of a president of the Illinois cycling club extras were printed by the morning papers the count having extended until late in the morning.

Lakeview Bicycle Cub, Orchard Street, 1890

City Full of Clubs.
Other clubs had the same experience as the Illinois. During the height of the fad any number of clubs had a membership of 500 and over. Among them were the Chicago Cycling club, the Lake View Cycling club, the Thistle Cycling club, the Woodlawn Cycling club, the Lincoln Cycling club, and the Minnette, Monitor, and Garden City clubs.

At one time the Associated Cycling clubs had a total membership of 11,000. The association recognized only such clubs as had leased quarters. Another association had a still larger membership, with 15,000 wheelmen enrolled.

Campaign Work by Wheel.
When cyclists became a political power Mayor Harrison became the “Cyclists’ Champion.” The mayor is one of the few who have not given up the sport, and considerable of his leisure time in Chicago is spent on his wheel. On one occasion Granville Browning, then running for judge, made the round of thirty-seven clubs in one day, starting early in the morning and closing at midnight.

The L.A.W. as the national organization of the wheelmen was highly perfected. New York and Pennsylvania were fighting for first honors in the league, both having over 27,000 members, and New York leading by a few. Massachusetts had 14,000 members enrolled.

A number of publications were devoted to the interests of the sport, the Referee and the Bearings in Chicago.

Can’t Explain the Collapse.
Even now the wheelmen cannot account for the decline of the sport. They do not know what it is that prompted them to put their bicycles in the basement and leave them there.

William H. Arthur, a former president of the Illinois Cycling club said:

So far as the women are concerned, it is another proposition. It became so that a woman on a bicycle was regarded as one who could be flirted with, and that killed wheeling for most of the women cyclists. But that would not account for the men putting aside their machines.

One element that detracted from the popularity of the sport was the rowdies. They would go on country runs and insist on storming hotels and eating in their sweaters. There were objectionable, but not enough so to actually kill cycling.

Fad Productive of Fortunes.
Manufacturers and retailers made fortunes out of the fad. The wiser saw that a crash was coming and retired with their millions. The sport had run its unprecedented course and when the first of a decline was observed the men who had worked up the business at the start got “from under” and left the late comer in the field to stand the brunt.

In Chicago it is even now maintained that the collapse of the American Cycle company, which was built up by A. G. Spalding and James A. Hart of Chicago, will not affect the trade, and that the business will continue under receivership just as it has before. At the local retail headquarters of the company this was asserted.

Chicago Tribune July 17, 1904

The invulnerable law of cause and effect offers a logical though Indefinite explanation of the success of scores of business enterprises which, though money making ventures today, looked like hopeless wrecks a few years ago. This statement applies particularly to the automobile industry with its countless tributaries, There are perhaps more vi,ctims of circumstances in the automobile business today than in any other one line conspicuous by reason of its popularity with the general public, Whatever else may be said about the automobile, however much it may grate upon the sensibilities of the plodding pedestrian or offend the dignity of the adamant park policeman it must be given the credit for having come to the relief of a great number of stagnant and dying industries, infusing them with new life.

It is estimated that fully 80 per Cent of the engaged In the automobile busines, or the many side lines that go to make it, were following the fate of the bicycle during the days of the wheel. This does not apply alone to dealers, but to manufacturers. both of the automobile as a whole and its composite parts. Practically every big concern which came to the fore when bIcycles were high in favor has turned its machinery to the manufacture of automobiles. Many of them continue to manufacture wheels, but the tourIng car or the runabout stands far to the front, and the bicycle, once a leader, occupies tho position of a side line. As a matter of fact the automobIle was the saving factor in the of the manufacturer, agent, and salesman. The lInes naturally call for something of the same energy and the and for this reason the automobile opened an avenue to the dealer in bicycles just at a time when it began to look as though he was down and out.

Take a walk Chicago’s automobile center, down Michigan avenue from Twelfth to Sixteenth, and you will observe on the shop windows the names of dozens of men who were as conspicuously with the bicycle trade a year ago. They were naturally buffeted into the automobile business. The new industry came at a time when the bicycle was a dead issue. It had outlived its usefulness so far as the fad loving, novelty seeking American public was concerned. Men who had their invested in bicycle machinery and material naturally looked with alarm upon the situation and were at a loss which way to turn until the automobile began to take hold of the public. Then the problem solved itself and made producers out of bicycle dealers.

Thomas B. Jeffrey’s Rambler was introduced in the 1902 Automobile Show. The Rambler was the most popular auto developed in Chicago. More than 4.2 million were sold between 1902 and their discontinuance in 1969 by the successor American Motors Corporation. As the twentieth century ended, the Rambler factory in Kenosha was used to build engines for Chrysler Corporation autos.

In considering new industries opened up by the progressive strides of the automobile, which has become of such general use as no longer to belong to the classification of novelties, the rejuvenation of old industries to rank first in the matter of importance. This is true because the craze came to the rescue of men who already had their money invested in a industry and who were unable to stem the tide of public fickleness for a pastime of which it had grown tired. It was only natural that the bicycle industry should become affiliated with with the production of automobiles and it was also natural that the men who followed the fortunes of the wheel should become the first and most ardent exponents of the touring car.

The prevalence of bicycle men in the automobile business is manifest in every branch of the trade from the big manufacturer down to the small machinist whose convenient shop used to be the boon of unlucky wheelmen. Where in years gone by we saw the bicycle repair shop we now find the garage, which may be small for the accommodation of a few machines or large and pretentious, embodying all sorts of conveniences for the automobilist. The garage is one of the really important industries made possible, in fact a necessity, by the automobile. There are scores of these stabling scattered about Chicago. They have sprung up on all sides of the city within the last two years. The man who owns an automobile pays so a month to have his machine stabled and taken care of. The garage is so essentially indispensable that it is sure to develop into one of the most inclusive industries developed by the automobile.

Perhaps no of class of manufacturers profited more handsomely by the advent of the automobile, than the big rubber concerns where tires are made. The passing of the bicycle was in reality a good thing for them, because It opened a field far more extensive and embracing much greater possibilIties. The automobile tire Is one of the really important features of the machIne. It must be strong and of high grade. For this reason there Is every chance for the manufacturer to produce expert workmanship, a condition not always possible in the small, light tire used on the bicycle.

Just as the automobile revived the business of the bicycle dealer, so did it affect the tire maker. The large concerns which practically controlled the tire output during the days of the wheel found themselves wIth little outlet for their product after the decline of the bicycle. Then came the breath of the automobile craze, and with common instinct they shifted the character of their output until today the firms which supplied most of the bicycle tires occupy the same position in relation to the automobile.

After the automobile as a pIece of machinery in form is discussed, the business becomes largely a matter of incidentals, with an innumerable of numbers of angles. The fad lies opened up an entirely new avenue to the small machinist, who finds a shop along some much frequented highway a paying proposition. Then It has developed the chauffeur, the much abused individual who operates the steering gear and is supposed to regard all speed laws and regulations with absolute disdain. The chauffeur is in reality a luxury. but he goes well with the automobIle.

It has been pointed out by real estate men that among the industries developed by the automobile the opening of land tracts at distant from the city must not be overlooked. They say that the practical elimination of distance makes outlying property more likable to men who own machines and that they have felt the effect of the automobile in numerous ways.

So it is with the manufacturer of of all sorts, from big lens equipped gas to the small oil light. Every automobile carry lights after dark. Some of thens carry five or six, and this has a tendency to make the lighting branch of thie automobile industry an important one. Several manufacturing firms have sprung up, the sole output of which is automobile lamps.

On down the list of incidentals identified with the automobile industry any number of articles will be found, each of which represents is practically a new industry or the development of an old one. Manufacturers of men’s and women’s clothing have kept pace with evolution and have found garments for a profitable addition to their stocks.

Inter Ocean, December 1, 1907

Judging from the number of Christmas bicycles that have been sold for the past few years, one might imagine that our climate is changing, and what once was regarded solely as a summer sport, has, unaccountably, wandered into other portions of the calendar.

But the fact is, there is scarcely a week in the year, even in the most northerly tier of states, when a bicycle cannot be used to good advantage, and perhaps grown folks had to wait until more youthful riders proved the case. However that may be, it is certainly true that all the year ’round riding is decidedly more common in these days, and a bicycle at Christmas time is now regarded as a most appropriate—and even timely—gift.

Riders of tender years are not worried greatly concerning fads and fashions. They know in their honest young hearts that a bicycle is a possession to be enjoyed and cherished. And they accept it for the good it can give, and think no more about it.

That is the reason, no doubt, that where one wheel was sold at Christmas time a few years ago, hundeds are sold today.

But there has been a great change for the better, even in juvenile wheels. While it was once thought, apparently, that any sort of bicycle would do, if it were to go to a youthful rider, makers with good judgement now realize that a wheel that must carry a youngster with safety, must be the equal in every particular of whose made for adults. And this is the case with the product of many manufactories today. In fact, makers take care to explain that their juvenile wheels, in material, workmanship and equipment, be as good or better than those intended for stronger and more experienced riders.

In this connection, it is only just to say that there seems to be no longer a division of the year into seasons for adult wheelmen. All the months are about the same to them, now-a-days. The bicycle plays so important a part of everyday life, is so great an economizer of money and time, and pays such royal dividends in health, digestion and good humor, that its devotees snap their fingers at fashion—or rather, are bringing fashion to the wheel again.

Those who have not paid any special attention to the remarkable renewal of interest in wheeling during the past half decade, will be astonished to know how the production of bicycles, both iun this country and abroad, is increasing. In 1904 the output in America was conservatively estimated at 200,000 bicycles, and this doubtless marked extreme ebb tide in the industry. Certainly the figures were lower than they had been since the early nineties. The increase in 1905 was, approximately, 100,000 wheels, and this was more than doubled in 1906, when the total production was put at half a million. The aggregate for 1907 is said to have reached 750,000, and a leading maker has just announced that the American production of bicycles for 1908 will reach a round million!

And after all, why not? The wheel of today is a vastly better machine than its predecessor of a dozen years ago, costs less money and with the modern accessory, the coaster brake, has actually more basis for popularity.

So, when all has been said, there are plenty of reasons for adding bicycles, both juvenile and adult, to your Christmas list. You will be in good company, for the Christmas sales this year, if one may judge from the forecasts of the dealers, are likely to break all records.

The Inter Ocean, August 29, 1910

The Passing of the Bicycle.
In 1897 there were exported from the United States bicycles and bicycle parts to the value of $7,005,323. During the fiscal year which ended June 30 last we exported only $620,760 worth of bicycles, complete and in part.

These figures strikingly illustrate the fickleness of public fancy. A generation ago nearly everybody “rode a wheel.” Children raced to school on their “bikes,” clergymen sedately pedaled to their churches, doctors went swiftly on their errands of mercy and business men of all classes rode their wheels in preference to street cars and horse-drawn vehicles.

Useful as it was for other purposes, perhaps the greatest good of the bicycle was in its adaptability as a pleasure vehicle. It enabled persons of all classes to travel quickly and cheaply during an idle hour or day. It took the flat-dweller of the noisy, crowded city out to the quiet and beauty of the country. On Sundays and holidays there were almost unending processions of bicycles on the thoroughfares leading to the suburbs and outlying territory.

Such trips undoubtedly made thousands of people change from city to suburban and country homes, and lengthened their lives by making them healthier and happier. The learned the joys of “simple life” more than compensated for the attractions of the city.

The bicycle was the advance guard of the automobile. It educated the public to the charms of travel in our highways and byways. Incidentally, it gave great impetus to a plan for the general improvement of public thoroughfares in city, town and country. The automobile simply could not have its present popularity had it arrived with our roads generally in the conditions in which the pioneer bicyclists found them.

In one respect the superseding of the bicycle by the automobile is to be regretted. The bicyclist was compelled to take healthy exercise. Every trip helped to develop his lungs and muscles. The automobile is a more social institution, but tends to promote a love of ease rather than physical development. Still, it must be admitted that even the “bicycle built for two” was not adapted to conversational pleasure.

In view of the fact that the bicycle today costs only a fraction of what it did at the height of its popularity, its passing seems strange. In practically every country on the globe its sales have been decreasing since 1897, judging by the experts from this country. In that year we exported $2,375,000 worth to Great Britain, and only $126,000 worth last year. Germany paid us over $1,00,000 for bicycles in 1897, but only $14,000 the past year. The “bicycle craze” reached its height in Japan in 1904, when we sold her $426,000 worth. Last year she bought only $21,000 worth. Cuba is the only nation showing an increase in recent years in the number of bicycles used, but even there it is losing ground. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1908, we sold there $43,000 worth of bicycles, but last year she bought from us only half as many.

The whole world owes a debt of gratitude to the bicycle and its passing is to be regretted.

Chicago Daily News, June 15, 1915

Rail Strike Solution

NOTES:

¹ The Referee and Cycle Trade Journal was published in Chicago from 1892-1897.