Chicago History | Summer 1987 by Chicago History Museum

CHICAGO HISTORY-

____T_h_e_M _ agazine of the Chicago Historical Socie~- - -

EDITOR

R L-SSELI. LEW IS

Summer 1987 Volum e XVI,

umber 2

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

M Ec M oss ASSISTANT EDITOR

A i.ET\ Z AK EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

CONTENTS

M ARGARET W ELSH

DESIGNER

ASSISI'ANT DESIGNER MI C lll' I.I.E K OCAN

Altgeld the Suffragist SANDRA

PHOTOGRAPHY WII .LI A~I

On the Frontier of Culture SARA HJ M OORE

BILI. V.\N Ni~ l ll'EGEN

D . H ARMON

j ENN INGS

J ANE R rc:,\ N

Doing Time

North Shore: Patron of Ravinia Park

EDITORIAL INTERN CL.\ L'DI ,\ COFFEE

C:op1Tigh1 1988 b1 the Ch icago 11 isloriral Soc iel) C lark Street at '.':o n h Avenue Ch icago, II . 6061 I

MICHAEL

EBNER

DEPART MENTS

ISSi': 0272-85•10 Aniclcs appearing in 1h is journal arc abs1racled and in dc"ed in f-lii/lirirnl Abitracts a nd Aml'rica: I fi1lm)' and Life. ~,iotnoled manusc,-ipt, of the aniclcs appearing in 1his issue arc a,·ailahk in the Chicago l listorica l Soricl) ·s Pub lications Office. C:oH:r: "l-1.ogue.( galll'I)'," r. /890. Adaptrd from original negative in thPJo/iPI l-'li,011 ( '.ollrclum, ( ;1IS Prin/,\ and Plwtogmph1 Co/lertw11 .

3 64

From the Editor Yesterday's City

Chicago Historical Society OFFICERS Philip D. Block III, Chairman Bryan S. Re id ,Jr~, 1i-easurer Philip W. Humme r, Vice-Chairman Mrs. Newton N. Min ow, Secretary Richard H. Needham, Vice-Chairman Stewart S. Dixo n, Immediate Past Chairman Ellsworth H. Brown, President and Director

TRUSTEES Mrs. Brooks McCormick Philip D. Block III Lauren ce Boo th J o hn T McCutcheon,Jr. William J. McDonough Mrs. Pasto ra Sanjuan Cafferty Robe rt Meers Mrs. Emmett Dedmon Mrs. Newton N. Minow Stewart S. Dixon Ri ch ard H. Needham William M. Dra ke Philip W. Humm er Potter Palmer Edgar D. Jannotta Brya n S. Re id , Jr. Philip E. Ke lley Edward Byron Smith,Jr. W. Paul Krauss Dempsey J. Travis Mrs. Abra Prentice Wilkin

LIFE TRUSTEES Cyrus Colte r Andrew McNally III Mrs. Frank D. Mayer Mrs. C. Phillip Miller Gardner H. Stern T heodore Tieken

HONORARY TRUSTEE William C. Bartholomay, President, Chicago Park District Th e Chicago Histori cal Society is a privately endowed institu tion devoted to co ll ecting, preser-ving, and interpreting the history of the city of Chi cago, the state of Illin ois, and selected areas of American history. It must look to its membe rs a nd friends for continu ing financial support. Contributions to th e Society are tax-deductible, and a ppropri ate recognition is accorded major gifts. Membership Membership is open to anyone interested in the Society's goals and activities. Classes of annual membership and clu es are as follows: Indi vidual, $25; Fami ly, 30. Members receil'e the Society's quartedy maga7 ine, Chicago History; a quarterly newsletter, Past-Times; a quarterly Calendar of Events listing Society programs; invitations to special events; free adm issi on to the building at all times; resen•ed seats at films and concerts in our aud itorium; and a 10 perce nt discount on books and other merchandise purchased in the Museum Store . Hours The Muse um is open daily from 9:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.; Sunday from 12:00 i\00~ to 5:00 P.~I. Th e Library and Manuscripts Co llecti on are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 A. \I. to 4:30 P.M. All other research coll ections are open by appo intment. The Society is closed o n Chrisunas, New Year's, and Thanksgiving clays. Education and Public Programs Guided tours, slide lectures, gall ery ta lks, craft demonstntions, and a variety of special programs for all ages, from pre-school through senior citizen, are offered. Admission Fees for Non-members Adu lts, $ 1.50; Ch ildren (6-17), 50¢; Senior Citizens, 50¢. Adm ission is free on Mondays.

Chicago Historical Society

Clark Street at North Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60614

(312) 642-4600

F ROM T HE E DITOR "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are" is an old maxim. Taste in food both sets us apart from each other and binds us together as members of a family, a generation, a cu lture, a nation. We know cities by their food: Buffalo chicken wings, Memphis ribs, Philadelphia steak hoagies, Boston cream pies, Cincinnati five-way chili, Savannah black bottom pies, Manhattan clam chowder, and Chicago deep dish pizza. A recent urvey of popular food products reveals some unusual urban tastes. Salt Lake Citians eat more Cracker Jacks and chew more bubble gum than anyone else in America; Miamians drink more prune juice; the peopl e of Dallas eat more canned pinach ; Pikeville, Kentucky, residents buy more Pepsi-Cola; and ew Yorkers consume Wonder bread in record amounts. In Chicago Twinkies reign supreme. Chicago and Twinkies have a long history together. Jimmy Dewar, an employee of the Continental Baking Company, created the cream-filled sponge cakes here in the 1930s and was inspired , so the story goes, to name them Twinkies after seeing a billboard advertising Twinkle Toe shoes. Not many of us consider history when we think of food. With few exceptions, we know little about the origins of what we eat. The most common argument for explaining different dietary customs is that people like the food they are accustomed to and don't like what is foreign; the local food available thus determines how tastes develop. Clearly this begs the question of how people become accustomed to food in the first place. But it also points to the fact that we distinguish foods by geography rather than history: we eat Japanese, Polish, Mexican, southern, and Chinese food, not medieval, Ming dynasty, and baroque. These are more often used to describe differences in art, philosophy, architecture, and literature. To understand how different culinary tastes have developed, we must first distinguish between hunger, appetite, and eating. Hunger is a basic physiological drive that recurs in animals at regular intervals. Appetite, on the other hand, is a human psychological state; it is an expression of the desire to satisfy the body's hunger according to acquired taste. Eating is socially prescribed behavior. Traditional mealtimes, eating certain foods at set times of the day or the year, what foods are appropriately eaten together, and the mechanics of eating are all learned at a very early age. Hunger is an expression of nature, but appetite and eating are expressions of human culture that reflect particular tastes. Through food we naturalize culture and culturize nature. The tremendous popularity of"natural foods" in the last two decades is a clear example of how food can reveal our cultural perception of nature. But food also tells us much about the structure of our social world, the balance of power between classes, and changes in that structure and balance over time. In Europe especially, class ha had a powerful influence on food. In the middle ages quantity of food denoted social status; the social control of appetite was regulated by the church and the courts through the cycle of fasting and feasting. By the encl of the eighteenth century, food quality replaced quantity as a measure of class, and an elite group of French chefs exerted a culinary hegemony over the upper :rnd middle classes of Europe through the establishment of haute cuisine. Current tastes in food also reflect aspects of ocial structure. lc>clay we are witnessing a renaissance in classic American food-meat loaf, baked macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pies, and potato chips. A few years ago this would have been unthinkable. The so-called yuppie had made eating nouvelle cuisine one of the chief features of their lifestyle. But now they have rediscovered their culinary root . Perhaps it also reflects a desire to shift th e balance of power in society, to close the generation gap that they fought to widen, and to let a yo unge r generation change the world. RL

On the Frontier of Culture by Sarah J. Moore

With art education as a guiding principle, the Central Art Association encouraged the develapment of an American art movement centered in Chicago.

One of th e grea t legacies of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposi1i on was the tremendous enthusiasm it generated for the a rts. The quintessential ce leb ration of America's cultural coming of age, th e world 's fa ir was particularly important for Chi cago and represented the most exuberant manifestation of what novelist Henry Blake Fu ll er later call ed "C hicago's upward movement."The young, energetic city, whi ch in less than fi ve decades had tripled its population and bounced back from a

financially and psychologically devastating conflagration, had achieved phenomenal econom ic and commerc ia l success. Hosting the 1893 world's fair provided Chicago an auspicious opportunity to reveal itse lf as a hu b of artistic cu lture and refinement as well as the home of meat packers and real estate tycoons. "We've made ou r money in pigs," the yo ung George Armo ur, first president of The Art Institute of C hi cago, once said, "b ut is that any reason why we shou ldn't spend it in pictures?" Indeed, a great deal of money was spent as C hi cago, with conspicuous midwestern pragmatism, confidently app lied its successfu l principles of business to cu lture. More than ingenuous optimism a nd a se nse of showmanship, however, fueled upward movement in Chi cago. As host to the World's Co lumbian Expos iti on, a most sterl ing manifestation of the American Rena issance, Chicago align ed itself with the great heritage of Western civilization. As Jackson Park was transformed overn ight from a lakeside plateau to the magnificent beaux-arts White City, so C hi cago became the locus ofnearly instantaneous culture and worldly accomplishment. Young in years, unburdened by tradition and conventionali sm, and rich in ene rgy and resources , Ch icago's cultural pioneers emb raced the future with vigor and confidence. In the spring of 1894, almost a year after t.he opening of the World's Columbian Expos ition, novelist Hamlin Garland, sculptor Lorado Taft, and a group of prominent Chicago businessmen and artists met at The Art Institute of Chicago to in augurate the Central Art Association. Pledging "to encourage the creation and appreciation of native Ame1ican art," their agenda included bringing together existing art societies into more productive re lationships, furnishing traveling exh ibiti ons and lectures at a minimum cost, providing a bureau of criticism Lo help asp iring artists evaluate their own work, and pub lishing a monthly magatine entit.led Arts for America. (The magazine changed its name in February 1896 from The Arts, which had begun publication in the summer of 1894, a few month prior to the official organ ization of the Centra l Art Association.) Arts for America was the association's house organ, articulating its principles and reporting its activities. To promote the

Sarah j. J\loore is a freelance writer living in New York. 5

OCTOBER. 1894.

An Educational Magazine Published Monthly In the Interests of American Art.

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Tiu! October 189-1 iss1li! of The r\ns was //u, fi rst Jmblis!1Rd 1111der tllR a.11s/Jices of the Central Ari Association. One of tilR organiwtio11's /J1-irnaryf111u:tions was encoumging art a/1/Jreciation through ed11catim1.

advancement of general art education, the Central Art Association established ten editorial departments: paiming, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, hisLOrical study, house decoration and industrial an, illu strating and engraving, public schoo l improvement, and traveling exhibitions. The edito1; Mrs. T. Vernette Morse, was an advocate of art education and author of several books on the practical applications of' art. As one might expect, a close re lationship existed between the Central Art Association and The Art institute of Chicago. At the time of the Centra l Art As. ociation's ince ption , the Art [nstitute ,ms both the locus of art in Illinois and an important midll'estern art center; its schoo l rivaled the best 011 either coast. The origins of The Art in stitute of Chicago elate back to the Academy of' Design, organi1.ecl by artists in 1866 as a school and exhibition gallery for its members. B01Tm\'ing the structure of' European art academies, the Academy of Design designated a hierarch)' of mcmbershipAcademician , Associate Academician, and Honorary A cad em ician-a nd emphasi,ed th e study of drall'ing from models of antique sculpture. The venture ll'aS a financial failure, howeve1; and in May 1879, a group of prominent Chicago business leaders ll'as asked to save the 0ou11dering Academy of Design. They elected a ne\\' board and formed a second organi,ation, ll'hich they callccl the Chicago Acad emy or Fine Arts. Three years later. the name 1\'aS changed to The .\rt Institute of Chicago. The leaders hip of Geo rge Armour, E. \'\'. Blatchford, Lrman Gage, and \\'illiam l\1. R. French transfom1ed The An [nstitute of'Chicago from a failing organi7ation into a burgeoning center of art actil'it)', In 1882 it mol'ed from rented quarters at State and :\lonroe streets to l\lichi ga n and Van Buren. Jn 1887 John \\'. Root designed a Romanesque building to hou e th e expanding collection and school. In I89..J- The Art Institute of Chicago took O1·er the bea ux-arts building that had sen·ecl a the Palace of World Congresses during the World's Columbian Exposition . Th e Central Art Association and The An Institute of Chicago shared a co mmitm e nt lo encourage and ach·ance an on a local and national lel'el. More01·er, the boards of' both organizations had se1·eral members in common. Lorado Ta!'t, for example, a leading proponent of municipal art in Chicago, becam e an instructor at the School of

Frontier of Culture

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~,r i a1f:1ii~ Chicago artistsfounded the Chicago Aaulem:y of Design as a sclwol and exhibition gal/el)' in I866. Brush and Pe nci I (below) was one of many magazines published in the city that reflected the cultural vitality of the 1890s.

ARTISTS . ... Who will contribute to

BRUSH

AND

PENCIL

DURING 1 8 0 8 .

Joseph Jefferson, J. H. Vanderpoel, Charles Francis Browne, Kenyon Cox, Frank X. Leyendecker, Frank Holme, Wllliam Schmedtgcn, William M. Chase, Lorado Taft, Blanche Ostertag, Joseph C. Leyendecker, Fred Richardson, John T. Mccutcheon, Harold R.. Heaton, AND OTHERS.

PHILLIPS & COMPANY, Publishers, CHICAGO.

C/asseJ at the Art Institute gr1>w i11crerw11gly po/mlar i11 the 1890s. 0111• a11thor of rm /89./ artic/1• 111 Th e art through 1rulpt11re.

th e Art Institute in 1886. William i\l. R. Fre nch , th e director o f th e School of th e Art In stitute from its ince ption in 1879, brought his expe rie nce in European acad e mi c training to bo th instituti o ns. Painter Ch arl es Fra ncis Browne, wh o \\'role unde r th e pseudonym of "C riti ca l Trium \' ira te" with Loraclo Taft a nd Hamlin Carla nd , ll'as a me mbe r of th e Scho ol o f th e A rt ln stitute's corps o f teac he rs a nd th e fir t edito r o f Brush and Pencil: A11 Illustrated ,\Jagazine of the Arts of Today (Se pte m ber 1897-\lar 1907). Artsfor America ll'as by no mea ns th e onl y magazin e to g ro\\' out o f th e e nthusias m fo r th e an s gene rated by th e \\'o riel's Co lumbia n Ex pos iti o n. In addition to journa ls d ernted exclusi,·e l)' to illustra ting th e expositi o n, such as Halligan'.1 J{{us/raled Worlc/:f Fair and \i\ brld ~ Columbian }):position lllustraled, se ,·e ra l lite r a ry a nd a rti sti c pe riodi ca ls appea red in C hi cago during tJ1i s d ecad e o f e lfconsciou s cosm o po lita nism. Am o ng th e m os t im agin a ti,·e a nd signifi cant \\'as Tlze ClwjJ- Book (May 1894-Jul y 1898), found ed by two Harvard 8

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/llnhrtetl a rnwis.1a11cr 111 ,\ menrrm

und e rg radu ates, He rbe rt Ston e a nd l la nniha l Inga ll s Kimba ll. Oth e r no ta bl e mag,11.ines o f th e pe ri o d in clud e Rw r O'Clock (Fe bru a ry 1897Decembe r 1902) a nd Hlut' Sky ,\lagazine (,\ugust 1899-April 1!)02). \\'hil c a ha ndful o f mod est a rt _j o urn a ls had bee n publi shed in C hi cago pri o r to th e \\'oriel 's fair, th e profu sion o f such a rti sti c maga1in es in th e nin e ti es was in la rge pa rt th e direct res ult o f Chi cago's exa lta ti o n o f th e fin e a rts in 1893 a nd a fte r. Arts/or AmPrica di stingui shed it se lf throu gh it~ hi sto ri ca l pe rspect i, e, its e m p ha~ is o n edu cation , and its atte nti o n to a rt e\'e nt s o utside th e imm ediate circle o f th e fa ii: With a rt edu cati o n as a guiding prin cipl e, tJ1 e Ce ntra l Art Assoc ia ti o n a n d it s pu b li ca ti o n re fl ected th e eage rn ess a nd se ri o usness o f la te nin e tee nth-ce ntury Am e ri ca to learn a bo ut a nd create a rt. lndeed , Aris fo r America e mbraced a reso lute, if no t d ogm ati c, \'i ew a bo ut a rt a nd its re latio nship to th e futu re o f Am e ri ca n cultu ra l e nri chme nt. Th e e lo qu e nt a nd co nvin cing \'Oi ce o f H amlin Garla nd , first pres id e nt o f th e Ce ntra l

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Crowing interest in and ap/1recialion of art were ref/Rcled in lhNlramalic rise m sl1u/ents al the School of //11! Art f11Stitule. In 1880 <mly 200 fwd enrolled; by 1909 more than 3,000 were registered.

Art Association, suffused the pages of Artsfor America for the firsl lwo years, particularly his notion of impressionism and its role in the development of an indigenous American an. The adolescent Midwest, a region relatively free from the restraints of civilization and ties lo the past that encumbered the East, engaged Garland's ,mention . In his novel Crumbling Idols ( 1894), Garland argued that "There are other reasons for the revolt against the domination of the East over the whole nation. New York, like Boston , is too near London. It is no longer American. It is losing contact with the people .... Chicago is much more American. II docs not profess to be exclusive. It professes to be a meeting place." He appealed to western artists to free thcmselve from the constraints of artistic tradition and false values imposed by eastern critical criteria and lo adopt an individual response lo the contemporary environment. Despite Garland's professed midwestern bias, the editorial context of Aris JiJr America was sclf~consciously national, drawing allention to native

subjects and artists regardless of their particular locality. ln the first issue of The Arts as the official publication of the Central An Association (October 1894), the editor asked: \\'hat right have we as Americans to stand idly by and admit we have no an? \,\'here in all this world is there a country with such a cli\'ersity of scenery; Why imitate when the whole country is a live with fresh subjects, ll'hose whole-souled life and hea rty goodll'ill would make our ca nvases glow 1\'ith American life and freedom .... Select yo ur them es among tJ1ose tllat are nearest and clearest. ... Our histof), which we are ma king so hastily, ll'ill have no fair representation unless our artists take the 1rnrk in hand a nd put it inw permanent form. There is work for us all and time is fleeing. Each year should represent a vo lum e of art bound by th e ties of Am e ri ca nism.

In a d e liberate attempt to promote its (at least theoretical ) national rele\Âˇancc, The Arts changed its name to Aris )or America in February 1896. Editor Mor e explained the name change as more than a semantic afterthought: 9

Chicago History, Summer 1987 On e su ch exa mpl e a pp ea re d in th e regul a r monthl y secti o n o n nati o na l a rt revi ews in May 1896, wh e re th e editor chastised the East with th e follo\\'in g re mark : 'Iii show th e d e prav it)' of wh at sta nd s for arti sti c tas te in New Yo rk at th e prese nt tim e, I ma)' m e nti o n th a t a promin e nt sales ga ll e ry lasLni g ht had a n a ucti o n sa le of mi sce ll a neo us paintin gs. A picture in rwilli a m Mi chae l] Harn eu's m ost villa ino usly hard mann e r bro ught $525.00 whil e a rea ll y exce lle nt stud y by Willi a m ,J. C hase·' Fishing Boa ts a t An cho r Off Bay Riclgc"-a pa inting 24 x 3(i in ch es in size, in a fra m e wo rth p ro ba bl y $40.00, was purchased for 25.00, a nd th e a udi e nce was fair! )' rc prcse nta ti,·c o f "peo pl e" wh o IJLt ) pi ctures in 1ew Yo rk. I fea r th e d e plora bl e co nditi o n o f a ffa irs h e re wo u ld a lmostjusti fy the se nding of mi ssion a ri es b)' )'OUr Ce ntral Art J\ssocia Lion from C hi cago LO New York.

\\'illiam ,\/. Fl. french,Jirsl d;rec/or of /Ill' School of the Art lnstilute, sa/ on /he board of the Central Ari Association as well. Gift of H. L. Slayton.

In Lhis country we pride o ur el ves o n our Am e ri ca n isms, and Lh e work ofLhe Ce nLra l Art Associatio n ... has eve r bee n , sin ce iLs first in ce ption , a po wer clirec Led LOwa rd Lh e upbuildin g a nd d e \'e lo pm e nt o f Am e ri ca n art . .. . The re fore . we h a"e fo und iL ad"isable LO link th e wo rd Am e ri ca wiLh Th e Arts in o rd e r 10 m ake Lh e titl e m o re co mpre he nsi"e a nd expl ana to ry o f th e grea t work in whi ch we are e ngaged. Fo r it is no lo nger a maue r o f d o ubt wh e Lh er Am e ri ca wi sh es Lo be recogni ze d Lhrou gh h er arts. Th e fruit is a lready past Lh e g ree n fl avo r a nd th e h ands of ma ny arc turning th e wh ee l. No t o nl y in Lh e cities, but in sm a ll co untry Lo wn s. th e re is a sLrong visibl e curre nt of p rogress in th e a n directi o n . Th e peo pl e a re edu ca ting th e mse lves a nd with a n edu ca ted p ubli c, Am e ri ca n art will occ up,· a posiLi o n whi ch h as n e ,·cr bee n aua in e d by a ny oth e r naLi o n.

By 1899 t.h e circulati o n o f Arts for America had reached 15,000, a nd its associat.e leagues, ll'hi ch shared th e o rga nizati o na l and educati o na l stru cture of th e Ce ntral Art A soc iati o n, numbe red more th a n 300 and we re located as fu r away as ebraska a nd Mississippi . Although news a nd informati o n about Chi cago and th e Ce ntral Art Associ a tion's member leagu es too k preced e nce, Arts f or America se lf-co nsc io usly stro ve to give equal coverage to all regions, re po rting o n ex hibitions and a rt activiti es aro und th e co un try. Rare ly did th e magazin e resort to regio na l d e fe nsive ness. JO

lt was in art e du catio n that Arts/or America was most distinguished , for it co mpil ed a n ex te nsive bod y of edu cation a l reso urces o f bo th hi sto ri ca l a nd p rac ti ca l va lu e. Among th e m ost substantia l \\'as a se ries o f stud y co urses in Am e ri ca n a nd Europea n a rt. Aut.h ored by res pec1ecl arti sts a nd art spec ia lists, th e co urses usuall y in clud ed di scussio ns of vario us tyli sti c sc hoo ls and pe riods, essays on re prese nta tive a rtis1s, a nd recomm e ndation s of hooks or articles for furth e r reading. In IJ1 e inu-cidu ctio n to th e American stud y course, a uth o r A. T \'an Lear, a New Yo rk artist a nd lecture r. st.ated , "~l y pu rpose is to direct th e aue nti o n o f th e stud e nt no t o nl y 10 th e na mes th a t have beco me illustrio us a nd fam o us but to th e causes a nd influ e nces as \\'e ll th at hm·e sha ped th e progress o f a rt in thi s co untry fro m its earli est begi nnings to th e prese nt d ay." To co mpl e m e nt sc ulpto r Lo rad o Ta ft's stud y co urse in conte mpo rary French a n , a survey o f Fren ch pa inting in th e nine tee nth ce ntury provide d d e finiti o ns o f a n 111 0\'e me nts, id e ntifi ed d o mina nt tyles a nd trea tm e nts, li sted th e "best pi ctures" in each schoo l or th e ma ti c gro up , a nd , as usua l, conclude d \\'ith a d e ta il ed refe re nce list fo r fu rth e r s1udy. Co u rses in d ecorati\'e a n s, inclu d in g wood ca rving, glass pa inting, ce ra mi cs, a nd inte ri o r des ign , \\'ere o ffe re d in additi o n to th e histo ri ca l stud y co urses. Re lated magazin e articl es t11 at treated a particular th e me o r a nist in g reate r d e pth suppl e m e nted th e fo nn al stud y co urses. Fo r exa mpl e, in April 1896 Va n Lear discussed th e Am e ri ca n art co ll ecti o n of Willi a m T Evans o f New Yo rk in a n articl e e ntitl ed , "Co ll ecti o n of Am e ri ca n Mas te rpi eces." H e a ppl a ud ed Mr. Evans for having d e monstrated

1\rt educators of the I890s believed that ;t1u/ents shouul work from antique models (above). "fraining also emphasized the practical applicatiom of art. 8elow, stude11L1 wor// on mosaic and plaster decoration, r. I895. The Central A rt Association offered st1uly co1mes in crafts and industrial arts in its publirations.

Chicago History, Summer 1987 "th at Am eri can works may be shown in th e sam e room with th e grea t wo rks o f fore ign pa intersyes, even with the wo rks th at have th e Stamp of two o r three ce nturi es o n th e m-a nd no t lose by th e comparison ." In O cto be r 1894 Ge orge H o wa rd wrote an exte nsive a rticl e o n th e hi sto ry o f sculpture since a ncie nt tim es. Like Va n Lea r, he ide mi fi ed major co nte mpo rary sculpto rs and predi cted a re na issance in Am e ri can a rt through sc ulpture. Ano th e r va luab le edu cati o na l reso u rce Arlsfor America provid ed was its pe ri odi c li sting o f artre lated articl es fro m rece nt magazin es. In Dece mbe r 1896 Van Lear co mpil ed a list o f more th a n a hundred such refe re nces published be tween 1888 and 1895. Writte n by su ch promin ent criti cs as Maria na G. Va n Re nsse lae1~ W. J. Stillma n, Roya l Cortissoz, and W. C. Brow ne ll , th e arti cles CO\'e recl a broad ra nge o f ubj ects, large ly, th o ugh no t exclusive ly Ame ri can, and prese nted a critical ove rview o f a rt acti vity in la te nin etee nth -ce ntury Am e1ica. Th e same is ue introduced a new mo ntJ1ly feature entitl ed "Ro und TI1ble Discussio n of Leading Art To pi cs o f th e Day." 1embe rs were e nco uraged to submit qu esti o ns abo ut p racti ca l, th eo retica l, o r aes th e ti c iss ues th a t th e a rti sts a nd writers associated with th e magaz in e would discuss in print. Oth er m o nthl y features offe red in fo rmati o n o n loca l artists a nd o rgani1.ati o n , notices a nd revi ews o f ex hi biti o ns and e\'e nts in Chi cago a nd around the co untry, a nd a directory of an cl u bs, pa inters, sculpto rs, d es ign e rs, illustrato rs, teache rs, and o th e r profess io nals in th e Chi cago a rea. In th e years imm edia te ly preceding th e turn o f th e ce ntury, Arts for America's rigorous atte nti on to Ameri ca n art bega n to slacke n. Illustra ti o ns by Am eri can a rti sts gave way to re produ cti o ns o f the wo rks o f th e g reat ma te rs. Arti cles de mo nstrated this shift in e mph asis from co nte mpo ra ry issues to histo ri ca l o nes as we ll. Lo racl o Taft, wh o had studi ed at th e Eco le des Bea ux-An s in th e earl y 1880s, tra\'e led regu larl y to Euro pe at this time. Re portin g bac k to Arts for America, he foc used large ly on th e wo rks of th e o ld mas ter , re marking o n contempo ra ry art o nl y occa io nall y. In J a nua ry 1900 Arlsfor America adve rtised a series ofart stud y pi ctures and expl anatory text th at fea tured prim aril y Euro pean mas te rs. In ma ny ways a logica l o utgrowth of th e earli e r co urses, th ese stu dy pi ctures provid e d a n access ibl e too l fo r th e Am e ri ca n pu bli c's eel ucatio n in art and art history. Howeve r th ey also dem onstrated a shift in priorities

\· "

HE~CHOOL . F LLVSTRATION

HICAGO .,

The Central Art J\.1.\()riatio11 wrL1 011/1• one of thP 1111111nom ar/1 orw111iwlio11s and srhooL1 thatflo11ri,1hed in Chimgo 111 thP 189().1.

tha t may hm·c bee n lin ked, in part, to the associati o n's d isso luti o n th e fo ll owing )'eai: In th e e nd , th e Ce nt ra l Art Associa ti o n coul d not reso lve th e q u esti o n of a nati o na l art no r stake Chi cago's p ri vi leged cla im to it in th e pages of A1ts for America. Whil e o th e r an jo urn a ls prospered in Chi cago afte r the turn of th e ce ntu ry, incl uding Brush and Pencil ( 1897- 1907) and Fine Art.s j oumal ( I 899- 19 19), no ne pursued th e issue of a na ti o na l art wiLh th e vigor o f Arts for America. In deed, th e brief se\'e n-)ea r li fe of Arts for America a nd the Centra l Art As ocia ti o n was a n impa sio ned o ne, champi o ned by zealo us me n a nd wo me n wh o fo und th e adolesce nce of Chicago a to ni c to creati vity a nd actio n. In an arti cle published in Dece mbe r 1899 in Atlantic Monthly o n th e e\'e o r th e new ce ntury, write r Elia Peatti e pass io nate ly de fe nded the vita lity of artistic li fe in th e Mid west. Her co nclusio ns abo ut C hi cago may be a pplied to th e Ce nu-a l Art Associa ti o n, losing littl e in th e tra n latio n .

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Since a co mpl ete se t o r The Arts is un aYa i lah le, trac ing th e exact histor)' o f th e magaz ine is prob lema ti c. The kn ow n issues begin with vo lume l summ er 1894, a nted a tin g th e o ffi cia l o rga ni ;,a ti o n o f th e Ce nt ra l Art Associati o n by a t least two month s. Howc,·er, o ri g ins o r th e publica ti o n arc u ncertai n. I le lc ne Robe rt s. in he r unpubli shed i\lLS th esis entitl ed 'Ame ri ca n i\rt Pe ri od ical or th e Nineteenth Century" (Uni versity orWashingt on, 196 1), suggests th at The Arts su pc rsecled Brush and Pmcil. published by th e Art Institut e in 1892 . This is no t to be co nfused with th e we ll -kn own publica ti o n Brush and Pencil, whi ch bega n in 1897 underth c ed itori al direction o f C harl es F. Brow ne. Re fere nces to th e ea rli e r Brush and Pencil are sca nt, a ltho ugh Roge r Gilmo re, in his Over a Century: The History of the Sc!wol of the Art Institute of Chicago (Ch icago: The Art Institute o f C hi cago, 1982), sugge ts it was a stude nt publica ti on o r th e School o r th e Art Institute.

II I ustrati o ns 4-5. CHS P1i nts and Photograp hs Co llec ti o n; 6 top and bo uo m, fro m The Arts, O cto ber 18~H, The Art Institut e o r C hi cago; 7 top. CHS Library, a nd botto m , from Arts/or A nwriw, vo l. 7, 189 7-98. The Art Institute o f C hi cago; 8, C HS, IC Hi-2043 1; 9, C HS, IC Hi-20'-1 30; I0, CH S, IC H i-20370; I I top, o ld nega tive C 18769, and bo uo m, C:33796, both "!';) 1987 Th e Art Insti tute o f C hi cago, a ll ri ghts reserved ; 12 and 13, C HS Libra ry.

TW"CD)o

In S/Jile of !he city's artistic diver5ity and de/Jlh, the association was nevrr able lo eslabli5h Chirago m the cmler of art in America.

Jt is tru e, th e re are th ose who think th at a rt, like th e C)'Cio ne , has its path s, a nd th a t C hi cago is fa r re moved fro m th e wo rn th oro ug h fa re whi ch th e muses tread ; th C) expec t us to be con ten t with uglin ess a nd no nexprcss io n, a nd to trea t any creati ve ideas th at co me to us as th e p rell ) prin ces in th e towe r we re trea ted. Bu t thi s wo ul d be too ca ll o us b)' far; it wo uld be too cy ni cal; nay, it wo uld be too hum b le. It is o u r fo rtun e no t to be too ca ll o u , o r cy ni ca l. or hu mb le . T h e drea ms a nd effe rvesce nce of )'O U th are still o urs. We still ho pe to e m body th ese visio ns a nd excitations in palpable bea ut)". It d ocs no t eve n matter to us if the res t o f th e wo rld is am used a t o ur d eclara ti o ns of prin cip les, o ur co nfessio n of an i~tic fai th , fi>r we are e la te " ith th e rcc kl e s confi de nce o f th ose wh o have ye t had th e ch an ce to fa.ii.

In deed, th e Ce m ra l Art Assoc ia ti o n, po ised at th e Fro nti e r of civili1.a ti o n a nd culture, spo ke in a stro ng a nd co nfid e nt vo ice suppo rting Am eri ca's progress th ro ug h edu ca ti o n a nd th e crea ti o n o f an indige no us American a rt.

Altgeld the Suffragist by Sandra D. Harmon

As dedicated suffragi,sts, Goverrwr John Peter Altgeui, and hi,s wife Emma opened the doors of state government to Illirwi,s women in the 1890s.

Illinois gove rnor J o hn Pe ter Altge ld was a ma n whom his conte mporari es eith e r admired or vilified. He was an "idol" to young lawyer C lare nce DaJTow, but a "slimy d e magogu e" to editor J ose ph Medill of the Chicago Tribune. Opinio ns appla uding or reviling th e gove rn or rested prima ril y o n the acts for which Altgeld is most re membered his pardon of th e Haymarke t anarchist and his confrontation with Preside nt C leve land over th e use of federal troops during th e Pullm an strike. Admire rs a nd d e tractors also praised a nd criticized th e gove rn or's prom oti on o f equ al ri ghts fo r wom e n in Illin o is. His be li ef in equ al rights prompted his appointm e nt of a numbe r of wome n to state administrative and advisory positions..J ulia Lathrop, one o f his appointees, later reca ll ed, "Th ese appointm e nts, carefull y mad e a nd nonpolitical , surprised everyone a nd gratified a t least the wom e n of tJ1 e state ." Th ro ugh his words a nd his deeds in th e last decad e o f th e nin e tee ntJ1 ce ntury, Altgeld became a n importa nt fo rce in Illinois women's struggle fo r equal rights. Altgeld was born in Germany in December 1847. Wh e n he was three month o ld his fa mil y immi grated to tJ1 e United States, se ttling on a fa rm near Ma nsfi eld , Ohi o . Altge ld's fa th er, "dull-h eaded" and the "soul of pa rsim o ny," rul ed hi s fa mil y with a ste rn patriarch al hand , whil e his wife and childre n re mained in st1ictl y subord inate roles. Young Altgeld was quite eager to leave ho me in 1864, when h e we nt off to wa r at th e age of sixtee n. H e served for fo ur mo nths, lo ng e nou gh to catch a fever th at recuJTed pe riodica ll y for th e rest of hi s life. At home again , young Al tge ld d e te rminedl y pursued a high school education against th e wish es of his fath er. By 1867 he was teaching in Woodvill e,

Ohi o, and co urting o ne o f his co-wo rke rs, Emm a Ford . H er fa th er, however, o bj ected to Altge ld as his d a ughte r's suitor, so th e young ma n le ft Ohi o to see k his fortun e furth e r west. He eve ntuall y e ttl ed in Savannah , Misso uri , wh e re he ta ught sch oo l, read law, a nd bega n hi s law practi ce. Altge ld late r told New York World re po rte r Nellie Bl y, "[l]got alo ngvery rapi d ly. I was City Atto rn ey first, th e n States Attorn ey a nd had about as good a practi ce as a bod y co uld ge t th e re, and th e n my head swe ll ed . I wanted broad e r fi e lds, so I we nt to Chi cago." He arri ved in 1875 in tim e fo r th e city's re marka bl e peri od o f re birth a nd growth afte r th e d evastating Grea t Fire of 187 1. Altge ld 's fortun es grew with th e city. Within twe lve yea rs he had progressed fro m struggling lawye r to successful real estate investor-develo pe1~local leader of the De mocrati c party, a nd j udge of th e Superi or Court o f Coo k County. Two years afte r movin g to C h icago, Altge ld re turned to Ohi o fo r a visit ancl n1a1Tiecl Emm a Ford . T hrough glimpses of th e ir pri vate life from th e re mini sce nces of fam il y a nd fri e nds, it is clear th a t Altge ld rejected th e pa tria rchal mod e l o f his pa rents' ma rriage a nd fo und in Em ma a partn er ra th e r th a n a subord ina te . Emma Fo rd Altge ld had much in co mm on witJ1 th e "new wo ma n" of tJ1e late nine teenth ce ntu ry. Appl auded by women's rights activists and both prai eel a nd criti cized by th e press, th e new woma n was edu cated a nd often worked until mani age o r chose a caree r over maJTi age. Sh e expand ed he r ho ri zons beyo nd he r do mesti c sph e re by j o ining clubs and organizati o ns d edi cated to civi c improve me nt and social refo rm. Ge ne rall y, th e new wo ma n pro moted a style of woma nh ood th at va lu ed q ualities such as

Sandra D. Harmon teaches women's history at Illinois State University.

Govemorj olm Peter Altgeui ( 1847- 1902) was an im/Jortantforce in the struggle Jar women's rights in 1/ li,wis.

J,mma ford Altgrld (o/1/1osile /mge) and other memlm, ojlht' C/11rnf!!' \ Inman\ Club mmpaig,u,dJor the hinngo/ i,~,m1'11 in 11011 -traditional /m1fi'~1ion1 such a., public mfety. The.Ii' Chicago /JOlitn,~mu'n of I 91 I ,w doubt brnefilled jrom .111rh reform.,.

intelligence, inde pendence, and assertivenes ll'hile maintaining traditiona ll y fe minin e ,Âˇalu es such as compassion, coo pe ratio n , a nd nurtura nce. Emma Altge ld ll'as edu ca ted and too k he r education se ri o usly. Co ming fro m a re lative ly we llto-do famil y, she atte nd ed a semin a ry a nd studi ed at th e Co nsen Âˇa to ry of Music o f Oberlin Co ll ege in 1870-71. Th e Chicago Tribune re po rted in a story on Mrs. Altge ld in 1892 th at "th e se mi nary syste m of 'finishin g' young wo me n d oe not a ppea l to he,~ but in regard to he r ll'o rk a t Obe rli n she is co mfortabl y e nthusi asti c." Like o th e r nell' wo me n, she had experie nce in earn ing a living; she was \\'Orking as a teache r wh e n Altge ld first me t hec Sh e also maITi ed la te- at th e age of twe nty-e ight-a nd was onl y a yea r younge r th a n he r hu ba nd . A a ma rri ed woma n , Mrs. Altge ld co mbin ed her d o mesti c duties with oth e r interests. She publi shed seve ral short sto ri es a nd a nove l, Sarah s Choice; or the Norton Family, whi ch appeared in 1887. New wo me n sou ght co mpa ni o nship marri ages, and Emma fom1 ed su ch a unio n with he r husba nd. Th ey shared a n interest in social issu es of th e d ay, 16

a nd Altge ld respected his wife's inte llige nce. He admired he r litera l') acco mpli shm e nt s, see king he r advi ce o n hi s O\rn speeche a nd writing. He co uld be prickl y wh e n oth e rs criti cized him , but he accepted cri ticism fro m h e r. Th ey suppo rted o ne an o th e r th ro ugh the tim es o f ill hea lth th at pl agued th e m bo th a nd th ro ugh th e tim es of vilifi catio n for his unpo pul ar acts as govern o r. According to a fa mil y frie nd, Altge ld also respected hi s wife's wi shes to practice birth control afte r she sulTered a d iffi cul t pregna ncy a nd th e succeeding dea th o f he r in fa nt so n. Emma Altge ld, like o th e r new wo me n,j oin ed a wo man's club, th e Chicago Wo man's Club, found ed in 1876 "to ta ke up th e live issues o f thi s wo rld we live in ." Th e me mbe rs, mos tl y we ll-to-d o or moderate ly wea lthy wome n , ca mpaigned fo r reforms such as th e appo intm e nt o f wom e n to th e Chi cago schoo l boa rd , th e e mpl oyment of poli ce matro ns, th e esta blishm e nt o f a reform schoo l for girls, th e appointm e nt o f wo me n ph ysicia ns to state insane asylums, th e establi shm e nt of kind ergarten s in th e public schoo ls, and the passage ofa compulsory

Chicago History, Summer 1987 school attendance law. Altgeld voluntarily served several times as a lawyer for the club. He was undoubtedly familiar with these and other woman's club campaigns; later, as governor, he was in a position to act on some of these issues. After moving to Springfield, Emma helped organize a woman's club in that city. She invited a group of seventy-five local women to a meeting at the executive mansion in the fall of 1894, the outcome of which was the formation of the Springfield Woman's Club. Mrs. Altgeld was made an honorary member and periodically imited the club to meet at the executive mansion. On one occasion she invited members to hear Salvation Army omcer Edith Marshall speak on the Army's work in the slums of New York; on anodier, the club hosted a gala New Year's Day reception for members and "their gentlemen friends." Both Altgelds were suffragists. Governor Altgeld's biographer, Harry Barnard, characterized him as being "heartily in accord" with the suffrage movement. The Chicago Tribune reported in its profile of Mrs. Altgeld after the 1892 election that she believed in woman suffrage, although the article was written in such a way as to make her seem rather conservative on the issue. She was quoted as saying, "I think it will have a purifying effect on politics, aldiough I hope women won't try to take too active a part. Their sphere is so different from man's." However, she had already taken an active, albeit supporting, role in her husband's campaign. She traveled widi him for part of his canvass of the state and met with women in towns along the campaign trail. Her later suffrage activity also belied half-hearted commitment to the mo\'ement. In the 1880s, in addition to his many legal and business activities, Altgeld also began to write and speak on die social issues of the day, identifying himself with die risino tide of reform. Several works of this period reflect his interest in women's issues and his awareness that women, like men, were caught up in the tangle of forces unleashed by urbanization and industrialization. In his book Our Penal Machinery and Its Victims, first published in 1884, he condemned what he considered the brutalizing effect of the criminal justice system on young men and women offenders. Prisons, he believed, should be rehabilitative , and society should direct its efforts into understanding and alleviating the causes of crime. Many of those who found themselves in court were "the poor, the 18

Ammling lo one of his co11te111pora.-ie.1, J\ltgeld 1011ght to emm1ripate "1m111r111hoodfrom tlw ,\ledii'V{{/ i11j11sliff of ma11 -111adi' law1."

unfr>rtunate, die young and the neglected," those who were "fighting an unequal fight in the struggle for existence." Altgeld believed that the industi-ial system, which seemed to have no concern for the laboring classes, needed reforming. He wrote and spoke on the topic a number of times. He also ll'rote specifically about the conditions oflaboring women and children. In a letter 10 the editor of the Chirago Times in 1888 about the "s lave girls of Chicago," Altgeld argued for legislation to secure for every shop girl decent working conditions and legislation for compulsory education to eliminate child laboc He declared , "The toiling of women and children in shops amid conditions which dwarf, stupify, and destroy, must produce pauperism and crime. and it is as much the duty of the State Lo pre\'ent these as it is its duty 10 repel a hostile in\'asion." The letter also broached the issue of' equal pay for equal work. He argued that to deny women the same wages for doing the same work as men was to deny women justice. Altgeld also championed the eight-hour day. In a speech before a Chicago labor organilation in 1890, he declared that long hours exhausted working people physically and cmotionallr The effect of long hours on children was to create "inferior men and women, physically, mentally and morally." As go\'ernor, he would sign into law the first legislation in Illinois to limit the work hours of women and to regulate child labor. He would also promote the principle of equal pay for women working in state institutions. Altgeld also had something to say about di\'C>rce. In an 1887 letter, which he later published in his

Altgeld the Suffragist book Live Questions (1899), he took issue with the belief that the increasing number of divorces indicated a moral decline in the nation. "Is it not tTue," he asked, that the number of divorces is in proportion lo the progress made in the emancipation of women? In those countries where women are merely beasts of burden there are no divorces. Further, is separation, with all its ills, not belter for society than union and the rearing of a family amid depraving and brutal conditions? Ilseems to me that children who have frequently to see their mother thrashed by a brutal or drunken father, can not gel a very exalted idea oflife, and thal any system which will keep a man and woman together under these circumstances, is barbarous, and can nol possibly be productive of any good to the world.

Altgelcl gradually developed a reputation for outspokenness and sympathy with the liberal causes o[his clay. When he assumed the governorship in January 1893, the Chicago Legal News (under the ed itorship of women's rights advocate Myra Bradwell) called him "a life student of social, economic and labor questions. He has made valuable contributions to contemperaneous [sic] literature, many of his articles have been widely quoted and excited much critical comment." The article concluclccl with a statement more prophetic than the writer probably ever dreamed: "we predict [he] will make a fearless, independent and able governor. He will be the governor, and no small click of men in either the democratic or republican party will dictate what he shall or shall not do. We believe he will follow his own bestjudgment firmly and hone tly." As governor while Chicago's World's Columbian Expo ition was open, he and Emma made many appearances at the great White City in Jackson Park. Women , through the Board of Lady Managers and their participation in many fair congresses, made an indelible mark on the fuir. Sophia Hayden designed the Woman's Building which wa staffed by women and presented exhibitions featuring the work of women. Altgelcl noted the growing internationalism of the woman's movement in evidence at the exposition. Eighteen days after officially opening the fair on May l, he returned to open the Illinois Building. His appearance coincided with the meeting o[ the Woman's Congress; more than 500 official delegates from 126 organi1.ations in 27 countries, along with t11ousand o[ visitors, attended this week-long conference. Altgeld alluded to this gathering in his speech at the

dedication of the Illinois Bu ilcli ng: "the nucleus of an international woman's organization has been formed, the ultimate, far-reaching influence of which in the emancipation of her sex no man can forsee." He felt the fair marked a new epoch in the history of women. At the fair's encl, the governor wrote to Mrs. Potter Palmer, chairman of the Board of Lady Managers, telling her that t11e fair had advanced the cause of women's emancipation and praising her work on behalf of women. Two years after the fair, in accepting for the state of Illinois a bronze statue cast by a woman sculptor for the exposition, Altgeld declared: The future philosopher and historian will see that here for the first lime in the history of the race the principle was recognized that, no matter what her ability or experience may be, woman possesses the same inherent rights that man does. During her whole history she had been a dependent. . . . She had to be of man and accept what was given. She had no voice in affairs and it was an evidence of weakness to talk of her having inalienable rights. By degrees the chains which bound the world to the wrongs of the past were broken. The Lorch of civilization gave the world a higher sense of ,-ight until, finally, towards the encl of the nineteenth Th.e govemar believed /hat divorce was healthier than keeping a family together amid deplarable conditions like those in this lwme of an alcolwlic father.

Governor Altgeld and his wife made many appearances at the \\ orld, Columbian t:tj1osition , an roent that he felt greatly advanred the ca.use ofwoman's emancipation. Architect Sophia Hai~lm designed the \ \011u111's 811ildi11g, which feat ured rxhibitions orgr11uud and .1ta!Jed by wo11u'11.

century, and in connection with this great exposition, the principle was recogn ized that in the sight of th e Almighty a nd at the bar of eternal justice wom a n has the same inh e re nt rights th at man has.

In anotJ1er address early in his administration, Altgeld spoke approvingly of higher education for women. The occasion was his June 1893 commencement address to the graduates of the University of Illinois. Beginning by addre sing the women graduates, he declared, "Whi le no conclition is so felicitous as that of being happily married , there is no one so much to be pitied, no one who will carry so many sorrow through life, as me woman who is absolute ly dependent on being married."Throughout history, he went on, wom an had been kept in absolute dependence "by me strong hand of man." But, he said, the present age "is telling her to do anything that tJ1e great world may have to do . . . . Whatever brain thinks, hand shapes or will directs, there she may go .. . ." However, it must be noted tha t having addressed th e women graduate in his opening remarks, he directed the bulk of his speech to tJ1e men graduates who would be "making and moulding the age," who would be the "kings and princes of mis century," through their "perseverance, aggress ion and hard laboc" As governor, Altgeld did more than make speeches about women entering into the work of the world. He also appointed a number of women to state administrative and advisory positions.

Before the Thirty-eighth General Assembly adjourned in June 1893, he had appointed Chicago doctor Sarah Hackett Stevenson to the State Board of HealtJ1, labor organizer Ma1-y Kenney to the Board of Labor Commissioners, a nd Hull-House residentjulia Lathrop to the State Board of Charities. He pl aced two Chicago wom e n on the Illinois delegation to the Anti-Trust Convention, which had been called by tJ1e Minnesota legislature to

General Assembly, in passing legislation to regulate workshop cond itions, ch ild labor, and women's hours, created the positions of factory inspector, assisLant inspector, and ten deputies with e nforcement powers. This was the kind of legislation Altgeld had envisioned in his earlier writings and had ca ll ed for in his inaugural address. He wanted effective enforcement and origina ll y offered the position of factory inspector Lo Henry Lloyd, who on declining recommended Florence Kelley instead. Kelley, a Hull-House resident and indefatigable crusader for ch ild labor reform, had been instrumental in securing passage of the legislation. For assistant inspector, Altgeld named Alzina Stevens, his Anti-Trust Convention alternate. He a lso appointed four women-including Mary Kenney, who resigned from the Board of Labor Commissioners-to deputy inspector positions. Julia Lathrop recorded a story that circu lated about the appointments of Kelley and Stevens. "A legend exists," she said,

meet in Chicago in.June. Corinne Brown, a ocialis1 women's labor leader, served as a delegaLe, and Al1.ina Parson S1e,ens, a labo r editor, was an alternate . In a no1e to his friend and head of the delegation, I-le1111 Dema rest Lloyd, the governor explained, "l did not suppose Mrs. Stevens would serve or l would have put he r on in 1he (irs1 place." ln mid~Jul y he announced his appointees to the new positions or facto!') inspectors. The

to the effect that when th e announcement was made someone re monstrated in a friendly way, saying that two such "big women" would ne"er be able lO work together, lo which the governor replied , according lo the legend, "lfthey are big enough for the job, they will get along together well enough." The event proved the governor right.

All of these initial appointees were associated with reform movements in Chicago. Dr. Stevenson was president of the Chicago Woman's Club, and Julia Lathrop wa a member. Lathrop, Kelley, and Stevens were Hull-House residents; Kenney was also associated with Hull-House. These women shared many of Altgeld's views, and he gave them, 21

Chicago History, Summer 1987 Association voted its th anks to th e governor for his appo intm ent of wo men; and th e Woman~ j ournal of th e National Ameri can Woman Suffrage Association reported th e 1llinois appointm ents in its pages. Altgeld defended his appointm ent of wo men in his message to th e Thirty-ninth Ge neral Asse mbl y inJanuary 1895: This administration has ta ke n a new d e pa rture by appo inting a numb er o f wo me n on impo rta nt boa rds and to o ther positi o ns. Whil e this was no t good po liti cs, fro m e ith e r personal o r party standpo int, it was be lieved to be ete rn a ll y right, a nd was clo ne so le ly o n th e gro und o fju sti ce. . .Justi ce required th at th e sa me reward s and hon o rs th at e nco u rage and incite me n sho uld be equ a ll y in reach o f wo me n in eve ry fi e ld o f ac tivit)'.

As o,u, of the first of his many appointments of women to stall' administrative and advismy positiom. Altgel.d 11m111'd Chicago physician Sarah HackPll Stroe11so11 to the Stall' 8ocml of Health.

especially Kelley and Lathrop, the backing th ey needed to do theirjobs well. In return , Ke lley and Lathrop became ardent supporters of the govem o1~ In terms of the total number of appointm ents Altgeld made in his first mo nths in offi ce, th ese women occupied few positi ons. However, su ch appointments were rare in Illinois. Altgeld's predecessor, GO\Âˇernor Jo eph W. Fifer, had appointed two women to th e State Board o f Education , but typically women were not considered for state board positions. The appoinunents were not particu larly popular eith er, especially with Democratic politicians. They be lieved onl y th e party .faithful-male voters-were the rightful recipi ents of state positions. As the first Democrati c governor since before th e Civil War, Altge ld ge ne rall y agreed. A believer in the spoils system, he replaced Republicans \Yith De mocrats "lean and raveno us from nearl y forty years of enforced wand ering in the wild erness," as J ane Addams d escribed them. But he som etimes rose above po liti cal considerations in his appointm ents as he did with these wom en. While party me n complained , wome n's rights groups applauded : the Chicago Woman's Club promoted the appointment of Ke ll ey; th e 1894 annual meeting of the Illinois Equal Suffrage

Before he fini shed his term of offi ce, Altge ld also appointed additional women to fac tOt)' inspector positions and wo men to th e boards o f tru stees of th e Industri al School for th e Blind, th e Soldi ers' Orph ans' H o me, and th e State Board of Edu ca tio n. To th e latte r board he rea ppoint ed Chi cago edu ca to r Ell a Flagg Yo ung, o rigin a ll y named by Gove rn or Fifer. Two new wo men's institutio ns we re created during his administration by legislati o n whi ch a lso stipulated th at wo men be appointed to th e ir boards o f trustees. Fo ur o f th e ,\ltgeld 1ta11whl)' hacJu,d t!z,, effort.I of I lull-l fo11.1r rtiormn J ulia Lathrofi (brlow), whom lw ap/ioinlt'd to th1Âˇ State Uoard of Charitil's.

Al/geld W<l\ greatly concmied Lhat umnm who labored in Chicago swea.ts!wps be assured dPcenl working condilions.

seven trustee positions for the State Home for Juven ile Female Offenders were reserved for women and three of five positions for the Soldiers' Widows' Home. The Chicago Woman's C lub had lobbied for the Juvenile Home , and Altgeld eventuall y appointed four of its members, Charlotte Holt, Julia Harvey, Ellen Henrotin , and Emma Wallace, as trustees. Another important appointment that Altgeld made was thatofDr.Julia Holmes Smith to fill an unexpired te rm on th e elective board of trustees of the University of Illinois. The board was the center of great intere t for women in the state, for the 1891 School Suffrage Act empowered women to ,Âˇote for University of Illinois trustees and other school offices created by th e legislature. Since an 1873 law allowed women to be candidates for school offices, women's groups pressured the political parties to nominate women candidates in 1894. The Democratic convention nominated Dr.

Smith and the Republican, Lucy Flower, both members of the Ch icago Woman's Club. Emma Altgeld, who had been e lected to the executive committee of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association in the spring of 1894, took a visible role in encouraging Springfield women to register and vote in the fall e lection for university trustees. She attended a suffrage meeting o n October 15 and was invited to address the gathering. The Tllinois State Register reported that she "made some interesting and well-chosen remarks signifying her intention of registering b)' proxy, as one may, but going in person to vote at the com ing election for university trustees, on Nov. 6." After th e first clay of registration , the newspaper reported 1'Irs. Altgeld "among the more prominent women who regi tered." The Woman'sjoumal followed the Illinois election with great interest and noted that Mrs. Altgelcl was in sympathy with the movement to elect a woman. In a post-election item, the 23

Chicago History, Summer 1987

Women of £btcagor REGlaTER.

Vote for Trustees of the State University. You o• nnot vote uni••• you f'06lator.

Register on October 6th and 16th; Vote on November • 6th. Women citizens o{ the United Stntes, twenty-one year, of age. bavinr re!lided in the State one year, in the Count}' ninety days and in the election precinct thirty days next prccedin£ the election, are entitled to ,·otc in Chicag,o, for tru!llC'-'!I of the State Um,·cnity. The naturalisation of a hu,band or father ha!! been held by the Courts to naturalize the wife, and daua-hters residing at home. School 9uffrage was irranted to lllinois women in 1891. Women re,.idinir in Chicago, however, may only vote for the tni:.tc~s of the State Uni\·ersity. Re• cently every party has placed on its ticket at least one woman candidate for the position of Univcnny Trustee, Tb<!re :i.re four vacancies to be filled. This is Chicago women's only oprortunity to vote. and it has been urged as an &ri'UmCnt that women did not want to ,·ote becau-.e so kw of them voted for the tra.r.tees of State Unin-:Nity. A large \·Ote ca!',t thi, Fall mav inllucnce members of the Charter Convention to rl'<.:Ommcml full rnunidpal suffra&,~ for women in the new Chat ter.

HOW TO VOTE. If you wi1,b to vote the entire ticket of one ,1artr, place a cross X in the cir-

cle0

1>posite the part y na me, tbu6@

in different parties,

lea \'C

If you wish to \'Ole for individaa.ls

vacant the circle opposite the party name,

place crosses X in the squue wish to vote.

and

oppo~ite name of individuals for whom you

Thi' 1891 Sclwol Suffrage Act allowed women lo run and vole for Universily of Illinois trustees and other sclwo/ offices created by the legislature.

journal reported th at more than six hundred Springfield women registered , and most of them voted, including Mrs. All.geld. Lucy Flower, th e Republi can ca ndidate, won the November election. Wh en th e o ppo rtunity arose for Altgelcl to rep lace a trustee who re igned, he chose th e defeated Democrat Dr. Julia Smith. Catherine Waugh McCulloch of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Associati on decl ared that the appointment of Dr. Smith "called forth much comm endation for the Governor from Dem ocrats and suffragists as well. That gives us, with Mrs. Flower, two women on our Board of Trustees. Illinois women shou ld take courage from this vi ctory to press on for more franch ise." ot only did th e governor name women to important boards, but he also saw to it that more women were employed in state institutio ns. For example, he placed women physicians in state hospita ls. H e also req uested trustees of state charitable institutions to pay fem ale and male attendants the same wages for performing th e same tasks, even if that meant it would be necessary "to slightly reel uce th e salaries of male attendants and con-espond ingly raise tl1e salaries of female attendants." In his 1895 message to the General Assembly, he reported that his women appointees "h ave met every reasonable expectation. As a rul e th ey have done their work well." Indeed, some of his fe mal e

appointees were among th e most outstanding people associated with hi s administration. Altgelcl's biographer Han)' Barnard declared tl1at tl1e Kell ey ap po intm ent alone "mad e up for a hundred , eve n a thousand, mediocre-to-bad appointm ents" tJ1at Altgeld made. Ke lley, Lathrop , and a number of other Altgeld appointees distinguished th emselves later in th e ir caree rs as well. Ke ll ey became th e ge nera l secretary of the National Cons um e rs' League; Lathrop, th e first director of the Children's Burea u of the United States De partm e nt of Labor. Alzina Stevens he lped estab lish the Cook Co untyJuvenil e Court and became its firstjuve nile probation o ffi cer. Mai)' Kenney was factory inspector for th e state o f Massachusetts; Ellen Henroti n, president of th e General Federation of Women's Clubs and th e atio nal Women's Tracie Uni on League; and Ella Flagg Yo ung, superin tendent o f Chi cago publi c schoo ls. Drs. Stevenson and Smith continu ed successful medical careers in Ch icago. Howeve1~ th ere was o ne blot on th e otherwise good record of Altge lcl 's women appo intees. In the sp ring of 1895 trouble d eve loped at theJ uvenil e Female Home, housed in tempora11· quarters o n Indiana Street in Chicago while the new facility was under constructi o n in Geneva. T he female ad ministrative staff and th e men and women trustees fo und themselves embro il ed in charges of mismanagement of funds and crue lty to th e gi rls in tl1 e ir care. A state senate comm ittee investigated tJ1 e instituti on after inm ates rioted. An amendment to the original act of 1893 reduced the number of u-ustees from eve n to five and removed th e requirement that a majority be women. The new legislation provided on ly that two may be women. Where the original act stated tJ1at the superintende nt shall be a woman , tl1 e amendm ent stated that the supe rintenden t may be a woman. According to the biennial report o f th e trustees, tl1e reduction of the board was achieved through th e "retireme nt" of Mrs. Henrotin and Mrs. Wallace, leaving a board of two women and three me n. Meanwhile, at th e beginning o f May, th e staff and inmates moved to th e new building in Geneva. The rioting ceased, the crisis passed, and stab ility was restored to the instituti o n. Governor Altgelcl made an important co ntribution to th e Illinois woman's movemen t through his writing, speeche , and appointments. Illin o is suffragists, invigorated by tl1eir school suffrage

Altgeld the Suffragist victory in 1891 , increased th e ir mo me ntum during the 1890s and too k heart from th e suppo rt th ey rece ived from both Governor and Mrs. Altgeld. Wom e n's clubs and orga nizati o ns like se ttl e me nt hou ses assum ed lead e rship rol es in spearh eading progressive reform. Th ey, too, fo und a n ally in the gove rn o r, a nd he turned to th eir ra nks for many o f his wom e n appointees. Altge ld was proud of his contributio n. He to ld Ne lli e Bl y th at h e be lieved in do ing exact justi ce to wo me n as we ll as me n , a nd as wo me n are o bliged to work for a li ving I beli eve in throwing every fi e ld o f industry o pe n to th e m. I a m th e first Gove rnor in this State o r a ny Sta te in the co untry, I guess, wh o has a ppointed a numbe r o f wome n o n impo rta nt board s, such as th e Board o f H ealth, Board of C ha riti es, FactOI)' In spectio n, e tc.

Afte r his d efeat for re-e lecti o n, he was gu est of ho no r at a Hull-H o use dinn er whe re th e reside nts expressed th e ir appreciati o n for a ll he had accomplished . Ali ce H a milton , a newcom er to Hull-Ho use th at eve ning, no ted "th e admiration and a pprecia tio n with which he, th e d efe nd er of th e Pullma n strike rs and th e pard o ner of the imprisoned anarchists, was greeted by Miss Addams, lrs. Kell ey, and Miss La thro p:' H amilto n liste ned with rapt atte n tio n as Ke ll ey talked with him a bout he r expe ri e nces as facto ry in specto r. Altge ld maintain ed his fri e ndships with th e Hull-H o use group through th e rest o f his life. At th e tim e o f his death , Juli a Lathrop praised th e form e r gove rn o r. "I kn ow of no man in th e publi c life of Illin o is," she said ,

For Furth er Reading A good biogra phy of j o hn P. Altge ld is Ha1Ty Barn ard , Eagle Forgotten: The Life ofj ohn Peter Altgeld (Indiana polis: Bo bb -Merrill , 1938). 1 ellie Bl y intervi ews Altgeld in "Are You an Anarchi t?", New York World,Jul y 17, 1894. Also see Altgeld's own writings: Live Questions (Chicago, 1899) and Our Penal Machinery and Its Victims (C hicago, 1886). Importa nt wo me n's move ment publicati ons are: Womans j ournal, first publish ed in 1870; He nri e tte Greenbaum Frank and Amalie Hoferj erome, eds., Annals of the Chicago Womcms Club (C hicago: Chicago Woman's Club, 19 16); Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harpe1~ eels., History of Woman Suffrage (Rochester, NY: 1902).

II Iustrations 15, C HS, ICHi -09402; 16, CHS, DN 62,443; 17, 18, CHS Prints a nd Ph o togra phs Co llection; 19, from Fighting J\llodem Evils That Destroy Our Homes( 19 13), C HS Library; 20-2 1 to p, CHS Architectural Co llectio n; 20-21 bottom , from Addresses and Reports of Mrs. Potter Palm.er; President of the Board of Lady Managers, World s Columbian Exposition (1894), CHS Library; 22 to p, C HS, ICHi-20367; 22 bottom, C HS, IC Hi-20368; 23, C HS, IC Hi-20249; 24, C HS, ICHi- 14326.

wh o did so mu ch to give wo man an op po rtunityas j o hn P. Altge ld . So far as I have bee n ab le to lea rn , no press ure was bro ught to bear to induce him to recogni ze wo man in certain lines of public service. He did it beca use he beli eved it to be right, a nd he modestl y neve r counted it a n ac hi eve me nt.

J a ne Addams gave o ne o f th e two e ulogies at his fun e ral in Ma rch 1902. Twe lve years late r at th e un ve iling o f Altge ld's statu e in Chi cago's Lin co ln Park, th e Reve re nd Wil bur E. Achison , pasto r of th e Blue Isla nd Co ngrega ti o nal C hurch , reca ll ed th e zeal with whi ch Altge ld so ught to e ma ncipate "Wo ma nh ood fro m th e Medieva l i1~u sti ce o f ma n-made law." Altge ld alo ne did no t e ma ncipa te wo me n, but h e did o pe n d oors to th e m in ta te gove rnm e nt. Wh at he bega n, hi s su ccessors co ntinu ed , thus adding gove rnm e nt service to th e ex pa ndin g ro le o f Illino is wome n in th e late nin e tee nth ce ntu ry. 25

•••••••••••••••••••••• Front view, main building and cell house wings

••••••••••••••••••••

DOING TIME Life in Joliet Prison in the l 890s

To remedy overcrowding at Alton State Penitentiary, Illinois legislators in 1857 budgeted $1 million and commissioned the Chicago architectural firm of Boyington & Wheelock to design a new penitentiary to be built in Joliet. Twelve years later, at a cost of more than $2 million, Joliet State Penitentiary was completed. Its architects boasted that the penitentiary, set on sixteen acres and featuring thick twenty-five- to forty-foot-high walls and a modern ventilation system, was a facility "far surpassing any thing of the kind in this country." Its austere medieval style, copied from penitentiaries in the East, reflected British prison reformer John Howard's influence on American prisons. In the eighteenth century he worked to replace Britain's overcrowded and filthy workhouses, or "gaols," with new "penitentiaries," which were intended to give corrupted men and women a chance to do penance for their crimes. Howard's Penitentiary Act of 1777 ensured that women prisoners and their children would have separate quarters and prohibited the confinement of the mentally ill in penitentiaries. Modeled after life in European monasteries, penitentiary rules required inmates to remain silent and allowed little or no outside contact. At Joliet, healthy male prisoners worked up to twelve hours a day in the nearby quarry that had provided the stone for the prison buildings. When not working, inmates slept and ate in their four-by-eight-foot cells, two prisoners and one chamberpot to a cell. All prisoners wore uniforms-the traditional prison stripes for men and gingham for women-to underscore their segregation from the rest of society and to make them easily identifiable in the event of an escape. As was customary, Joliet convicts were often leased as laborers to private businessmen who knew nothing about handling prisoners. For these convicts, food, clothing, and baths were scarce, and the men often slept in barred wagons with only straw for warmth. Since these conditions were certain to encourage escape attempts, black striped suits were one way the lessors could ensure that their "property" would be recognized and returned . Prison administrators took other measures to ensure an escaped convict's capture. Before fingerprints were discovered to be a unique source of identification, officials relied solely on physical descriptions when searching for escapees. These descriptions were especially crucial in re-capturing convicts who had time to change clothing or alter their appearance. Patterned after the Bertillon system developed in France, each new inmate was photographed and measured for forearm , ear, and index finger length, and for head width. The incline of the prisoner's forehead and the projection of the chin were all determined subjectively and recorded by the photographer or his assistant. This sometimes produced misleading or inaccurate descriptions.

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Under pressure from late nineteenth-century reformers such as Dorothea Dix, the American penal system began to change. Slowly realizing the value of productive prisoners, officials at Joliet installed furniture- and cigar-making shops, a shoe factory, and various other small industries. State agencies regulated and monitored the prisoners' working conditions and pay. Religion also began to influence prison reform. For the first time, both male and female prisoners were given Sundays off to attend mandatory church services. In 1886, under pressure from activists, Illinois abolished the practice of leasing out prisoners for manual labor. Robert W. McClaughry was warden at Joliet Prison from 187 4 to 1888. He returned in 1897 but left two years later to become warden of the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. At Joliet he earned a reputation as an advocate of penal reform. Among the significant reforms he introduced to build morale among inmates were abolishing the rule of silence and allowing prisoners to receive outside visitors, especially family members. He also upgraded the bathing system in 1881 with sixty new bathtubs. Instead of the usual communal bath, each of the 1,800 prisoners was allowed his own bath once a week. Yet it wasn 't until 1898 that he abolished

Cells Lily pond next to main building

Worden Robert W. McCloughry

tortures such as the "bull ring ," where prisoners were chained with their hands above their heads, and the "dark cell," where a prisoner was caged in a small dark cell for hours at a time. Such partial reform allowed Joliet to boast of its humane treatment of inmates and still maintain strong discipline within its walls. Most of the photographs that follow were taken by Joliet staff photographer Sidney W. Whetmore and used later in his article, "Life in a Great Prison," which appeared in an 1890 issue of Illustrated American magazine and in his book, Behind the Bars at Joliet, published in 1892. By 1915 Warden Edmund M. Allen, perhaps inspired by Whetmore's work, was using the staff photographer for institutional photographs as well as prisoner identifications. He provided space for a "Photography Gallery" and tripled the photography budget. To this day, staff and inmate photographers still document life at Joliet State Penitentiary. All photographs are from original negatives in the CHS Prints and Photographs Collection.

Dining hall

Solitary confinement cells

Rock quarry

Shoe factory

Bathtubs

Women prisoners sewing

Hauling, c. 1900

At dinner

.Women's ward

Bertillon system of measurement

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Chinese prisoners

Solitary 41

Church service

Prisoner's drawing

The library

Musicians 44

Tower One, c. 1925

"Up the hill" Â· 46

•

.EQUIPPED WJTJ-{ £VERY

· FACILITY FeR. ATTRACTING .· PEOPJ;E OF TA5°TE.',A!YJ> .:,

;i1Jf{fl/ilii\J}iit 'tfGO q 11/LWAUffEE

ELECT/c!C RA!LROtfl>. . ,Ill

A~,

COi'IUrnNClNG MONDAY, AUGUST 6th THE

~beobore ~bomas ercbtstra WJTH

jfrebrick aiitock ~Jilirector

The genteel and refined entertainment advertised on this 1906 program cover (above) greatly appealed to the residents of the surrounding suburbs. Right, advertisement for Ravinia Park, 1904.

North Shore: Patron of Ravinia Park by Michael H. Ebner

When financial failure threatened the future of Ravinia Park, residents of the North Shore's eight communities banded together to save it. Ravinia Park, as we know it today, is the site ofan internationally acclaimed outdoor festival for classical music and the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Its doors first opened in Highland Park on August 15, 1904, in some of the same buildings used today. Featured was a light farce that had played previously at Powers' Theatre in Chicago. Critics responded favorably. With one eye directed at downtown arbiters, the Lake Forester reported that the peformance went as "smoothly" as anything produced on a stage in the city. To the Evanston index, the opening of Ravinia had amounted to "the most notable social event of tJ1e season." And although infonnalion about ensuing pe1formances that first season is scant (the late date of opening night suggests plans may not have proceeded on schedule), these encomiums proved encouraging. In addition to it critical uccess, Ravinia established a reputation between 1904 and 1911 as a favored cultural symbol of the orth Shore, the eight suburbs strung like pearls along the shoreline of Lake Michigan just north of Chicago. Since 1890, these suburbs have been regarded as an example of regional self-consciousness distinguished by a spirit of cooperation and mutuality. Yet achieving this regional self-consciousness was fraught with unexpected turns, complications, and even obstacles. Ravinia Park played a key role in this process. lo understand the resistance to North Shore r~gionalism , it is essential to appreciate that residents of each suburb had a well-formed sense of identit} from the beginning. Th e earliest of these railroad suburbs (Evanston and Lake Forest) had been established in the mid-1850s. Three othersHighland Park, Glencoe, and Winnetka-appeared

before Chicago's Great Fire of 1871; another, Wilmette, in its immediate aftermath. Lake Bluff and Kenilworth formed in the mid-1890s. Arthur Meeker, an astute observer of the customs of Chicago's upper-class society, recognized the distinctions to be made when he wrote: To an uninitiated eye these attractive villages stretching along the la ke from the city limits ... look very much alike. But oh, the differences, really!

As the foregoing observation suggests, efforts to achieve coordinated action even among relatively homogeneous yet autonomous suburbs often faced obstacles. Whatever preconceptions an outsider might conjure up, the label "North Shore" d id not define ready cooperation among the eight communities. Those who expected it were d isappointed and sometimes frustrated. Even when significant issues arose-such as outbreaks of typhoid in 1898 and scarlet fever in 1899-that threatened the

OPENING

RA VIN IA PARK MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1904. Tht• mnst beautiful n11,l l'omplctc amn~mcnt pln ...•t- ln ttw.w,,,.t.

Han•I

f'o11l·t•rh t·v,:r:, n(tt:rnuon nml t• ~euing.

Air- 15h.ip '" inJ: all .,h,.\· a111l ... ,·,•nin• 1-;Jt>•·trit· Fountain Ifo~play eH•ry 1.•ve ninll aftt-r tin: tht'1&lr~.

RAVINIA THEATRE '- !:il,).Cci.a.l..cuiaJi:1.•111eot~ fnr tir,t two IIIJ.d1t~. Alwust JS and 16. P A P AS." Entin· t.•umpa~y ;lfr~ct fru,;;·-po,\t•r,.Ttl;;t<'f. MtU•'fl ~

VIVI AN'S

Co.U.Ullt"llnf',:t An,:rnllit 11' imff <"Ofl tinttin,r NI.C h ••esi o w, ,t~x•fK -bu u.J.i.s-• with 111a1i11,•1.•, Wt•1h1t"!!tdny :tnd Saturday ufu.•rn,",n~ HIGH CLASS \1-.lU DE-

Vli,,Le'.

T HE CAS INO-Dainty "R.:.·fr,•sh1ue111s 5ervt:d.

No mto,h-atini: liquor,

1()44 or allowed to b<> ns-!d in the l'nrk.

T H E STA OI UM -Fir~t ,tame of BA Si BA LL. Vnnity Alurnui a)!ai,;~t Highhrnd Park Urowns, Saturda.,· aft("rnoon. A 111:m•t 20. at 3 o't.'lock .

Special Train Service on Mi.dzael II. Ebner is chair of LIU' Department of His/01)' al J,ake fores/ CollPge in Lake Fcrresl, lllinois.

Chicaio i Milwaukee Electric Railroad 49

Chicago History, Summer 1987

I RAVINIA PARK PROGRAM L ast n ine da )'& bcg inai n g

Sunday Afternoon August 28th Last Concert Monday Evening September 5th

Ul{tllter Jtlmrosrb AND THE

N ew York Symphony Orchestra Mr . Alo.11. ndcr Sula\1 1ky , Au' t Co nductor

MONDAY , AUG . 29th

Rcquut N iiCh t

Tl--!URSDA Y AFTERNOON

C hildren '• Day

Ch ildren under I i admitted free

FRIDAY NIGHT

Watncr Request Pro aram

A DMISSIO N 25 CENTS Spec ial Reserved Seats 25c Extra

Phone Highland Park 58 1 GEO . M . SEWARD A. M . LOWRIE . A . A . HARR INGTON

Rccc:i\•er M anatcr Treas urer

A membn of a tall'lltedfiwzil)' of mmiral dirl'Ctors, \ \'altn Damrosch directed !ht' ,\ 'ew )i!rk SJ111/1ho11)' Orche.1/ra from /90] to /927. lieg11111111g 111 1905, he rn11d11cted pnjonnances i11 Ravinia Parks open-air amphitheatn

su pply of pure drinking wate r drawn from Lake Mich igan, proponents of imm edia te co llective action found themselves stymi ed. What conditions, th e n, united the eight communiti es into a d istinctive geograph ic ne twork th at subscribed to a single p lace name ? More impo rta ntly, what galvani zed or impeded th e process o f creating the p lace name "North Shore" as an active instrum e nt of cu ltural expression ? Th e support all eight suburbs la\'ished upon Ravinia Park fro m its very inception reflects on som e oftJ1e answe r to th ese qu estions and helps us unde rsta nd a signifi cant chapter in the h istory of th e orth Shore . Ravinia's beginn ing involved railroading more than music. A. C. Frost, presid e nt o f the Chicago & Mil waukee Electric Rai lroad and th e central figure in Ravin ia's ea rly deve lopment, reasoned th at if devotees of h igh culture cou ld be attracted to attend summertime concerts and drama tic performan ces at Highland Park, th e n ma ny of them would patron ize his elecuic trolley tl1at stopped at

th e e ntran ce to th e park grounds. He furth e r anti cipated th a t some li ste ne rs would be so ta ke n with th e bea uty of th e eight sho re lin e suburbs th a t th ey wo uld d ecid e to esta bli sh res ide nce there, thus becoming d ail )' patron s o f his lin e. Whil e Frost laun ch ed Ravini a Park Lo improve upon his alread y ambitious investm e nt in electri c railroading, he was also se nsitive to th e custo ms o f his p ros pecti,·e patro ns. Immedi ately he distin gu ished this new ,,e nture fro m Fort She ridan Park, th e amu se me nt grounds co nstru cted by his railroad in 1899. Rav inia Park, Frost cla rifi ed , wo uld be un equivocall y fre e o falcoh o lic beve rages. 1,vo clays before o pe ning night p ote ntial patrons we re adm o ni h eel: "Intoxicants will no t be so ld nor th e ir use penn ittecl o n th e grounds." And later, wh e n p lans we re announ ced fo r th e summ er o f 1905, o ne close o bserve r wro te: If tl1 e e nte1-prise is pro perl r condu cted Ravinia Park sho uld fo rm th e social and enLerLainment center for th e onh Shore suburbs from Evansto n to Lake Fores t.

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,\/1wc love11 like tlw.1e shown on tlus 1908 program wver flocked to hear Damrosch and his orchestra and, later, Chevalier lÂ·)mna111U'L and the Clucago Philhamw111c and Fmlerick Stock and the Theodore Thomas Orchestra.

Chicago History, Summer 1987

Theodore Thomas, founder of the Chicago Symphony and conductor until his death in 1905, introduced A merican.s to summertime performances in the /860s through his "Summer Night Concerts" at the 1erroa Garden in New York City.

The objection which has been offered to suburban life is the lack of social activity. In a sense the CJiticism was well taken. Ravinia Park, however, with its varied entertainment features promises to provide for the North Shore a new social life.

A visitor described the newly opened Ravinia Park as a setting of"beauty and elegance," whose buildings reflected the American arts and crafts tradition. Designed by architectj. Peter Weber, its focal point was a steam-heated theater (known today as the Munay Theater) envisioned as a year-round facility. Seating more than 1,000, il featured a well-equipped stage and a large pipe organ. The interior art nouveau-inspired decorations of the theater earned accolades. The entTance was panelled in dark oak, the walls and window treatments draped in rich Porn peiian reds, bronzes, greens, and touches of gold, the windows constructed in stained glass, and the fixtures shaded by art glass. Chicago's Iroquois Theatre, tragically destroyed by a fire in December 1903 that killed almost 600 people, influenced the design of this .52

building. (Several students from Kenilworth 's Rugby School and a Winnetka mother and her three children had died in that fire.) Much was made of the fact that Ravinia's theater was "amply protected" against another disastrous fire by multiple entrances, double doors, readily accessible windows, a main curtain made ofasbestos, hydrants inside and out, and an automatic chemical system said to be capable of extinguishing any blaze in "less than thirtytwo seconds." For open-air performances the grounds contained an amphitheater constructed of steel which accomodatecl 2,000. (When the amphitheater was destroyed in a 1949 fire , a permanent replacement was erected for the 1950 season which remains in use today.) Herc the legendary Walter Damrosch , principal conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra, presided beginning in 1905. The amphitheater had been provided with wellproportioned dressing rooms for performing musicians and "toilet rooms and baths" for patrons. Three weeks of "high class vaudeville" also were scheduled. To regale patrons, tJ1e "electric fountain" and "airship swing" were illuminated following each evening performance. Acijaccnt to the amphitheater was a large open [ield, to which Frost anticipated attracting football and baseball matche~. The first such athletic encounter, on August 20, 1904, pitted the Highland Park Browns against the College Alumni. A picnic facility was outfitted with "swings, game , and all requirements foe ... Clubs, Sunday-Schools, Private Parties, etc." During the cold weather months the Park offered ice skating and a toboggan run. Al Ravinia's Casino, just south of the theater, pau-o ns could select from "dainty luncheons, elaborate dinners, or light refreshment." Special dinners could be ananged "by applying to [the] manager," and a table reserved by ringing "Highland Park 26." The upper level of the building featured a ballroom measuring40 by 100 feet with balconies on three sides and a perch for musicians on the fourth, available for"private parties, clubs, or social functions." But as the Lake Forester clarified, ever conscious of preserving the deconim that distinguished the North Shore, "No public dances will be given there." An announcement issued by Ravinia Park's management reflected the desire to curry favor: "The service of this Casino will be maintained to the highest tandard. The public is requested to report promptly to the Manager any

A. C:. Fro.it, pmidmt of the Chiwgo & ,Hilwau//ee flectric Railroad, launched Ravinia Park in the hope that visilon would establish residmce.1 in 11,,, mrrounding communities and become daily patrom of hi.1 ,\'orth Shore line (right). TIU' /-1.avinia stop (above) was located at thl' mtmnce lo tlz,, Park grounds.

unsatisfacto ry se rvice o r disco u rtesy o n th e pa rt o f th e e mpl oyees." Th e manage me nt o f Ravinia Park o ffered consid e rabl e advi ce a bo ut trave l to a nd acco mm odations in Highl and Park. Th e Chi cago & rvtilwa ukee Electri c a nd th e Chi cago & No rth Weste rn lines o ffe red co mpe ting servi ces, alth o ugh th e latte r sto pped at th e G le ncoe sta ti o n rath e r th an at th e main gate to th e Park. T h e tro ll ey o ffe red a spec ial run be twee n La ke Forest a nd the Park beginning in Jun e 1905. Mo to rists a nd th ose arri ving by pri vate ho rse-drawn ca rri ages we re ad vised th at She rida n Road a nd Gree n Bay Road were "most e nj oya bl e." Th e ma nage me nt suggested ove rnight lodgi ng a t I lighl and Park's Morain e Ho te l, three mil es no rth of Ravini a, whi ch bill ed itse lf as th e '" Wald o rf~As to ri a' of th e North Sho re." Situated alo ng Sh e rida n Road o n a bluff ove rl oo king La ke Mi chiga n, th e ho te l o ffe red a garage fo r a uto mobil e , a re pair sho p with a full lin e o r supplies, and a "special" dining roo m fo r cha uffe urs. An

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Chicago History, Summer 1987

Ravinia Park

Program cover (left) andgrouf; portrait of Lhe Ravinia Olganization from the late 19 JOs, a period offiscal stability for the Park under the ownership of the Ravinia Company. Between 1908 and 1911, Ravinia supporters from up and down the North Shore had rallied with contributions to save the Park from financial ruin.

advertisement proclaimed: "In location , grounds, building, equipment, service and appointments, The Moraine has no equal between Chicago and Milwaukee, and is considered one of the finest hostelries in the West, for people of taste, fashion and refinement." In founding Ravinia Park, A. C. Frost established himself as an impressario of open-air performances of classical music. His accomplishment reflected enhanced mobility within the metropolis, which historian Adna F. Weber amibuted largely to the advances in electric railway rapid transit that encouraged easy access between city and suburbs. In turn , this resulted in increased numbers of midd le-class Iisteners at evening performances of symphonic music. (No doubt many of them resided in suburbs.) Musicians, too, welcomed open-a ir engagements lo supplement t.heir meager earnings from the winter season. Summer performances, although not necessarily open ai1~

dated to 1866. Conductor Theodore Thomas (who in 1891 founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and presided over it until his death in 1905), introduced the "Summer Night Concerts" at the TeITace Garden in New York City. Walter Damrosch, in his memoir, warmly recalled his association with Ravinia in its earliest days. Anxious to encourage public acceptance of classical music, he believed outdoor symphonic performances served "a great educational factor." Philadelphia's Willow Grove Park, where Damrosch spent seven summers and designed a shell and open-air theater notably similar to Ravinia's, was also subsidized by a local rapid transit company. Indeed, Damrosch claimed that the emhusiasm evinced by summer panÂˇons would culminate in the creation of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Ravinia proved to be something ofan ins pi rat.ion for other outdoor programs, including those at Lewisohn Stadium in Manhattan (1918), the 57

Chicago History, Summer 1987 . I

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fbst can/ vino of aulomobilt•enlm11ce to Ravinia Park off of (:rem /Jay Road, c. /915. Thi• chive lo N.avinia along Sheridm, and Grem Bay rrxul1 was comidn-ed ··,nost e11jo)~1b/e."

Cincinnati Zoo (1921), the Hollywood Bowl (1922), and Tanglewood (1934). In its early years, however, the future of Ravinia Park as a center for summertime ymphonic music was precarious. Frost's Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad was plagued by undercapitalization as well as fiscal mismanagement, causing his subsidiary venture to suffer accordingly. The fir t hint of trouble came when salary payments for Damrosch and his musicians were delayed until late November 1905, tempora1ily calling into question whether Damrosch would return the next summer. When the e lectric lin e went into receivership on December 31, 1907 (with $9,715,000 in unaccounted funds), the future of the Park and the return ofDamrosch were again clouded. Beginning in March 1908, rumors about selling the grounds and converting them into "a sort of 'Coney Island'" circulated widely. This inspired fear along the North Shore about how such a transformation would affect "this delightful chain of residence towns." What happened in the springofl908 was unprecedented. Supporters organized themselves and launched a campaign to assure Ravinia Park's future. An organization was established to raise a "guarantee fund of from $10,000 to $25,000." The North Shore was key to this sustain ing effort. Eight subcommittees, one representing each of the suburbs comprising the network, solicited small as \rell as large donations. An anno uncement e laborated: 58

lt is the hope of the commiuee that the thousands of people along the north shore who have for several seasons enjored the high class music at Ravinia will he sufncientl)' interested in to subscribe in order that they continue to enjoy this music.

The success or this initial campaign resulted in the completion of a scheduled Ii Ye-week engagement by Damrosch and the 'cw York S}mphony Orchestra. But the same format, together with the same threat of fiscal collapse, was repeated prior to the summer of 1909. and once again in 1910. In the lauer year, howe\'et~ it was not until June 18 that an announcement guaranteed the summer schedule, set to begin one week later. Featured would be engagements b) Damrosch as well as the locally based Chicago Philharmonic conducted by Cheva lier Emmanuel and the Theodore Thomas Orchestra led by Frederick Stock. In.January 1911, renewed repons that the Park would not open the following summer assumed greater seriousness. Contributing to thi unhappy situation \,as \\'alter Damrosch's threat, made in late October of 1910, that he would soon institute legal proceedings to recover his as yet unpaid fee of $3,000 from the preceding summer. Supposedly the recei\'er now considered the Park a white elephant. This time, however, more enduring rescue measures were taken by a group of :'\onh Shore resident (most notably Louis Eckstein) who formed the Ravinia Company. Fearing the demise of outdoor summer pe1formances, they now purchased the Park from

Ravinia Park

Motorists seeking lodgings after a concert often stayed al the nearby Moraine Hotel, which advertised itself as the '"Waldoif-Astoria' of the North Shore."

the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad for the sole purpose of perpetuating the tradition of symphonic music. "Defined space," a term applied by Burton .J. Bledstein, a historian who has studied late nineteenth-century middle-class cultural institutions, helps to explain the devotion inspired by Ravinia Park. When music-loving citizens rallied between 1908 and 1911, they were offering significant testimony: despite the Park's precarious financial footing it had immediately earned it niche as a central feature of cultural life along the North Shore. It was the suburban counterpart of cultural edifices such as the Chicago Opera House (1885), the Auditorium Building (1889), and Symphony Hall (1904). Underscoring this was the carefully chosen focus of the fund-raising committee, who emphasized Ravinia Park's setting for symphonic performances featuring Walter Damrosch, Chevalier Emmanuel, and Frederick Stock rather than its role as a high-tone amusement ground. lso cs ential to the successful rescue of Ravinia Park was the fuct that its supporters did not incite local rivalries along the North Shore. A1Tanging the original fund-raising drive geographically, with each community represented by a subcommittee, had proved a wise tactic. This ploy must have reassured anyone sensiti,Âˇe-as man) were- about getting involved in a campaign that included all eight suburbs. Surely the voluntary nature of the campaign added to its success. upponcrs thereby

avoided divisive questions involving political jurisdiction that had confounded proponents of publicly financed inter-village projects at the tum of the century. Ravinia Park was a quasi-public institution that by careful design encompassed the whole of tJ1e North Shore. It inspired p1ide and devotion. When it once more fell upon difficult financial circumstances during the Great Depression (closing from 1932 until 1936), again it was rescued. The reconstituted sponsoring organization, known as the Ravinia Festival Association, henceforth directed the Park, fulfilling its original mission as "a cultural institution devoted to fine music." Ravinia Park reflects what was considered best, perhaps even ideal, about the conjuncture of suburbs and the central city. Anyone who regularly patronized the summertime symphonic pe1formances of Walter Damrosch or Frederick Stock would have agreed. The great orchestras they conducted were importantsymbolsofmodem urban life. The rise of the Park al o embodied the rising importance of the suburbs. Underscoring this was the arrangement of the earliest campaigns to secure Ravinia's financial future by the formation of eight subcommittees, one for each community that comprised the North Shore. Yet no committee existed in the city of Chicago, conveying the impression that if the Park was to be sustained, its patronage and financial support would have to be rooted in the network ofrailroad 59

Chicago History, Summer 1987

Ravinia Park

During its early years, Ravinia's entertainment bill included football and baseball games, ice skating and tobogganing, and "high class" American and European vaudeville such as the l-lungarian fortune tellers shown here.

Chicago History, Summer 1987

Under the pavilion, opening night, June 26, 1926. lns/Jili11g p,idP mu/ druoti1111, Hav111i11 /'ark nidur1'1 Ill 11 11111[,ing 1_1111/,,,/ of .\ 'mth Sh11r1â&#x20AC;˘ life through iL1 commitnwnt to fine music.

suburbs. The support their residents lavished upon Ravinia Park in its times of distress between 1905 and 1911 set a precedent. Communities cast aside lingering, petty rivalries. The campaign to assure Ravinia's future was conducted with a sense of mutuality, suggesting that for the first time people along the lakeshore had enthusiastically acted as all for one and one for all. Yet long-established political boundaries would forever perpetuate a degree of metropolitan fragmentation along the North Shore. The independence of the eight different municipalities was an 62

undeniable fact of North Shore life. That these places were spread over t\\'O counties (Lake and Cook) as well as five townships (Evanston, New. Trie1~ Deerfield, West Deerfield, and Shields) stymied the best-laid designs to realize cooperation. But change was already in process even if not easily visible. Residents were engaged, albeit with caution characteristic of highly self-conscious suburbs, in a process of redefining their circumstances. Encountering the technological imperatives spawned by metropolitan growth, they now thought anew about their communities. No longer

Ravinia Park interest of the North Shore rather than a single suburb. Alth ough the resolution of the water issue proved a cumbersome compromise, we must recognize the essentia l lesson: the place name "North Shore," its limitations recognized, had ach ieved acceptance as a unifying symbol for fushioning a policy premised upon that long-thwarted ideal of metropolitan cooperation. Hence the concept of a North Shore was not devoid of meaning even if its app li cations were limited. It constituted an expression rooted in the common historical experience of the eight loca les and the im agery they collective ly evoked. Ravinia Park, it seems fair to conclude, was the preeminent symbo l of this distinctive network. Historians shou ld interpret the support it received as the earliest manifestation of regional suburban consciousness; the Park constituted a functional expression as to what was deemed culturally proper and desirable by local residents. This leaves us to consider the application of the name "North Shore." Its invocation separated the suburban network from Chicago, the awesome symbol of urbanism, and its imperialistic political designs. We can conclude that the term North Shore amounted to a boundary. And it was this line of cultural demarcation that would stabi lize and clarify social as well as political relationships between a self-con cious suburban network and the fragmented metropolis. This is an adapta1ion from a forthcoming book, Creating Chicago's North Shore, published by The University of Chicago Press (spring 1988).

For Further Reading wa it satisfactory, they were discovering, lo act only as autonomous municipalities that happened to share a common geographic situation along a metropolitan conid01: People were learning to appreciate the desirability of a collective approach to some of the more pressing issues they encountered. The best example after Ravinia of this shift involved a concerted and sustained campaignfirst instituted in the 1880s-to preserve Lake Michigan as the primary source of pure drinking \\'atec After more than a quarter ofa century of frustrations, civic leaders achieved a political solution between 1911 and 1914 that represented the

The richly illustrated Ravinia: The Festival at Its Half Centuiy, Fannia Weingartner, ed. (Chicago: Ravinia Festival Association, 1985), is a history of Ravinia in the words of arti ts and performers who were a part of it. \\'alter Damrosch, My Musical Life (New York: Curtis Publishing Company, 1925) and Theodore Thomas, A Musical Autobiography, George Upton, ed. (New York: DaCapo Press. 1964), tell the stories of the conductors instrumental to Ravinia's success.

II I ustrations 48, CHS Library; 49, Highland Park Historical Society; 50 left, CHS, ICHi-20435; 50 right, Ravinia Festival; 51, CHS Library; 52. CHS, ICHi-20434; 53 top, Ravinia Fe 1ival: 53 bouom. Highland Park Historical Society; 54-55, Ravinia Festival; 56, Highland Park Historical Society; 57, Ravinia Festival; 58, Lake County i\luseum; 59, CHS Libraq; 60-63, Ra,Âˇinia Festival. 63

OnCP a plain uti Iitaria n box, by the I 890s the elevator lwd become a work of filag,Âˇred beauty. Courtesy of Otis Elevator Company.

YESTERDAY'S CITY BY PERRY R. DUIS As Chicago '.s skyline grew, so too did elevators, from crude hand-powered plaiforms to opulent "cages in the sky."

The history of the skyscraper is well known to Ch icagoans. But the great mystery in tJ1e creation oftJ1e tall building is the role of the e levatoc Early commentators on the skyscraper found it as important as tJ1e stee l frame. In 1894 noted criti c Barr Feree declared, "Vertical architecture wou ld be impossible ... without the elevator, the great equal izer of civilization which brings the fou1tee ntli story clown to the second." Louis Sullivan noted that it "made vertical travel tJ1at was once tedious and painful , now easy and comfmtable." And muckraker Lincoln Steffens said that "It [is] to modern building what the steam engine is to LTansportation, a revolutionary agent." The e levator's early existence in the city is much less familiar, howevec When Chicagoans first heard the word "elevator," it was in reference to tJ1e towering structures storing grain for later shipment to eastern markets. It appeared in 1839 and was a crude hand-powered lift that eventually gave way to a horse on a treadle. In 1848 steam engines took over the task of lifting the harvest to its temporary resting place. Inform ation about the first passenger elevators in the city before the 1860s is sparse. The seemingly limitl ess room for horizontal expansion and low property values reduced the incentive for construction beyond four or five floors, and building owners were willing to settle for low rents on upper stories. Chicagoans could only read about advances in elevator design in l\'ew \brk and Boston. But then, the prosperit) and growth cataly1ed by the Civil War began to increase clowntm,·n lan d ,·alu es, making vertical expansion realistic. A review of the commercial and industrial development of 1863 noted tliat "Quite a novelty has been introduced in elevators. which are now constructed entirely

of wood and iron on principle, where before they were only so botched together for convenience." About this time, the C. B. Farwell Company dry goods store installed a steam lift for the conve nience of its customers. For most hotels and stores, however; the grand stairca e was not only a sign ofattention to opulent detail, but a lso a necessity. During the remainder of the decade only a few oth er lift devices were installed, undoubtedly because of

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I850s, illl' invention of a safety brake device paved the way for the development of p1mmger etnx,tors in till' following decade. Courtesy of Otis Elevator Company.

Chicago History, Summer 1987 their expense and slow speed . The type most widely used operated with an engine that turned a large screw passing through the center of the car, which was in turn lifted on the thread . It was safe, but cumbersome and noisy. The conflagration of 1871 happened at an ironica ll y opportune time for Chicago. Local inventor C. W. Baldwin had just patented a new hydraulic lift mechanism the previous year, and other devices were coming on the market. During th e rebuilding period, several downtown property owners added up to seven tories when they designed their new buildings and had e levators installed as well. While most of these were steam powered, the rapid growth of the city inspired Baldwin to perfect his apparatus and attracted other manufacturers to the field. By 1878 e levator technology was poised for a decade of rapid development. Baldwin's device, which was marketed by the Hale Hydraulic Elevator Company, forced arch itects and property owners to choose between two technologies. Steam power had the advantages of familiarity and easy attachment to the building boiler. That became a disadvantage in the summer, however, when the furnace might otherwise be shutdown. The principle of the hydraulic elevator was similar to that of the steam engine. Pumps forced water from a 1,200-gallon basement holding tank to a high-pressure attic reservoir. When water was released through pipes, its force was strong enough to move a piston in a cylinder, which , in turn, pulled a cable through a network of pulleys to lifi. the car. Hydraulics could draw upon the city's improved water system and provided a smoother and faster ride, but they were complicated and expensive. While technical journals debated the relative efficiency of each system, the perfection of the elevator coincided with a revolution in downtown property demands. Chicago was the fustestgrowing city in America, and the coincidence of technological innov::itions there created an ideal market for the lift devices. One was the telephone, which allowed a company to locate manufacturing, warehousing, and transportation offices far from plant facilities in office towers. The evolution of building construction from all-masonry and wood to iron and then to steel framing removed all technological limits to building height. In the pe1;od ofa half-dozen years, all these factors came

together to create the modern skyscraper. The owners of the first elevator buildings had been reluctant to install more than one car because of the expense and the loss of va luable space on each 0oor. Unaware of the impact that vertica l mobility would have on the rental value of higher 0oors, they clung to the old principle that each step up the staircase lowered what tenants would pay. The first structures with more than one elevatm~ the Borden (1880) and the Montauk (1882) blocks, helped change the minds of real estate in vestors. The extra car was at first a spare to be used when the other broke clown, but owners quickly discovered that the added covenience was a selling point for their buildings. As tenants saw the desirability of moving above the noise and smell of the street and perhaps attaining a coveted view of the lake, they were willing to pay more per square foot for the top 0oors. The result was a reversal of the traditional property va lue system. The hydraulic method oflifting a car was barely twenty years old when a new technology promised to make it obsolete. Electric elevators involved a simpler apparatus that eliminated the need for rooftop and basement tanks. The earliest models were tested during the mid-1880s, and their motors greatly benefited from the perfection of the electric traction engine for streetcars. New lifts were also confined, at first, to larger buildings that had their own generator plants, until Samuel lnsull's plans for power generated in a central station and di tributed through a network of wires became reality. The adoption of his grid made it feasible to put electrically powered units into buildings of modest size, while the perfection of the automatic passenger-operated car, which eliminated the cost ofa conductor, contributed to elevator convenience. By 1895 the Chicago Post could note that the 3,000plus elevators in daily use in the city had an aggregate total of fifty miles of shaft and had added more than $100 million to the value of Chicago real estate. A single car in the Old Colony Building traveled twenty-eight miles each business day, 9,000 annually. The sixteen cars in the Monadnock Building journeyed a total of 180 to 200 miles and carried thirty to fifty thousand passengers on an average weekday; it took twentyseven men to maintain and run its cars. The elevator helped remake downtown Chicago. Rather than expand outward, the skyline stretched upward. Investors, confident that new buildings

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Chicago History, Summer 1987

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MultifJU' elevalors in /ale ninelecnlh-centwy skyscrapers like the Medinah TPmple (right) ocrnpied a great deal of interior space; lhis required grealer efficiency inflaor design (above). From Prominent Buildings Erected by the George A. Fuller Compan), Chicago, 1893. CHS Librwy.

would one day occupy their land, purchased property adjacent to the Loop. Exist.ing structures on those sites were allowed to decay in anticipat.ion of quick replacement. But the skyscraper concentrated more offices, store space, and people in a relatively small area, and skid row became a permanent problem. The elevator also affected the internal design of the bui lding. The large amount of space occupied by multiple elevators required greater efficiency in floor design. Architects had to estimate traffic flow on upper stories so that the number of shafts could be reduced through the use of express elevators. This maximized rental space and provided faster service for penthouse tenants, but it made the design ofa building much more complicated. The building lobby was also, in part, a creation of the elevator. Earlier "office blocks" had employed relatively simple entrances to interior staircases, and many first-floor spaces opened only onto the sidewalk. But the skyscraper revolutionized building entrances. The most accessible interior space became the most ornate. In part, this helped impress potential tenants and their visitors. But as the number of cars required to service the skyscraper grew (to as many as sixteen in the Masonic Temple), a waiting area became desirable. Steps to the upper

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floors became more ornate as they became more symbolic and functionless. First-floor shops and restaurants now opened inward as well as onto the street. Meanwhile, tJ1e elevator Gil~ once a utilitarian box, evol\'ed into a work of filigreed beauty. Fine paneling, onyx, and even, in fine hotels, seats for passengers made the rise a memorable experience. Great architect such as Oankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan made the cages, cars, and doors the visual centerpiece of each floor. Instead of being merely utilitarian like its outdoor counterpart the treet, the elevator was one or the most carefully decorated areas of the building. Most elevators rose and descended within shafts walled with open grillwork, and the partial exposure of the machinery made the ride an excit.ing encounter with technology. For no charge, the passenger saw wheels spinning and gear engaging. Many experienced a sensation of near-flight. 'Tm near Lo heaven .... How is thi for high?" wrote one 1906 visitor to th e Montgomery Ward Lower on Michigan Avenue in a post card to a friend in Cleburne, Texas. Visitors from rural areas had mixed react.ions Lo the ride. Some were drawn to it out of fascination, while others, such as federal jury members who came from all over northern Illinois to hear cases, sometimes let out shrieks

Ornately decorated building lobbies evolved out of the need JmÂˇ a waiti11g area for elroator /JO.ISl'll/{l' lo. Plwt111,n'C1/Jh by}. II '. 7"i',ylm: ( HS Prints a11d PhotografJhs Collection.

and demanded to be freed from the "iron critter" The elevator took on a social life of its own. The "conductors," as they were called, assumed conu-ol of a vertical railroad that served a sky craper city. Often nattily attired in uniforms, they directed and disciplined the crowds, who had to learn a new etiqueue. The closed space of the car precluded smoking and loud talk among men, while women discovered that large hats adorned with feathers and especially pins were unacceptable. Many riders practiced one annoying habit, however, which involved calling out stops just as the car approached the desired floor. The sudden stop that followed often left the other riders weak-kneed and angry. Building managers responded by removing the floor indicator, thus forcing everyone in the car to announce their destination before the door closed the first time. Sudden stops annoyed conductors who prided 70

themselves on how rapidly they could reach the top floo1~ Th is caused "elevator sickness," as the popular journals called it. Diuiness, shakine s, and a churning tomach occu1Ted when, according to Scientific American, "parts of the body are not stopped at the same time." The journal recommended that riders put head and shoulders against the side of the car and brace themselves. Safety was a much more critical issue than occasional nausea. All f01ms of technology involve a "crisis of familiarity," that is, discomfort, injury, and even loss of life before designs are perfected and the general public learns to use the innovation safely and properly. The elevator had the obvious potential to become a killer. Cars could become detached from their suspension, a problem compounded by the so-called 'J\.merican" type of elevator that employed cars hanging from cables. In contrast the European elevator used ratcheting

Yesterday~ City gears that allowed the car literally to climb the sides of the shaft. The flexible steel cables were not designed to be wound and unwound thousands of times around a small spool. Luminaries such as john A. Roebling, a noted bridge designer, warned that the steel 1rnuld crumble from metal fatigue . The car could also kill or maim those who acciclentJy opened floor doors, and more than one victim experienced tJ1e teJTible demise depicted so often in movies: falling down an elevator shaft. Unfcirtunate victims also lost arms and legs trying to enter or exit cars that slipped out of position at the floor . Others were killed when detached counterbalance weights fell clown the shaft and through the rnofs of the cars. The number of fatalities in Chicago was as shocking as the lurid newspaper accounts of dismemberment and death . After a small string of accidents during the 1870s, the fatality toll reached ten in 1880 and inched upward annually. In l892 one elevator passenger died on average every twelve and a half days. This number was small when compared with the ninety-two killed in traffic-related mishaps, but as the number of elevators increased, so did the number of accidents. The issue of vertical safety helped fuel strong opposition to tJ1e new kyscrapers. Traffic engineers and health expe1ts argued that the new tall buildings flooded the streets with excess traffic, put a strain on the water and sewer systems, and cast germnurturing shadows on the manure-laden streets. But screaming headlines about fires and falling elevators convinced Chicagoans of the necessity of a height limit. On five separate occasions between 1893 and 1910, the Chicago City Council enacted legislation to establish a ceiling on vertical expansion, citing public safety as the major reason. imply limiting new construction did not solve the problem, but a numberoftechnological innovations offered help. Du1Âˇing the last three decades of the century, inventors patented literally thousands of elevator safety devices. In 1879, even before the true skyscraper had emerged, Chicagoan A. C. Ellithorpe had begun demonstrating his air cushion systems. With the inventor aboard, a car was cut loose from the top floor of the Chamber of Commerce Building, dropping the hundred feet to the basement. ;--/either Ellithorpe nor the eggs and goblets that 1,Âˇcnt down with him ll'ere injured upon landing. The device was adopted aero s the country by several elevator manufacturers. Soon,

emergency braking system and attachments to prevent the unsafe opening of doors became available. Thus, the technology of the vertical railroad kept pace with the soaring skyline. The real roots of the hazard were social, political, and economic. Rapid technological advancement from steam power to hydraulic to electricity left many outdated systems in its wake, along with owners who were reluctant to make more than the minimal repairs. It was often difficult to retrofit new safety devices onto old machinery. Building owners also lobbied against tightening the city code, which remained vague and mandated none of the new technology that could prevent accidents. The competence of the operators was also cause for concern. The "conductors" of the downtown buildings were probably the best-trained as well as the most closely supervised by their "starters" (who scheduled the movement of the cars from the first floor). But many of those who ran the cars in less prestigious locations were inexperienced children who raced their cars or easily became bored and inattentive. Even the most professional operators, however, succumbed to the temptation to sprint to the top of the building to pick up a penthouse passenger who might be especially generous with a Christmas tip in exchange for rapid, if unsafe, ervice. At the turn of the century, the press focused the blame for most accidents on the operators, who then accused building managers of running unsafe equipment. The operators formed a union, and a scattering of wildcat strikes during the first decade oft.he century demonstrated the skyscraper's total dependence on vertical machinery. When the elevators didn't run, the upper floors were virtually inaccessible. Public outCJ)' about safety also fueled efforts to pass legislation providing for the examination of conductors. When the City Council approved such a law in 1899, Mayor Carter HaJTison II vetoed it, complaining that it should not apply to seldomused freight elevators. He also disapproved of its provision to e tablish a minimum age of twentyone for operators. Too many widows, he claimed, depended upon the income of children whooperated elevators. The press for decade aftenvard chronicled the carnage caused by falling cars, dismemberment in the doors, and counterbalance ll'eights that fell cloll'n the shafts onto passengers. One federal survey of Cook County coroner's reports from 1904 through 1916 revealed that a 71

Chicago History, Summer 1987 total of 401 people had died in e levator accidents, an average ofabout thirty per year-s lightl y more than the 1892 rate. The safety issue also cast a shadow over the reputation of the elevator manufactu1ing industry. During the 1870s, when the hydraulic elevator had first been in use , Ch icago's Hale Elevator Company and the New York-based Otis firm, the giant started by inventor Elisha Graves Otis, divided the American market at the Alleghenies. Another Chicago builde1~ a division of the Crane Manufacturing Company, began making steam models in 1869 and hydraulics in 1878. This company, along with Hale and Otis, eventua ll y divided the bulk of the world's e levator sales three ways. Despite the prosperity of small er producers such as the J. W. Reedy and the Webster and Comstock companies of Chicago, the press began attacking the "e levator trust" at the turn of the century and linked it-at least in the public's mind-with daredevil operators and gris ly accidents. Th is also rein forced the argument th at the skyscraper was a symbol of monopolistic big business with little care for the commonweal. The situation did eventually improve. Older machinery gave way to newer cars, and strict enforcement of the child labor laws after 1913 increased t11e age of the operators. \Vhen properly maintained and inspected, the automatic machine,, removed the possibility of human e1Tor. Building owners who faced large liability claims also reali1.ecl that well-maintained equipment and a competent staff made good economic sense. In more recent years the ele\'ator has become so commonp lace that it seldom e\'okes much comment, attracting attention onl) after a rare accident or when newspaper feature writers rediscmÂˇer the anachronism of a non-automatic car. The new super skyscrapers of the 1970s caused some stir, howe\'er. Passengers can now 1.ip to the top of t11e Sears Tower- l,'.153 feet to the skydeck-at the rate of 1,800 leet per minute, much less time than it took Chicago's first elevators to climb a single floor.

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A hydraulic elevator (left) proviliRd a smoother cmd faster ride tlwn OIU' j!oWPred by steam engine, but it was more complex and expenqVf to operate. from "Something Radirally ,\ 'ew and l:mbodyi11g Radical Improvements in the Elevator Li11e, "CrmU' EiRvator Compau), CHS Library.