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The Great Chicago Fire
On October 10, 1871, the citizens of Chicago awoke to an unrecognizable landscape: where 48 hours earlier there had been a vibrant city of ornate civic buildings, grand hotels, and cultural institutions, now there was nothing but a smoking pile of rubble that stretched for miles on end. Many wondered: could the city possibly recover? And how did tensions between the city’s elites and the immigrant poor lead to the wrong person being wrongfully accused of starting the blaze? Chicago Stories brings to life this seismic event as never before, using vivid animations, elaborate re-creations, and interviews with noted historians and the descendants of eyewitnesses. The story unfolds through the eyes of people who lived through the fire, including Chicago Tribune publisher William Bross, Mayor Roswell B. Mason, a heroic Board of Trade custodian (and former slave) Joseph Hudlin, and a successful businesswoman named Catherine O’Leary.
