Wacker
Drive & Wabash Avenue in the mid 1930's
Copyright 2005
David R. Phillps
In 1925 the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company
worked at the intersection of South Water Street and
Wabash Avenue to create the bi-level Wacker Drive.
In 1909, architects
Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett drew up a plan
for the Commercial Club of Chicago to unify the
city's urban design and increase its physical
beautification. The improvement of traffic flow in
Chicago was a major part of the plan. Among its many
recommendations was a double-decked roadway along
the river, intended to relieve the congestion at
River Street and Rush Street, where 50% of the
city's north–south traffic crossed the Chicago
River. Charles H. Wacker, chairman of the Chicago
Plan Commission, pushed the idea.
All three levels of
Wacker Drive, east of Columbus Drive, including a
ramp between the upper and lower (middle) levels
Wacker Drive to the left of the Chicago River. The
original double-decker road, replacing South Water
and River Streets, was completed in 1926 at a cost
of $8 million and named after Charles Wacker. The
1926 section stretched from Lake Street to Michigan
Avenue, the latter of which was also rebuilt into a
two-level road.
An extension south to
Congress Parkway and Harrison Street was built
between 1948 and 1954, replacing Market Street
(after the Market Stub of the elevated Lake Street
Line was removed).[3] Extensions east were built in
1963 and 1975, with the latter taking it to Lake
Shore Drive, and a new lower level starting at
Stetson Avenue. At the time, Lake Shore Drive had an
S-curve at the river, running where Wacker now does
between Field Boulevard and current Lake Shore
Drive. This S-curve was on a viaduct over the
Illinois Central Railroad's rail yard, and was at
the level of Upper Wacker; the middle and lower
levels dead-ended at that point. The current
alignment of Lake Shore Drive was finished in 1986,
and in 1987 Middle Wacker was extended to meet the
new alignment. The ramps to bring upper traffic down
had already been built; upper has been dead-ended
where it used to end at Lake Shore Drive.
Logo for the 2001-2002
projectIn 2001-2002, Wacker Drive was redesigned and
reconstructed between Michigan Avenue and Randolph
Street. The original upper deck was crumbling, and
the entire roadway did not meet modern standards for
road widths and clearances. Using a
specially-developed "flat-slab, longitudinally
post-tensioned, reinforced, high-performance
concrete cast-in-place system," the new road deck
was expected to have a lifespan of 75–100 years.
Walkways along the river were meant to make the
drive more pedestrian-friendly, while restoration of
historic limestone elements and reproduction
lighting evoked the drive's original 1926
appearance. The 20-month, $200-million project was
completed on time and within budget.
In spring of 2010, work
commenced on rebuilding the north-south section of
Wacker, from Randolph Street to Congress Parkway,
including the upper and lower levels. This is a
continuation of the Revive Wacker Drive project
started in 2001.
Wacker is the only
street to cross both State Street (the east–west
center line) and Madison Street (the north–south
center line).
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Horse drawn fire truck on Michigan Avenue mid 1920's
Copyright 2005 David R. Phillps
In 1833 when Chicago was incorporated as a
town, it was protected from fire by a company called the "Washington
Volunteers." During this year the first fire ordinance was passed making
Fire Warden Benjamin Jones responsible for monthly inspection of all
buildings to insure that no stovepipes passed through any roof,
partition, or wall of a building unless guarded by tin or iron six
inches from the wood. A fine of five dollars could be levied for any
violation of the law, the fine to be repeated if the cause of complaint
was not removed within 48 hours. The following year the town was divided
into four wards, and in each a warden was appointed to make a monthly
inspection to ensure compliance with the ordinance. In case of fire, the
wardens had the power to call on citizens or bystanders to assist in
putting out the blaze.
The fire-bucket ordinance of 1835 required
every occupant or owner of a store or dwelling "to have one good painted
leather fire-bucket, with the initials of the owner's name painted
thereon" for each fireplace or stove in the building, the bucket to be
hung within easy reach. Thus the Fire Department and Bureau of Fire
Prevention had their start. The engine house was on LaSalle Street where
City Hall now stands, and covered an area of twelve by twenty-four feet
which contained a cistern made of pine lumber large enough to hold two
hogsheads of water. Two hand-engines were used by this early fire
department.
The first paid fire department was
organized on August 2, 1858. Steam engines and a fire-alarm telegraph
system were then purchased for the first time. The hose carts were at
first drawn by men running at top speed, but the engines were drawn by
horses. The first fire-alarm boxes were installed in 1865. The most
destructive fire that Chicago had yet experienced occurred October 19,
1857. Twenty-three lives were lost and property damage was extensive. As
a result of this fire, the Citizens Fire Brigade of Chicago was formed
on November 19, 1857. Consisting of businessmen and insurance companies,
the duties of the brigade were to take valuable goods from burning
buildings and prevent damage by water and thievery. The Fire Insurance
Patrol, organized October 2, 1871, had its beginning in this Citizen's
Fire Brigade.
The great fire of 1871 (October 8) led to a
reorganization of the Fire Department on a military basis. The city was
divided into 18 battalion districts, the companies in each comprising a
battalion, under the charge of an Assistant Fire Marshal or Battalion
Chief.
The fire department stopped using horses
for fire trucks February 5, 1923, with Fire Engine 11, at 10 East Austin
Avenue. Fire alarm box 846 at State and Chicago Avenue was pulled at
12:40 p.m. and with the horses scrubbed and groomed, the old steamer
rolled out of the swinging doors for the last time. While they were gone
the new motor apparatus was backed into place, and the motorization of
the Chicago Fire Department was an accomplished fact. The drivers took a
cheer from the crowd on the return to the firehouse and then the horses
were taken to the House of Correction to be sold.
An important date in the more recent
history of the Fire Department is January 1, 1958, when the Bureau of
Fire Investigation was created. Prior to its inception, the sources of
many of Chicago's fires went undetermined. Knowledge of the causes of
fires has proved to be extremely valuable not only in the prevention of
potential fire, but in aiding insurance companies in their
investigations and increasing the protection of the citizens of Chicago.
All of the personnel assigned to this unit
have completed arson courses at various universities throughout the
country and are thoroughly trained in their respective fields.
Another recent milestone in Chicago Fire
Department history was the construction of the Fire Academy, a $2.5
million Fire Department complex with the most modern training school in
the country. Built on the site of the famous O'Leary home where the
great Chicago Fire of 1871 started, the Fire Academy was dedicated in
May, 1961.
Today the 4,314 firefighters and 619
paramedics of the Fire Department rank among the world's best.
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Night scene of Michigan Avenue in the 1940's
Copyright 2005
David R. Phillps
Chicago nightlife grew rapidly in the wake
of the 1871 fire and then again in conjunction with the 1893 World's
Columbian Exposition. During this period the ragtime dance craze
attracted exposition patrons to the entertainment area on the Near South
Side. This infamous district, known as the Levee, was shut down in 1914
during Mayor Harrison's reform administration, and nightlife
establishments moved out into other areas of the city. Since the early
decades of the twentieth century, nightclubs have been concentrated in
three areas: the Loop (on Randolph Street), the Near North Side (on Rush
Street), and the South Side (at State Street and Garfield Boulevard).
Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Loop
hotels housed nightclubs catering to a general audience and featuring
dancing to big bands, floor shows, and live radio broadcasts These
included the Stevens Hotel's Boulevard Room, the Palmer House Hotel's
Empire Room, and the Sherman Hotel's College Inn–Panther Room. Also
located in or near the Loop were freestanding nightclubs such as Friar's
Inn (343 South Wabash), the Blackhawk Restaurant (139 North Wabash), and
Chez Paree (610 Fairbanks Court).
Located at State Street near Garfield
Boulevard on the South Side, the Club DeLisa was the largest and most
important nightclub in the African American community from the 1930s
through the 1950s. At the Club DeLisa, Chicagoans could hear performers
such as Count Basie and Joe Williams.
Opening in 1907 on the far North Side, the
Green Mill (4802 North Broadway) remains the longest continuously
operating nightclub in Chicago. Performers such as singer/comedian Joe
E. Lewis and vocalists Ruth Etting, Billie Holiday, and Anita O'Day
appeared there in the early stages of their careers.
One of the most exotic and colorful
suburban nightclubs was the Villa Venice (2855 Milwaukee Road) in
Wheeling. Its mobster clientele favored Parisian-style reviews with nude
chorus lines, but they also supported appearances by jazz artists such
as Eddie South and Milt Hinton.
In the western suburb of Lyons, Mangam's
Chateau (7850 Ogden Avenue) offered popular entertainment with an
outdoor dancing and dinner package.
In the southwest suburb of Evergreen Park,
the Martinique (2500 West 95th Street) was a popular restaurant and
floor show venue for the far South Side.
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Chicago Theater - 1940's
Copyright 2005 David R. Phillps
The grandeur of The Chicago Theatre often
leaves its visitors breathless. The elegant lobby, majestic staircase
and beautiful auditorium complete with murals above the stage and on the
ceiling, are components of an amazing building called "the Wonder
Theatre of the World" when it opened on October 26, 1921.
The Chicago Theatre was the first large,
lavish movie palace in America and was the prototype for all others.
This beautiful movie palace was constructed for $4 million by theatre
owners Barney and Abe Balaban and Sam and Morris Katz and designed by
Cornelius and George Rapp. It was the flagship of the Balaban and Katz
theatre chain.
Built in French Baroque style, The Chicago
Theatre's exterior features a miniature replica of Paris' Arc de
Triomphe, sculpted above its State Street marquee. Faced in a glazed,
off-white terra cotta, the triumphal arch is sixty feet wide and six
stories high. Within the arch is a grand window in which is set a large
circular stained-glass panel bearing the coat-of-arms of the Balaban and
Katz chain - two horses holding ribbons of 35-mm film in their mouths.
The grand lobby, modeled after the Royal
Chapel at Versailles, is five stories high and surrounded by gallery
promenades at the mezzanine and balcony levels. The grand staircase is
patterned after that of the Paris Opera House and ascends to the various
levels of the Great Balcony.
The 3,600 seat auditorium is seven stories
high, more than one half of a city block wide, and nearly as long. The
vertical sign "C-H-I-C-A-G-O," at nearly six stories high, is one of the
few such signs in existence today. A symbol of State Street and Chicago,
the sign and marquee are landmarks in themselves, as is the 29-rank
Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ.
Balaban and Katz spared no expense on the
workmanship and materials for this miniature Versailles. Marshall
Field's supplied the drapes, furniture and interior decoration. Victor
Pearlman and Co. designed and built the crystal chandeliers and lavish
bronze light fixtures with Steuben glass shades. The McNulty Brothers'
master craftsmen produced the splendid plaster details and Northwestern
Terra Cotta Company provided the tiles for the facade.
The Chicago Theatre first opened its doors
on October 26, 1921 with Norma Talmadge on screen in "The Sign on the
Door." A 50-piece orchestra performed in the pit and Jesse Crawford
played the mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. After a "white glove
inspection," a staff of 125 ushers welcomed guests who paid 25 cents
until 1 p.m., 35 cents in the afternoon and 50 cents after 6 p.m.
During its first 40 years, The Chicago
Theatre presented the best in live and film entertainment, including
John Phillip Sousa, Duke Ellington, Jack Benny, and Benny Goodman. The
Chicago Theatre was redecorated in preparation for the 1933 Chicago
World's Fair and "modernized" in the 1950s when stage shows, with few
exceptions, were discontinued. In the 1970s, under the ownership of the
Plitt Theatres, The Chicago Theatre was the victim of a complex web of
social and economic factors causing business to sag. It became an ornate
but obsolete movie house, closing on September 19, 1985.
In 1986, Chicago Theatre Restoration
Associates, with assistance from the City of Chicago, bought and saved
the theatre from demolition and began a meticulous nine-month
multi-million dollar restoration undertaken by Chicago architects Daniel
P. Coffey & Associates, Ltd. and interior design consultants A.T.
Heinsbergen & Co. of Los Angeles, interior design consultants. The
Chicago Theatre reopened on September 10, 1986 with a gala performance
by Frank Sinatra.
Since that time, an array of the
entertainment world's brightest stars and greatest productions have
graced the stage, including Allman Brothers Band, Arcade Fire, Blues
Traveler, Kelly Clarkson, Harry Connick Jr, Ellen DeGeneres, Aretha
Franklin, Kathy Griffin, , Gipsy Kings, Indigo Girls, Alicia Keys, David
Letterman, Lyle Lovett, Oasis, Dolly Parton, Prince, Diana Ross, Van
Morrison, Widespread Panic and Robin Williams.
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Chicago Cubs - 1907
Copyright 2005 David R. Phillps
After the formation of the American League,
Al Spalding gave up ownership of the club to concentrate on touring the
country to promote his sporting goods company, selling the team to John
Hart in 1902. Oddly, the team Spalding put together before he left was
one of his grandest accomplishments. Joe Tinker (shortstop), Johnny
Evers (second baseman), and Frank Chance (first baseman) were three
Hall-of-Fame Cubs infielders who played together from 1903 to 1912.
They, along with third baseman Harry Steinfeldt and catcher Johnny
Kling, formed the infield on what would become one of the most dominant
baseball teams of all time.
By 1905 the Cubs were owned by Charles
Murphy, who purchased the franchise for $125,000. Chance took over as
manager for the ailing Frank Selee in that year, and the Cubs responded
by winning four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year
span. Their record of 116 victories (in a 154-game season) in 1906 has
not been broken, though it was tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001 in a
162-game season. The 1906 Cubs still hold the record for best winning
percentage of the modern era, with a .763 mark. However, they lost the
1906 World Series to their crosstown rival White Sox.
The Cubs again relied on dominant pitching
during this period, featuring hurlers such as Mordecai "Three-Finger"
Brown, Jack Taylor, Ed Reulbach, Jack Pfiester and Orval Overall. The
Cubs' pitchers posted a record for lowest staff earned run average that
still stands today. Reulbach threw a one-hitter in the 1906 World
Series, one of a small handful of twirlers to pitch low-hit games in the
post-season. Brown acquired his unique and indelicate nickname from
having lost most of his index finger in farm machinery when he was a
youngster. This gave him the ability to put a natural extra spin on his
pitches, which often frustrated opposing batters.
In 1907, the Cubs won 107 games, dominating
the National League once again. That year they met Ty Cobb and the
Detroit Tigers in the World Series, beating them soundly, 4-1, for the
franchise's first World Series championship. At the time a tie was
replayed the next day from the beginning but counted in the series
score, so officially the series was not a sweep.
On September 23, 1908, the Cubs and New
York Giants, involved in a tight pennant race, were tied in the bottom
of the ninth inning at the Polo Grounds. The Giants had runners of first
and third and two outs when Al Bridwell hit a single to center field,
scoring Moose McCormick from third with the Giants’ apparent winning
run, but the runner on first base, rookie Fred Merkle, went half way to
second and then sprinted to the clubhouse after McCormick touched home
plate. As fans swarmed the field, Evers retrieved the ball and touched
second. Since there were two outs, a forceout was called at second base,
ending the inning and the game. The game went down in history as "Merkle's
Boner". Because of the tie, the Giants and Cubs ended up tied for first
place. The Giants lost the league's first one-game playoff, and the Cubs
went on to the World Series, where they defeated the Tigers once again,
this time four games to one, for their second consecutive World Series
championship.
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