Chicago History | July 1993 by Chicago History Museum

CHICAGO HISTORY The Magazine of the Chicago Historical Society

ACT ING ED ITOR C 1. , 1 n 1A L;\ ~1 ~, Woo n

July 1993

Volume XXII , Number 2

ASS ISTANT EDITOR Ro~l·.\ 11\R \' /\l)t\ M ~

EDITORIAL ASS ISTANT ) .\' Ill.\

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CO TENTS

DESIGNER B11.1. V ,\ '-1 NIM WH ,I•:

PIIOTOGRAP IIY

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The Giant Jewel SUS/\N T t d ,BOT-ST/\N/\W/\Y

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A Home at Last JA

ICE ROSENBERG

38 The Evoluti on of an Evil Business RICI JARD LINDBERG

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DEPARTMENTS 3

From the Editor

Yesterday's City

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Chicago Historical Society OFFICERS Richard H. eedharn, Chair (deceased) Charles T. Brumback, Treasurer Richard M. Jaffee, Vice-Chair Philip E. Kelley, Secretary Edgar D. Jannotta, Vice-Chair Philip D. Block III, Jm111ecliate Past Chair Douglas Greenberg, President and Director TRUSTEES Lerone Bennett, Jr. Philip D. Block ITI Laurence Booth Charles T. Brumback Miche lle L. Co llin s Stewart S. Dixon Michae l H. Ebner Sharon Gist Gi lli am Philip W. Hummer Richard M. Jaffee Edgar D. Jannotta Philip E. Kelley W. Paul Krauss Fred A. Krehbiel

Mrs.John]. Louis R. Eden Martin Wayne A. McCoy Robert Meers Josephine Baskin Minow Richard H. eedham Potter Palmer Margarita Perez Gordon Segal Edward Byron Smith, Jr. Mrs. Thomas .J. Tausc he James R. Thompson Dempsey J. Trav is John R. Walter

LIFE TRUSTEES Bowen Blair Mrs. Frank D. Mayer John T. McCutcheon,Jr. Andrew McNally III Bryan S. Reid, Jr. Gardner H. Stern HONORARY TRUSTEES Richard M. Daley, Mayor, City of Chicago John W. Rogers, Jr., President, Chicago Park District The Chicago HisLorical Society is a privaLely endowed, independent instilulion devoted to collecling, inLerpreting, and preseming the rich multicultural hislory or Chicago and Illinois, as well as selecLed areas or American history, to the public through exhibitions, programs, research collenions, and publications. IL must look to ils members and friends for conLinuing financial support. ComribuLions LO Lhe SocieLy are tax-deduclib le, and appropriate recognition is accorded major gifis. Membership Membei-ship is open to anyone interested in the Society\ goals and activities. Classes of annual membership and dues are as follows: Individual, '30: Family/ Dual, 35 ; Studen t/ enio,· Citizen, 25. Member, receive 1hc Society's magazine, Chicago His/01)-; PCllt Times, a calendar and newsletter; invitation;, to special e,·ents; free admission to the building at all times; reserved seats at films and concerts in our auditorium; and a IO percent discount on books and other merchandise purchased in the Museum Store. Hours The Museum is open daily from 9:30 .1.,1. to 4:30 P.,1.; Sunday from 12:00 '\OO:S. lo 5:00 P.~I. The Library and the Archives and Manuscripts Collection are open Tuesda)' through Saturday from 9:30 .1. ,1. to 4 :30 P. ,1. All other research collections are open by appointment. ll1e Society is closed on Christmas, New Year's, and Thanksgiving days. Education and Public Programs Guided tours, slide lectures, gallery talks, craft demonstrations, and a ,·ariety of special programs for all ages, from preschool through senior citi1.en, are offered. Suggested Admission Fees for Nonmembers Adults, $3; Students ( 17-22 with va li d school ID ) and Senior Citi zens, 2; Ch il dren (6- 17), I. Admission is free on Mondays.

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Clark Street at North Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60614-6099

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From the Editor In a wo rl d o r co ncre te a nd co mpu te rs, ga rde ns ca n prov ide a lo nged -for co nn ecti o n to na ture, a n o ppo rtunity to measure tim e no t by a cl ock o r a ca le ndar. Ye t thro ug ho ut hi sw,-y, ga rde ns have prov id ed thi s esca pe, a nd th e ir d es ig n a nd use reveal mu ch a bo ut a soc ie ty. El a bo ra te, sy mm e tri cal pl easure gard e ns ex isted in Egy pt as ea rl y as 28 00 11. c .; th e o ld es t survivin g wriu e n p lan d a tes rro m 14 00 tu :. Th e G ree ks a nd Ro ma ns ·ou g ht refu ge rro m the urba n e nvironm e nt in th e ir pri va te co urtya rd ga rd e ns a nd publi c pa rks. In ea rl y Wes te rn Europ e, th e cloi~ters or C hri sti a n churches harbo red th e rare gard e ns. Th e expa nsive ness and o rd e r of Re na issa nce Ita li a n a nd late r Fre nch ga rd e ns reflected th e cha ng in g wo rld view fro m o ne in whi ch hum a ns we re sul~jec t Lo th e whim s o r na ture Lo o ne in whi ch hum a ns could unde rsta nd a nd eve n co ntrol th e na tura l world. Durin g thi s pe ri od , th e id ea th a t ho u -e a nd ga rd e n (c:) rm ed a co hes ive whol e e me rged , a nd ga rde n des ig n beca me th e prov in ce o r arc hitects. Durin g th e e ig htee nth ce ntury th e esta te ga rd e n s o r Fra nce, with th e ir ex pa nsive vistas a nd stro ng ax ia l pl a ns, beca me th e sta nd a rd mod e l for Euro pea n gard e ns. At th e sa me tim e, th e En gli sh began to qu esti o n th e a ppli cati on of ri gid geo me try to th e na tural la nd scape. Painter a nd architec t Willi a m Ke nt re be ll ed aga in st th e a rtifi cia l style. Be li ev in g th a t " na ture abhors a stra ig ht lin e," he in co rporated mea nd e rin g strea ms a nd windin g pa th . In th e e ig ht ee nLh ce ntury, sma ll ho use ho ld gard e ns beca me m o re common ; by th e nin e teenth ce nllrry, a !lo ral have n no lo nger be lo nged o nl y to th e wea lth y. Inte res t in ga rd e nin g and bo ta ny beca me wid es pread. fn 18 19, Eng li shm a n Willi a m Cobbe tt wro te a n ela bo ra te ly d e ta il ed ga rd e n manua l for Am erica ns with th e ho pes th a t th ey wo uld beco me be tte r ga rde ners. Cobbe tt placed grea t impo rta nce o n ga rd e nin g, sta tin g th a t "a· a n a mu se me nt, o r recreati o n, it is o ne of th e mos t ra tion a l a nd most condu cive to hea lth ." So fond we re th e En g li sh or th e ir ga rdens, he wro te, th a t " pove rty may a pologize fc)r a dirty dress o r a n un shave n fa ce; . .. but th e se nte nce o r th e who le na ti o n is, th a t he, who is a slove n in hi s ga rde n , i · a slove n ind ee d. " Eve n mo ra lity could be judged fro m th e a pp earance of gard e n. " Ir th a t be neg lected ," wrote Cobbett, "li e is, nin e tim es o ut o r te n, a slu gga rd o r a drunka rd , o r bo th ." Ga rd e ns, public a nd pri va te, beca me impo rta nt e leme nts of Ameri can citi es in the la te nin e tee nth ce ntury. Recognizin g th e need fo r na ture within th e city, d eve lo pe rs esta bli heel C hi cago' parks, whi ch were des ig ned by such no tabl e la nd sca pe architects as Frede ri ck Law Olmsted , William Le Baro n.J e nn ey, a nd.J e ns .J e nsen.J a ne Adda ms recognized the res to rative va lu e of nature: "City-bred little childre n who have never see n fl owers actu a lly growin g and sway in g in th e movin g air .. . lowe r the ir vo ice~, as if speakin g of a sacred matte r, to as k wheth e r it looks like thi s in heave n." T oday's citi es, ho me to 73 perce nt o r Am eri ca n ·, need gr ee nery. With 70 to 90 pe rce nt or a city's area co mposed o f buildin gs, as ph a lt, a nd co ncre te, average te mpe ra tures in a city rise fi ve lo nin e degrees above the su1Toundin g suburbs. In additio n to absorbing a ir pollutants, trees he lp to cool these "hea l isla nds," reducing coo lin g costs by as much as 50 pe rcent. Chicago's mayo r, Richa rd Da ley, has champio ned th e pl a ntin g o f trees. In a nothe r move ment LO brin g gree n pace to th e inn er city, the Chicago Bota nic Garde n's Green Chicago progra m helps groups in poor n eighborhoods turn vacant lots into ga rdens. Th ese oases p rovide much mo re than vegetables; they inspire reside nts to reclaim their ne ighborh oods. T he be ne fits to ·eekin g re fu ge in a gard e n a re man y. 1t is an a ntid o te to the mod ern world; for ma ny garde ners it is a source of exercise, thera py, a nd re lief fro m stress. But gardening al so creates a bo nd with th e la nd ; as Willi a m Cobbe tt wrote, garde ning " tend s to make hom e pleasant; and to endear to us th e spo t o n which it is our lot to live." CLW

The Giant Jewel Susan Talbot-Stanaway

During the bleakest years of the Great Depression, Chicago's lakefront glittered with the vivid colors of the A Century of Progress Exposition, which promised a bright new future for the city and the nation. During the summers of 1933 and 1934, over forty-eight million Americans stepped out of the depression and into a "veritable bombardment of color and light-a giant jewel , its myriad facets flashing countless rays of beauty"-the Century of Progress Exposition. Although the country was shrouded by the gray pall of the depression, fair organizers proceeded with plans to host a great world 's fair to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the city's incorporation. The Official Guide of the Fair described the city as "undaunted" by years "of recent memory, when the economic scheme seemed to go awry, and the steady march of progress appeared, to many, halted." Out of the disasters of the depression, the fair sought "to bring assurance ... that the forces of progress sweep on. They are forces of science, linked with the forces of industry." Through the financial power and merchandising acumen of the industrialists who planned the fair, Chicago could ''.jubilate over her own birthday, so peculiarly eloquent of progress." The writer compares the city of 1933 to that of 1893, which was just emerging from financial panic and widespread unemployment and was still rebuilding from the fire of 1871. He states that Chicago turned her "face toward the morning of new clay just as she had done in '93. She invited the world to observe with her the victories of a glorious past and the promise of a more glorious future." -111e face that the city presented to the world for this celebration was 0amboyanLly paimed with the color · of modernism. OjJjJ0.1it1', the entrance lo the A Centwy of Progress Ex:position featured an m1e1we ofdecomtive pennants. Overforty-eight million v1sitm:1 came to the fair. Photogm/Jh by Frfd Korth. S11.1m1 Talbot-Stanaway is cum/or of art at !he Neville Public /\/1i1·e11111, Green Bay, Wisconsin.

A writer for Fortune magazine wrote that the fair could succeed because of the depression, explaining: [It will] auract many mid-western families who in more prosperous times would vacation in the mountains or al the seashore but who this summer will content themselves with piling into the family ca1· and setting off to spend a few inexpensive days at the fairgrounds .... To attract the 350,000 people who are expected to swarm into the fairgrounds each day Messrs. Dawes and their co lleagues have played heavily on two potent American fetishes: Progress and Education. These are the keynotes of their fair.

To demonstrate American progress and education, the Century of Progress organizers embraced modernist concepts in art and architecture. By doing so they intended to surpas the impact of the World's Columbian Exposition forty years earlier. The pristine classical architecture of that fair, colored only at night by electric lighting, was its most memorable and influential feature. Caught in the shadow of the White City, progressive architects like Louis Sullivan were destroyed. But in 1933, an "exuberantly youthful Chicago," to express the "adventurous aspirations ... and freedom from old inhibitions" of her citizens, "has turned her tl1ought toward the tomorrow of humanity rather than back upon yesterday." Fair architects chose the role of prophet rather tl1an that of historian , exploiting raw geometry in a plethora of upbeat hue . Dr. Allen Diehl Albert, honorary secretary of the fair's Architectural Commi sion, summarized: "The Century of Progress might well be termed a preview of the architecture of the foture. Millions of people will view it and become mentally alert to the new conceptionthe material, form, mass, silhouette, and color." 5

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The General Electrzc · "H 'J crowned wz"th fiOU ouse ol' M a l. ,, murals . T'h ese rteen huge pillars covered g c was · 11111 1 trical indus ra s, depicting the with and ent· dtry, conceptualized A _story of elec1ce co merzca progress played at thefiair. ~sumers to buy the pn ro d ucts dis-

Chicago History, July 1993 The Century of Progress Architectural Commission consisted or ten prominent national architects: Raymond Hood, Harvey Wiley Corbett, Ralph T. Walker, and Albert Geiffert, Jr., of ew York, Paul Phillipe Cret of Philadelphia, and Arthur Brown, J:r., of San Francisco. Chicago architects included Hubert Burnham, John A. Holabird, Nathanial Owings, and Louis Skidmore. (For reasons that are unclear Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago's most internationally famous architect, was entirely excluded from the fair.) In 1928, the commission announced that the architectural keynotes of the fair would be new elements of construction, the potential of artificial lighting, new construction materials, and an attempt to "illustrate the beauty of form and detail" of contemporary architectural styles. The onset of the depression forced the commission to eliminate some exciting but grandiose architectural schemes, a situation that underscored the importance of color as a progressive feature and economic expedient. In fact, a coloristic aesthetic was facilitated by new materials and methods. In place of the expensive stainless steel, bronze, and fine woods of twentieth-century European fairs, reclaimable a bestos cement board, sheet

metal, masonite, gypsum board, and plywood were assembled in prefabricated units and fastened over web-and-timber skeleton frames of lightweight steel. Clip fasteners and reversible screws replaced nails on many buildings. The need to construct the building by the most economical methods determined style and decoration to some extent. According to a member of the Department or Works, "The simplest and most inexpensive machine production led to units of llat surface. Hence the architectural characteristic or the buildings is walls of flat surfaces, with mass effect rather than detail ornamentation." Color applied as paint, therefore, made excellent aesthetic and economic sense. The commission's decision to color the fair was unique in American architectural history. The fair's variously designed, but mostly modernistic, buildings were to be coordinated and e nlivened by means ofa single color program. The commission chose architect and stage designer Joseph Urban to create and implement the color program . He selected a palette or twenty-four intense hues, which were applied to the facades of every building, fence, llagpole, and ticket booth. This scheme was intended to "achieve harmony," to "fit the architectural scheme or utilitarian modernity, and to play its part in a joyous festival." At the same time, it was intended to "express the Exposition's deeper, more lasting implications and purposes." The guidebook writer mused: Were one to pose as a prophet, he might well say that here is suggestion of a future American color harmony, distinctive, bold, that could change neutral sections of cities and towns. bring cheer and liveliness to workers in factories, perhaps revolutionize in time th e conception of color effects in homes.

Above, the Official World's Fair Medal designed by Emil Robert Zettler. This bronze medal symbolized the progress of American industry between 1833 and 1933. The reverse side features a bas-relief ma/J of the fai1grounds. 8

Aesthetics and depression-induced budget cuts, however, were only pan of the reason for painting the fair in brilliant hues. The close correlation between the intense,jazzy color applied to buildings and the similar shades used in consumer goods and advertising suggests that the bright colors served a fundamental purpose: to sell the products displayed at the fair. Two of the chief movers behind the fair were Charles Gates Dawes and Rufus C. Dawes, two brothers

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The American Rolling Mill Com/Jany of 1'vliddletown , Ohio (ARJ'vlCO) and the Ferro Enamel CmjJoration ofClevelrmd (FERRO) collaborated in building de111onstratio11 homes lo show the practicality and durability offiwneles.1step/ and jJorce/ain enamel ronstruction . Above and below, workn1 weld heavy gauge sheet metal into floors and uâ&#x20AC;˘alls.

who own ed the Pure Oil Co mpa ny as we ll as a number of utiliti es. Amo ng the prin cipa l fin a ncia l gua ra ntors were Julius Rose nwa ld of Sears, Roebuck a nd Com pa ny, Philip K. Wri gley, the chewin g gum kin g, a nd other oil a nd utili ty magnates. In additio n, as with p revi ous a nd sub equ e nL world 's fa irs, most o f the buildi ngs a nd exhi bits were des ig ned to sell products. Amo ng the la rgest of th e buildin gs we re those of Fo rd , Ge ne ra l Mo to rs, C hrys ler, Firesto ne, Sears, Tim e-Fortun e, and Wes tern Uni o n. Th e Ha ll of Science and the T ravel and T ra nsportati on buildin gs, fo r exam p le, included nume rous co ncess io n boo th s and di splays spo nso re d by industry a nd com mercia l firm s. Co lo r coul d increase atte nda nce, create a n upbeat mood in visitors, a nd ma ke the m rece pti\Âˇe to th e sa les messages of ex hi bitors . In the buildi ng spo nsored by the A& P grocery store chain, fo r exa m p le, visitin g ho me ma kers were urged to paint their ki tche ns in the brillia nt hues used o n th e co mpa ny's co ffee packages so th ey could have a "carniva l ... a ll th e year ro und " in th e ir own ho mes. 9

Chicago History,july 1993 Color eilects inside homes had already been manipulated through the twin brushes of advertising and marketing. Although fair organizers, supporters, and critics would have vigorously denied it, Joseph Urban's color scheme corresponded with the development of color as a design tool in advertising and of a multitude of color variations in commercial products-everything from cars to bathroom fixtures. For at least a decade, manufacturers and advertising designers had sought to introduce a sense of changing, ever-beuer St)'le in their products through the use of color. The first issue of Fortune magazine, which appeared in 1930, contained an article celebrating the use of color. The Fortune commentator began: Consider, fo1- a moment, a 1·ecl bed. Reel is a common color and a bed is a fi..111cla111ental article or furniture. Yet the combination or the two had, until l'cry recently, almost a stanling cflect. Grandmother, perhaps, would hal'e thought a red bed immoral. Mother would hm·e consicle1·ecl it at least peculiar. Nearly anyone in , Sa)·, 1920, 11ould have expected to find only a Reel in a reel bed. \'ct, within the pa t !i,·e or six years, thousands or reel beds have blossomed in corresponding thousands or American bedroom,. Also ha"e arril'ed blue bed , green beds, yellow beds, mauve beds, and blue, green, yellow, purple, and mauve bedspreads to cover them. The1-e is now nothing stanling about color in the bedroomalthough architecture remains clrablr monotone.

By the early 1930s, automobiles, telephones, and household appliances had become "fashion goods." General Motors introduced automobiles in several colors in 1924. About the same time, Martex came out with colored and decorated bath towels-at four times the price of plain white. By the encl of the 1920s, Kohler Company of Wisconsin offered bathroom fixtures in gray, laYencler, blue, green, brown, and ivory. Another company made toilet paper aYailable in Yarious hues, such as green. A sink manufacturer with a romantic imagination offered sinks in Tang Reel, Orchid of Vincennes, Royal Copenhagen Blue, St. Porchaire Brown , Rose du Barry, Ionian Black, and Meissen White. The kitchen could be transformed by electric refrigerators, sold in 1928 by one firm " in four intriguing colors," 12

gas ranges (which were said "to blossom riotously in rainbow hues"), and Hoosier kitchen cabinets in "Venetian green and Oriental reel interior. " Furnaces uch as the "Reclnash" boiler invigorated the basement. Clothing advertising in particular promised self-transformation Lhrough color. In an Arrow Shirts advertisement in the November I 8, 1933, issue of Collier's, a young man cleclarecl, "I've decided I need more color in my life," and then explained, "A man gets so little chance to go a bit gay in bis dress, that I'm mighty pleased with the swing toward colored and patterned shirts. It's giving me an opportunity to enjoy some brightness and color for a change." The ad concludes with "How about a little more color in your life?" Commercial tran portation companies incorporated color into their vehicles. Colonial Airways Corporation vaunted airplanes with bright blue bodies and bright orange wings. Railroads would not be outdone; the Chicago & Alton 's ALion, Ltd., which plied a route between Chicago and St. Louis, was pulled by reel and maroon locomotives. One writer noted that the "Iron Horse has become most piebald on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, which running through the Grand Canyon, has decorated its cars in colors 'sy mptomatic of the Grand Canyon sunset."' Color appeared most clramaLically and most visibly in Hollywood movies. In 1921 , Technicolor, Inc., produced its first commercial mo,·ie, Toll of the Sea. In 1929 Warner Bros. produced the all-color movies On with the Show and Gold Diggers ~( Broadway. Gold Diggers grossed $3.5 million and resulted in a popular vogue for color. The vast changes in filmmaking required by color, however, and the lack of cash in the early l 930s led to a virtual halt in the making color movies. Nonetheless, the use or color had captured Americans' imaginaLions. In advertising, color stood out amid the black-and-white pages of magazines and stimulated interest in products no matter what their color. In 1927, a writer for Printer's Ink, the journal of printing and graphic design, declared that color is "the sex appeal of business." Another writer commented that color "promised therapeutic feelings of emotional or

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Chicago History, july 1993

Above, the entrance to the A Centwy of Progress Exj1ositio11. In addition lo satisfying new requirements for residences, the architects ofthe !-1011.se of Tomorrow (opposite) offered an optimistic vision of the future of home Life. The house stood three stories high and had a concrete founda tion, steel frame, glass walls, and air conditioning. Photograj1h by Kaufinann and Fabry. 14

Giant.fnoel sensuous excitement." Rich color and glitzy foils for images and type were frequent in magazine aclverti ements in the 1920s, although by 1933 such expensive ads had declined to a few pages per issue. But color would have certainly remained in the public view as a reminder or the material prosperity and optimism of the J 920s. Color epitomized what was new and desirable, and it was an essential characteristic of modernism in consumer goods. Thus by the time the Century or Progress organizers began their planning, color had pervaded consumer culture and popular entertainment. It also characterized modernism in the fine and decorative arts. As one recent historian has suggested, "Modernism is best conidered as a conceptual approach rather than a style." Its overwhelming force in our century has been found in "its ability to create memorable imagery and a vocabulary of form and detail that are, to a greater or lesser extent, appropriate to the present." Modernism was an approach to the twentieth century's new experiences and unique dilemmas that embraced

their newness and found solutions in inno\'ati\'e imagery, technology, and materials. These solutions, however, did not create a uniform or cohesive style. Instead, visual artists and designers explored new urban tensions and pleasures with new forms and expressiYe color. In painting and sculpture, for example, the early twentieth centu1y brought the coloristic explosions of fauvism in France, expressionism in Germany, and futurism in Italy. The use or color in the decorative arts was apparent at Paris's 1925 Exposition International des Arts Decoratifs Modernes, which introduced art deco as stylistic language. Art deco' predecessor, art nouveau, was characterized by pastels and the soft hues of nature, while deco designers often chose strong color in their work. The influence of color on modern art soon reached America. In the catalogue for the epochal Machine-Age Exposition of 1927, Louis Lozowick described a new art with "shapes and colors not paralleled in nature," and art that would encompass the "flowing rhythm or modern America."

Chicago H islory, j tdy 1993

la rge buildin gs, like th e Electri ca l Group , Urban used a number o r co lors to sepa rate th e buildin g's masses a nd link th e buildin g with nea rby stru ctu re . Such focus a nd tra nsiti o n was descr ibed by o ne of U rba n's ass ista n ts:

J oseph Urban sought lo color the fair lo fulfill the 111odernisl vision of the/air's 01ga11izers, as well as to a/1/Jea{ to visitors.

_Josgih Urba n, th e designer chose n to co lor th e fair, wa~ influ enced by these new uses of - color. From 19 18 to 1933, he des igned a nd directed the maj ority o f th e stage produ cti ons for ew York 's Metrop olita n Opera. T here he created a n ew style of sce ne ry tha t served as a medium fo r the recep ti on of colored lig ht. Deeply hued li ght was e normou ly effective in setting and shifting mood ; this factor would have been of great importa nce to fa ir orga ni zers. Indeed they would have seen color used to such effect in the Urban Room at Chicago's Congress H otel, where the designer had arranged that the entire room could be ba th ed alterna tely in red , blue, yellow, or white li ght. At th e fa ir, Urba n used co lor to unify buildings d esign ed by va ri ous a rchitects a nd lo es tablish the m ood s a nd re latio nship s prescribed by th e co mmi ss io n a nd th e fa ir or ganizers. H e selec ted a palette of twenty-fo ur intense colors: on e green , two blu e-gree ns, six blu es, two ye ll ows, th ree red s, four ora nges, l:'w o grays, and white, bl ac k, sil ver , a nd go ld . Most buildings we re pain ted three o r fo ur colors; so me acco mm od a ted fi ve or more. On 16

Pass in g in to th e east court o f the H a ll of Scie nce a n e ntire ly new m ood , a new key, is esta bli heel . Th e ma in mass o f d ee p o ra nge with its win gs o f lig hte r o rÂˇ,rnge rests o n a series o r blue a nd white ho ri zo nta ll y striped te rraces stre tchin g o ut toward th e wa ter, a nd is p inn ed Lo ea rth by the ma in tower which picks up th e blue o r te rraces a nd whose perpend icu lar fun cti o n is em p has i,ed by a vertical stri p o r the deep blue a lready e ncoun tered in th e ave nue of ap p n)ac h. T he br idge o f the Ge ne ra l Ex hi b its Buildin g is whi te, pi cki ng up th e white o f the lowerte rraces o f the H a ll o f Sc ie nce .. .. T he fin s a nd pla tes a t the se micircul a r e nds of th e win gs toward the lagoon culmin a te in bl aze o f clea r ye llow, coba lt blue and white .. .. In thi s way th ree distin ct units fo rmin g a na tu ra l seque nce have bee n trea ted in th ree diffe re nL colo r moods which resolve with easy tra nsitions into each oth e r.

Urban carefully chose overall perce ntages o r co lors fo r th e e nLi re fa ir-20 percent white, 20 pe rce n t blue, 20 pe rce nt oran ge, 15 perce nt bl ac k, a nd th e re ma inin g 25 perce nt di vid ed a mong the red s, ye ll ows, gree ns, a nd grays. These perce ntages prov ided th e required uni l)' a nd in tere t with out d isso na nce. At nig ht , the co lor program was inte nsiliecl th rough hidde n neo n tubes, co lored fl oodli g hts, a nd shiftin g co lo red searchli ghts. U rba n be li eved that " it beco mes a fun cti on o f co lor to rea li ze th a t a rti stic poss ibility whi ch gives a buildin g it arc hitectu ra l va lu e" and "to g ive th e required se nse of size, pl ay fuln ess or myste ry in eac h pa rti cu la r case." H e a lso fe lt th a t " the a tmosphe re of da ily life should be lost th e mo me nt o ne e ntered th e fa ir grou nds, tha t the visitors should fo rge t the ir ca res a nd troubles a nd be conscious of th e j oy o f li vin g." Urba n beca me ill a t th e end o f 1932 a nd di ed in July 1933. OttoTeege n, Urban 's assista n t, ass umed th e imm e nse tas k o f se lectin g the type o f pa int, see in g it co lo red to Urban 's specifica ti ons, a nd supervisin g the a pplication of a ll fiftee n thousand gall o ns within a p eri od of thirty-three days. A special case in paint was

Giant .Jew!'/

Srnlpterl hy l 'Irie I/ . Ellerlwse11, the Atomic Energy panel in the Electrical Building epitomized the modernist design of the fair. / 11 u dm111otir departure .Ji-om the classical srnlpture of the World 's Columbian Exposition, Centlll)' of Progress de1igner.1 recop;i1i!ed the value in .,lull and 111i11i111ol vi.111cd prese11tatio11. Photograph by Kaufmann and Fab,y. 17

Chicago History, July 1993

The Havoline Th enno111eler, which lowered above th e HavolinP Motor Oil Building, exem/1/ijied the advertising-driven archilecture oflhe fair. Photogra/Jh by Kaufmann and Fabry. 18

Cia ni j ewel

chose n as it would dry qui ckl y, adh e re we ll Lo gy psum board , pl ywood , a nd rn aso nite, a nd sta nd up to Chi cago's seve re wea th e r. Th e co lorin g o f th e fair eli cited a va ri ety of reacti ons. For Teege n, th e fa ir wa · the culminati on of a dream. H e co mm ented : " I low many ofus, lookin g out of our Pullma n window as we a re carri ed pas t th e sma ll cha racte rl ess citi es al o ng the lin e, have not wished th a t th e ski es mig ht so me d ay ra in pa int, milli o ns of gallons of pa int, n o ma tte r what co lor, just to give life to th ose dreary form s." One me mber of the Architectural Commi ss ion exp res ed th e hope th a t co lor like th a t used a t th e fa ir coul d reintrodu ce the inn oce nt j oys o r nature into a machine-too led socie ty: One of" th e need s o f Am e ri ca n life ... was th e free use o f co lo r. Th e te nde ncy a mo ng us has bee n Lo ma ke our ba rn s re d a nd ho uses whil e. Wh e refo re o n th ese b road spaces o r buildin gs .. o ne sees ye ll ow as bri g ht as buLLe rcups, blu e as d ee p as the sky, red as na min g as fire, gree n as green as the ne11 leaves on the fo rest in sprin gtime.

Perhap s the m os t drama ti c reacti o n cam e from a writer wh o ex perienced a n epiph a ny on viewin g th e fa ir for the first tim e, recordin g hi s impressio ns in mu sical terms: "Th e sy mph onic cras h or co lors sugges ts th e g rea t mo me nt in Wagner's Rheingold whe n Th or strikes th e rock from whi ch lea ps the rainbow bridge spa nnin g th e Rhin e." Oth e rs fo und th a t co lor had trul y fulfilled th e goals set for it by the Architectura l Co mmi ss ion. Paul Cre t wrote th a t he had seen "co nse rva ti ve p eo ple ga p a t th e vio le nt pi gme nts cove rin g a who le facad e, a nd th e n , wh e n they le ft th e fa ir gro und s, wo nd e r why th e stree ts o f the city we re so dreadfully drab and gray ." Mos t of th e parti cipa ting architects, a ca n be ex pec ted , co mm e nted fav o ra bl y. Albe rt Kahn gushed , "A pagea nt o f ind escribabl e bea uty has bee n crea ted ." Ely J acqu es Ka hn affirm ed th e vital ro le th a t color played: Urban's colo r sc he me fo r the e nti re ex hi bitio n has done a t least o ne vital thin g. Be in g unab le to ass im ila te th e va ri ed d egrees o f good a nd bad tas te o f indi vid ua l d es ig ne rs, he has whipped th e who le sche me imo a picture o r spa rklin g colo r th a t is

inu·igu ing to say th e least. I le has m o icled th e res tra in ed a nd chaste pastel ina nit ics fo 1· a pale tte L11 a t is res tr icted to pri ma1-y co lor, a nd a , eve rel y limi ted n um be,- or re lated to nes. The 1-esult is bo ld , f"res h a nd masc ulin e . By jud icious use o f" d a rk blues a nd blac ks, he has e mba lm ed va ri o us a rchitectura l ex pe1-im e nts tha t a re lo rtun a te ly hidd e n to th e ave rage visit or .... It wo uld see m to me th a t thi s colo r state me nt is by a ll odds th e most vita l co ntri buti o n LO a new a1-chitecture."

So me outsid e revi ewe rs, however , we re less e n thusias ti c. Doug las H as kell , writin g for Lo nd on 's A rrhilec/ 11 ml Review, decl a red , "Onl y tin ted glasses ca n g ive thi s p alelle ... a ny uni {icati on. It 'kn oc ks your eye out. "' In H as kell '· o pini o n, U rba n's co lor " pulled a pa rt th e individua l buildin gs . . .. \,Vh a t had not alread y bee n rre tted away in th e j agge d form s wa s frazz led by th e di spa ra te hu es." Ha ske ll conclud ed th a t "th e result is he nce mo re curi ous th a n beautiful. " Th e health co lumni st for th e Chicago Sunday Tribune eve n id e nti{i ed an o ptica l p robl e m ca used by th e co lors a nd suggested a so luti o n : It may be no ti ced that severe eye stra in ca uses a son or p us f"o rn1 a ti o n whi ch is ge ne ,-a ll y corrected with e ith er g lasses o r coverin g th e eyes fo r a period. T his is ge nera ll y not iced in snow blindness . . . or 'Wo rld's Fa ir' visitin g. ln the latter case thi s is caused by th e r io t of co lors o n th e buildin gs .. . . He re aga in we have so met hing th at may ca ll for a tte nti o n . . .. It is best to use g lasses of the blac k, blue, blu e-gree n or gree n va rie ty, r·athe r than the po pul a r a mbe r . ... [These] will no t ca use headacl~s o r eye fati gu e, as was commo nl y noted durin g last yea r.

T o Fra nk Ll oyd Wri ght, wh o was not asked Lo he lp pl a n th e fa ir, " the wh o le pe rform a nce is pe tty, strid e nt a nd base . ... N othin g has ha ppe ned exce pt gesture a nd gaudy- so methin g ba\\'dy- self-indulge nce." Only R. Buckmin ster Fulle r, th e maveri ck architect late r fa mous fo r hi s geod es ic d omes, see ms to have id e nti{i ed the rela ti o nship be twee n rban 's co lor a nd po pular and co mme rcial media and d ebunked th e "ga ri sh advertising-mania architecture .. . d es ig ned to restimulate ' business' . .. rath er tha n serving as a copya bl e co mpositi on ro r th e current gen era ti on s." 19

Chicago Histo1y, J11ly 1993 Alo ne a mong th e a rts which se rve indu stry, a rchitectlll路e lags be hind in the ru sh to kn ow a nd use co lor. Whe n at le ngth it comes into its stride, it can make th e most spectacul ar exhi b iti o n of all. Th e spl end id J ain tem pl es of.J aipur, gorgeous wiLl1 their emeralds a nd ru bies a nd sap phires, will pale beside a green a nd orchi d towe1-, va ulting a fifth of a mil e into th e air. We shall outdo th e barba ri a ns. And our poe ts will a ppl aud .

For Furth e r Reading

Above, the Wh iting Nmh Town.

Was U rban 's co lo r p rogram "gaudy" or "garish " or simply a mo num e ntal varia nt or the red bed tha t had fo und accep ta nce in Ameri can bedrooms? In 1930 Fo rtune decl a red that "old suppressi ons had bee n released" in consumer products but beli eved th a t color in architecture was "still held to be adva nced a nd possibly dan gerou s thinkin g .... Am erica has no t ye t see n a maj or a rchi tectu ra l e ffo rt in which col or has been unreservedly an d in te llige ntly used ." Th e Ce ntu ry of Progress Architectural Commission had hoped to educate the architectural p ala te o r vi sitors and co nvin ce the world tha t Chicago could lead th e nat io n into the beckonin g sunri se beyo nd th e d epression . Wha t was in fact ac hi eved was a bri ef moment in which th e a rt or a rchitecture met a nd assimilated th e na rnboya nt la nguage or contemporary mass e n te rtainm e n t, adve rtising, and product d es ign. C hi cago' s "gi a ntj ewel" g limm ered for two summers bes ide th e la ke with twe n tie thcentury Ame rica's true co lors. T he fa ir was a welcome respite from de pression drab and a n adve rtising ma n 's dream. Fo rtune's comm e nta tor, close to the pulse o f" Am erican busin ess, wistfully a nticipated : 22

St11a nn e I Iii to n's Here Today and Gone Tomorrow: The SLOI)' of IVorld's Fairs and l':xposilions (Phil adelphia: Westmin ster Press, 1978) describes how the A CentUI")' of Prngress Ex positio n refl ected a nd stimula ted technological progress. Roben Rydell 's Wor/,d of Fairs: 77,e Cmtwy of Progress Ex/Jositio11.1 (Chicago: Unive1-sity of Chicago Press, l 993) examin es how th ese fa irs offe red ho pe fo r pros perity. For descriptio ns of the scu lp ture at the fa ir, see J ewell E. Ricke r, ed. Sculp/11/"/' al a Cenllll)' of Progress (Chicago, 1934). The first i~s ue of Fortune maga1.ine (Februa ry 1930) contain s the a rticle "Color in ln d usu-y," which ex pl ores the "1路ed bed" phenomeno n and the ex p lo io n of color in consumer goods. Two article containing information o n the fa ir a nd the use of colo1路 a t the fa ir include Otto Teegan's ".J oseph Urba n's Philosophy of Color," Arrhiterl11re (May 1933) a nd 'The Gate : 350,000 People a Day,"' Fortune (May I933). The Chicago Histo rica l Society Libra ry has numerous articles, invitati o ns, pa mphlets, guides, progra ms, ti ckets, passes, and oth e1路 ma teri als from the fa ir. To lea rn mo re about the developme nt of Anle rican mode rn sty le a nd indus tri al d esign and pl anni ng, see Carl\\'. Condit, Chicago 1930-70: Building, Pla1111i11g, and Urban Tech110/og;y (C hicago: Uni versity of Chicago Press, 1974) a nd Alice Gold fa rb Marquis, I lopes and Ashes: The Bi1th ofJ\loder11 Time, J 929-1939 (New York: -n 1e Free Press, 1986) . .J effrey L. Meikle' Twelllielh Cn,t111y U milfd: !ndll~lrial Design in America, 1925- / 939 (Phil adelphi a: Templ e Unive rsity Press, 1979) explores how industrial design offered an optimistic view of the fi1 tu1-e.

Illustra tions 4-, CH S, ICHi -23852; 6-7, CH S, ICHi-23847; 8,

CHS Decorati ve a nd Indu stri al Arts Coll ectio n; 9 top, C HS, ICHi-23856; 9 bo ttom, C HS, ICHi23855; 10- 11 , CHS, H-B 1643 N2; 13, from Collier's ( ove mber 18, I 933), Chi cago Public Library ; 14, CII S, ICHi -23854; 15, C HS, IC Hi-22838; 16, autho r's collecti o n ; 17, CHS, ICHi-23846; 18, CHS, ICHi -02 12 1: 20-2 1, CHS, IC Hi -23853; 22 , CH S, IC Hi -23083; 23, CH S, TCHi-2385 0.

Gian t j ewel

1lbow, the Water Gate Entrance to the F:lectrirn/ Building /novided a lrmdi11gfor visito1:~ who came ji-om across the lagoon . The des(e;11s on the 011r-l11wdredJool /1ylo11.1featured srnlpted figures representing Light and Sound. The modem designs wer1' vividly brought 011/ by the colon 11.1nl 011 the srulpture.

A Home at Last

In 1897 Chicagoans celebrated the dedication of a glorious new library.

JANICE ROSENBERG

Twentieth-century Chicagoans take the city's public library system for

granted, but there was a time when library collections were available to "members only" and the public had no free library to call its own. In the years between the arrival of the first settlers in Chicago and the opening of the Chicago Public Library's first pe1manent home-the building known today as the Cultural Center-hard work, disappointment, and occasionally bitter conflict culminated in a book collection and a library building that would make any major metropolis proud.~ According to historians, the repository for Chicago's first collection of books was most likely a log cabin Sunday school. The collection, donated by a Sunday school back east, was carried to the Midwest in 1833 by settler Joseph Meeker.~ The first library of a general nature was established soon after. In late 1834, Dr. John T. Temple, Dr. William B. Egan, and other members of the Chicago Lyceum met with citizens interested in establishing a library for Lyceum members. The Lyceum, a cultural institution fonned that year, maintained a collection of about three hundred volumes. Members held weekly meetings at the courthouse on the corner of Randolph and Clark streets, where they took part in conversation, debate, and Walter Newberry. CHS Print5 and Photographs Collection.

other intellectual activities.~ By l 841, however, the populruity of the Lyceum had waned. Several members joined together to organize

the Young Men's Association and soon established a pennanent reading room at the northwest comer of Lake and Clark streets. Walter Loomis Newberry, the association's first president, stated that one of the group's goals was "to lay the foundations of a library which should be the pride and boast of the city."~ To build the collection, each member of the Young Men's Association was asked to contribute one book. Newberry himself gave many more, and soon one hundred volumes were donated. The new library, located in a room over a barbershop, was known as a place of warm familiarity and ready accessibility. By 1847, the library included works by popular authors of the day, such as Maria Edgeworth, James Fenimore Cooper, and Washington Irving. The library also

English aut hor Thomas Hughes. CHS

Janice Rosenberg is a Chicago freelance writer with a master's degree in library science.

Prints and Photographs Collection.

received numerous periodicals and newspapers. Librarians were retained on a yearly basis. The Young Men's Association had grown to 937 members by 1855. With the city's population increasing, the association recognized a need for more books and more room in which to house them. Money was alway in short supply, however, despite popular lectures that helped augment the library 's income.~ In 1864, the association appointed John M. Horton as librarian. Horton, the first librarian to be given permanent tenure, took inventory, established an up-todate system of record keeping and cataloguing, and created the library's third printed catalogue. By this time, the association's librarynow located on the second floor of the Metropolitan Building at the corner of LaSalle and Randolph-was considered the public library of the city. Although it was intended primarily for the use of the association's 1,658 members, anyone who wished to pay fifty cents a month could use the collection.

Inset, Chicago Public Library. CHS Prints and

Eventually, members recognized the need for a

Photographs Collection. Background, Chicago Public

genuinely public library. With this in mind, in

Library, Special Collections Division.

1868 they obtained authority from the Illinois legislature to change the group's name from the Young Men 's Association to the Chicago Library A sociation.

The renamed association

was not the only group working to create a public library. In 1867, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) also began asking Chicagoans to donate money for a library, thus creating a competition for funds. Because many Chicagoans feared that the YMCA, a religious organization, would censor books on moral grounds, the idea of a tax-supported library began to take hold. On March 23, 1871, an act permitting cities to tax their citizens to support public libraries throughout Illinois was introduced in the Springfield legislature.~ On October 9, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the association's thirty-thousand-volume collection. Shortly after the fire, citizens once again expressed their interest in a public library, but without funds, a building, or the support of the state legislature, replacing the collection seemed impossible. Then news of the fire and the lost library reached England where citizens, under the leadership of author Thomas Hughes, sent several thousand books.

Once the books were

donated, the library was soon established as a public, tax-supported institution in Chicago. On February 16, 1872, the Illinois legislature passed an act approving public libraries; the act was signed into law by Governor John M. Palmer on March 7. In April, Chicago mayor Joseph Medill officially established the Chicago Public Library and appointed the first board of directors. In just under forty years, the Chicago Lyceum's collection of three hundred books had matured into a permanent, public institution. 25

CIII CAGO HI STORY. J ULY

EARLY HOMES In choosing the first home for

Several library offices \\ere located in a thirt~â&#x20AC;˘-foot-high

the newly established Chicago Public Library.

abandoned water tank located behind the Rookery, an

board members concentrated on finding a

office building at LaSalle and Adams streets. Below,

structure that was fireproof and had a central location; aesthetic considerations were secondary. An abandoned iron water tank. originally built as a distributing reservoir for the South Division of the city, had survived the fire and, after substantial renovation. was transformed to meet the library 's needs. The tank was thirty feet high and nearly as wide at its base. It was located behind a twostory office building at LaSalle and Adams streets, known as the Rookery. Before the tank could be used as a library. it had to be roofed with iron trusses and a skylight. Contractors renovated the interior of the tank as well by providing a system for gaslight. covering the iron floor with walnut planks, and calcimating the walls. The contractors also built a twelvefoot gallery. complete with shelves, to house the library's book collection, which by this time exceeded seventeen thousand volumes. An annexed section of the Rookery Building provided room for a vestibule, a smaller reading room, a director's room, and a librarian's office.

The water tank reading

room opened on January l, 1873. Over the next thirteen years, the collection moved three more times: on March I 6, 1874, to a building at the southeast comer of Madison and Wabash where, for the first time, the collection was made available for circulation without charge to all Chicagoans; on May 27, 1875, to the Dickey Building at Lake and Dearborn; and on May 24, 1886, to the fourth floor of City Hall. The library's collection, which by 1886 had reached 120,000 volumes, remained at City Hall until the completion of the building at 78 East Washington in 1897. 26

1993

gravure. The Rooker., lobby. c. 1893. CHS. ICHi-17281.

A HOME AT LAST Inset, "The Book Room in the Old Water Tank, Chicago Public Library," engraving from The Merchants and Ma1111Jacturers of Chicago, by J.M. Wing & Co., 1873. CHS,

ICHi-13217.

CHICAGO HISTORY, JULY

1993

A HOME AT LAST The state legislature gave the Chicago Public Library the building site on Washington Street in l 891. The site consisted of a parcel of land, formerly known as Dearborn Park, bounded by Michigan Avenue, Washington Street, Garland Court, and Randolph Street. Title to the property was not free and clear, however, when the library board received it. In 1889, the state legislature had given a veteran 's organization caUed the Soldiers ' Home title to the north quarter of Dearborn Park. The organization intended to use the site to build a memorial hall for members of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' society founded in 1866 for men who served in the Union army during the Civil War.

ea- To

build the library, the

board reached a compromise with the Soldiers' Home. The library board agreed that the new library would include an area that would be maintained as a memorial to Civil War veterans. The Soldiers' Home signed a fifty-year lease for their space in the library at the nominal fee of ten dollars a year. In return the library agreed to supply heat, light, and janitorial and repair services. Once the dispute with the Soldiers' Home group was settled, the library board requested bids from five architectural firms. The architects were instructed to design a building in a classical revival style, without a dome or tower. The board considered contemporary architectural innovations used in commercial buildings in Chicago's Loop during this period unsuitable for a public institution such as the library. In 1892 the library board accepted the bid of the Boston firm Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, stipulating that the finished design be such that future additions could be made without destroying the building's character.

ea- Shepley, Rutan

and Coolidge hired

engineer William Sooy Smith to design a foundation that would support the massive weight of the building on the unstable mud and subsoil of the site. In the end, 2,375 piles, driven to an average depth of seventy-four feet below the sidewalk, supported the seventy-two thousand ton weight of the finished library.

ea-

The exterior of the library

building combines a number of classical styles of architecture, ranging from the austere, neo-Greek simplicity of the lower part of the building to the ornate frieze of garlands and lions ' heads above the fourth floor windows.

ea-

The library has two

entrances. The Washington Street doors were designed to serve as the main entrance. The Ran28

-----

-- --

A HOME AT LAST

Opposite top, "Book Department," engraving from The Graphic, February 8, 1890. CHS, ICHi-00865. Opposite bottom, construction of the Chicago Public Library began in 1891. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections Division. Above, the completed library, c. 1900. CHS, ICHi-00866. Below, "Reading Room," engraving from The Graphic, February 8, 1890. CHS Prints and Photographs Collection.

dolph Street entrance was meant to provide access to the reading rooms and the Grand Army of the Republic rooms on the second floor.

The board also required that the building be set back fifteen

feet from the street, that it contain a maximum amount of floor space and natural light, and that it be divided into fireproof compartments. The building was paid for by an approp1iation raised by a special state tax. The projected cost of building the library was $2 million; the actual cost was $1,941,033. The building was formally dedicated on the anniversary of the Chicago Fire, October 9, 1897. In his dedication address, board president Azel F. Hatch announced, "It has been built for today and for a hundred years, and will stand as a monument of the public spirit of our citizen

long after the

growth of this library shall overflow its ample walls.

On the morning of October 11, I 897, the

doors were opened to the public. The first person to cross the threshold was Mary Adams, a frequent patron. The first book borrowed was Only an Irish Boy by Horatio Alger, checked out by fifteen-year-

old Frank Mumihan. 29

C HI CAGO HI STORY, J ULY

1993

H OME AT L AST

Left, the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, located on the library's second floor, contained glass cases for relics such as uniforms, badges, guns, and artillery shells. Above, the dome located in the GAR's lobby rotunda was probably designed by Tiffany and Co. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections Division.

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC

The Grand

Army of the Republic (GAR) originally occupied eighteen thousand square feet on the library's second floor. The Grand Army Memorial Hall, which measured six thousand square feet, was decorated in warm browns and greens of verde-antique marble. The walls are topped by a plaster relief frieze depicting ancient armaments. Open floor space offered room for bronze flag cases and glass cases for relics such as uniforms, badges, guns, and artillery shells.

The

GAR 's other twelve thousand square feet of library space consisted of a lobby rotunda and anterooms. The dome in the rotunda is believed to have been designed by Tiffany & Co.

The

GAR's lease expired on December 31, 1947, and, despite some controversy in the state legislature, the library took over all the army's space except for the Memorial Hall. 31

CHICAGO HISTORY, JULY

INTERIOR DECORATJO

1993

s The interior of the

building displays a wide variety of rare marbles. Siena marble-a combination of yellow, purple, green, and cream-colored tints-embellishes the main room on the third floor, where members of the library staff delivered books to patrons. Veined Italian marble, pink Tennessee marble, and a nearly white Carrara marble high.light the Randolph Street entrance.

All of the fittings

in the building are hand-wrought of iron and bronze. Solid bronze balusters, light brackets, and ceiling soffit frames shine in the Randolph Street lobby. Even the grills that cover the heat and ventilating shafts are made of bronze. Left, an original bronze light fixture. Below, the Randolph Street lobby elevator. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections Division.

WASHINGTON STREET ENTRANCE

The massive

elliptical arch of the main staircase dominates the lobby of the Washington Street entrance. At the foot of the staircase, a bronze replica of the corporate seal of Chicago is embedded in the green and white mosaic floor. The steps are marble and the walls are made of Italian statuary marble from Carrara. The walls and stairway balustrades, designed by Robert Spencer and executed by J. A. Holzer, formerly of the Tiffany firm, are inlaid with mosaics of glass, mother-ofpearl, and semiprecious stones.

/\ I IOMI , AT L AST

Above, lhe library's vasl reading and reference rooms provided an appealing al mosphere in which lo use the colleclions. Lef'I, worker shovels coal into lhe library's massive furnace. Chicago Public Library, S1>ccial ( 'ollect ions Division.

CHICAGO HISTORY , JULY

PRESTON BRADLEY HALL

1993

This area, originally

called the delivery room, housed the circulation depaitment for many years. The central rotunda is topped by a stained-glass dome, believed to have been at least partially designed by the Tiffany firm. Arches covered with sumptuous mosaics support the dome. Three of the four large piers supporting the dome show symbols of famous fifteenth- and sixteenth-century I

It!...'

I_ I

I I

I t_ t

â&#x20AC;˘ . â&#x20AC;˘II

I t l 'i

printers. The fourth bears the inverted Y-shaped emblem of Chicago, representing the Chicago

Top, library employees sit beneath the spectacular mosaic dome in Preston Bradley Hall, c. 1940. Opposite, another view of the dome. Above, clock with cherubs. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections Division.

River and its branches.

The east and west

wings of the hall are wainscoted in Carrara marble. On the upper portions of the walls, inscriptions extolling books and reading in ten lai1guages are inlaid in green marble panels. After the building's renovations during the 1970s, the hall was nan1ed for Dr. Preston Bradley, a Chicago cultural leader and a Chicago Public Library board member for more than fifty years.

The library director' s ollice in 1977, after the library's extensive renovation. Chicago Public Library, Special Collections Division.

/\ 1IO ME AT LAST CONCLUSION Although lhe archiLecLUral beauty of

Ihe Chicago Public Library remained inlact, by

1923 the building was Loo small to meel Lhe library 's growing needs. That year board president Charles Schick described Lhe library 's silualion: "A ll accommodations for public, for staff and for books have been oulgrown . Congestion and discomfort prevail in every department. "

ea..

Schick

pleaded for funds so Lhat Lhe library could build an addition. Neither the city government nor Lhe stale

mond , llcbcc, and llahka Incorporated. The library opened

legislature Look any action, however, and com-

in 1991 and is the large~t munici1>al library in the country.

plaints or crowding continued . When the Grand

Chicago Public Librnry, Special ('ollcctiorn, Divi~ion.

Army of the Republic 's lease expired on December 31, 1947, the library gained an additional twelve thousand square feel of space, buL this did little to ease the problem of overcrowding.

ea.. In 1967, the

city paid Lhe architectural firm of I Iolabird and Root fifty thousand dollars Lo determine whether Lhe library building should be modernized or torn down and replaced . The firm recommended that the building be saved, noting that although the heating, mechanical, communications, and electrical systems were obsolete, the building itself was structurally sound. To solve the space problem, I lolabird and Root recommended constructing an additional room within the courtyard. They estimated the cost of new construction and renovation at $ I 0,375,000.

ea.. A

variety of other proposals were considered

as well, including the building of a new library between Garland

ourt and Wabash Avenue. In early

1972, however, Mayor Richard J. Daley 's library committee voted unanimously to save the central library. Renovation began in August of 1974. The library board had decided to use the space as a library for popular fi ction and nonfiction books and as a center for cultural activities. They planned to construct a new building in the near future. Until then , a substantial portion of the libnuÂˇy's collection would have to be moved elsewhere.

ea.. The era of the Chicago

Publi c Library's temporary headquarters had

begun. In November 1974, more than half of the library 's collection was moved Lo the Mandel Building at 425 North Michigan. Patrons who needed access Lo materials in science and L chnology, the humanities, hi story, social sciences, and business, among others, would no longer visit the original main building. This divi sion of services was expected to last only five years, at which time a new central library would be available. the demolition

ea.. Fourteen years later the collection

remained divided . In July

1988, with

or the Mandel Building imminent, the library moved five million books plus its collec-

tion of newspapers and periodicals to a clingy warehouse at 400 North Franklin Street.

ea.. In 1991 the

Harold Washington Library Center opened at 400 South State Street and the Chicago Public Library's main book collection was reunited. The Harold Washington Center, ten stories high with 750,000 square feet of space, is the largest municipal library building in the country. Its spacious, modem facilities would an1aze and please those who struggled long and hard to give Chicago a public library.

ea..

Most Chicagoan today know the Chicago Public Library 's original building at 78 East Washington only as the Cultural Center. Placed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks in 1972 and designated a Chicago Landmark in 1976, thi s magnificent structure will serve the city for many years.

The Evolution of an Evil Business Richard Lindberg

Chicago's corrupt and lucrative gambling operations of the late nineteenth century spawned the organized crime syndicate of the twentieth century.

Chicago's ga111bli11g enler/nise thrived with the enc01aageme111 and /Jrolection of civic and political leaders such as Mayor Car/er Harrison I (above).

In 1882 a committee of preachers walked up to Chicago's mayor, Carter Harrison I, and asked him ifhe knew that the "gambling hells" were running in plain view on Clark Streetthe great "rial to for the Goddess of Chance." "You don't say?" replied Harrison, whose tolerance of gambling was well known by the "sports" up and down the street. Harrison eyed them with bemusement for a moment, and then, with a touch of the quaint humor for which he was famous, said that he never doubted a word of what the good preachers were saying, because he had patronized several of the gambling houses on that thoroughfare just the night before. 38

By the time Mayor Harri so n took oflice in 1879, gambling in Chicago had been organized into a thriving enter prise and was controlled by a class of' me n who were the progen itors of today's crime bosses. The metamorphosis of gambling from small-time larceny practiced by card cheats into a centralized business whose exponents held elective ofllce, influenced the passage of legislation , and dictated the selection of a chief of police paralleled the rise of Chicago as the industrial hub of the Midwest. The presence of morally corrupting "gambling hells" was noted in Chicago as early as 1835, when a l:\venty- llve dollar fine was assessed the keeper of a game. During the 1830s, men who made gambling their business established themselves on the riverboats that carried wealthy southern businessmen to the northern port cities. The gambling that flourished on board provided relief for pas engers from the drudgery of a long river journey and, for the dishonest operators, a steady income. On land, they established themselves in the wharf districts-or levees-that dotted the waterfronts of raw western frontier towns such as Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. In a rew years, levee referred to an area on the periphery of the business district that housed saloons and gambling houses. It was a lawless district that was home to pimps, bounty jumpers, and robbers, a place where few of the underpaid and hopeless ly outnumbered police officers dared to venture. The first of many such Chicago levees was the Sands district, north of the Chicago River. Under orders from Mayor John Wenl:\Vorth, the "sandhouses" were torn down by the police on April 20, 1857. Richard C. Lindbe1g is lite author ofTo Serve and Collect: Chicago Politics and Police Corruption and is the editor of the Illinois Police and Sheriff's News.

(;a111bli11g games :,11th as thrre-rard monte, Jr1ro, euchre, and roulelle grew in popularity during the late nineteenth cen1111)'Âˇ The public's craving/or rrmusemenl, in addition lo the operators' influence i11 the selection of police c011111wnders, hmn/Jerl'{f low enforcement efforts. To/J. ronfiscated slot machines, c. l 906. Bol/0111, police office,:, s111ash slot machines. 39

Chicago History, July 1993 When threatened with public repression, gambling, prostitution, drinking, and the other forms of vice simply regrouped and shifted outward to safer locales, preferably to areas adjacent to railroad tations, rooming house districts, or any place where they would be assured of sen1 ing a highly transient population. The Civil War-era gamblers set up shop along Randolph Street between State and Dearborn where breweries were located. The nightly shootings, garrotings, and thievery earned Randolph Street a fearsome reputation during the Civil War years. Much of the action in those days was centered along Calhoun Place-known as Gambler's Alley-a narrow strip running west from Dearborn Street between Randolph and Washington. Darting through the crowds of betting men was a grubby street urchin named Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna, who would one day regulate the action in the First Ward as its alderman. Kenna got his start at "Silver" Bill Riley's poolroom, which sold lots in pools on sporting events and horse races, working the door as a bootblack while barely in his teens.

Gambling houses operated well outside the law, and at the time of the Civil War, their protection from police interference was minimal. Gambling was an inherently dangerous business practiced by men whose livelihood depended on their skill at outwitting the law. Michael Cassius McDonald , credited with founding organized crime in Chicago by establishing a netvvork of gamblers, con artists, and politicians, was keenly aware that his profession entailed risk. After McDonald arrived in Chicago in 1862, at age twenty-three, he witnessed the demise of several old-time operators who had made fortunes on Randolph Street during the war. These men , McDonald concluded, had failed . They squandered their fortunes through bad planning, profligate living, and an inability to wield effective control over the politicians and police, whose support was essential for continued success. Mike McDonald was smarter, more resourceful, and possessed the vision that his mentors lacked. He became a steerer, someone who

An Evil Business lured a pote ntial victim to the game, be it threecard monte, faro, euchre, or hazard-all very popular games in the 1860s and l 870s, with odds stacked heavily in favor of the house. By the end of the 1860s, McDonald and his busin ess partner, Peter Page, leased and operated the bar at the Richmond House Hotel , located near the train depot. Working behind the bar, McDona ld got to know all the important men in Chicago, and he plied out-of-town guests with the finest Kentucky whiskey before directing them to the back room , where bunko men, masters of cons and crooked games, would prey upon the unsuspecting newcomers.

McDonald argued that he supplied what ,,Âˇas a co nstant d emand: the public's craving for amusement and liquor. Yet from the pulpit, the re ligiou community railed against the sins of wagering and promised hell and damnation for those who were lured by its siren ong. Gambling "is an evil in itself, " complained the Reverend Dr. P. H. Swift of the Oakland Church on the South Side. " It substitutes chance for honest toil and thereby degrades mankind. It perverts the laws of God and becomes a menace to society ." Many of Chicago's gambling house Jnoprietors fint established Lhe1n.1elves 011 Mississippi River boa ls. Gambling on boa rd provided enlertainrnenl for /Ja ssengers and, for dishonest opera/ors, a steady income. Below, the Golden Era in tlu Ca/ma levee, c. 1852 . Photograph by Alexander Hesler.

Chicago Hislory,july 1993

PimjJs, honntyjw11pe1s, rohbns, and a transient J1op11latio11 uâ&#x20AC;˘ere lured I~\' saloom offering a place lo gamble and drink. Thf danger and illPgitimacy associated with saloon gambling, howevn , was rnrbed with the introduction of parlor ga111bling. It hove, gambling liing "Bigjim " O'Lea,y'.5 saloon, 1906.

McDonald replied to critics that he legitimi zed gamb lin g by serving a "better class" of people who had the means to play and fully understood the risks. He provided first-rate, innovative accommodations. McDonald introduced parlor gamb lin g in C hi cago, remov in g games from the back all eys and grimy saloons to more opu lent urroundings, which lent a new respectability to the venture. Thus was born Chicago's first encounter with casinosty le gambling. After the Great Ch icago Fire in 1871, McDonald transferred his operation from Randolph Street to 176 Clark Street, where he opened The Store, four fl oors of regal oste ntation. His wholesale liqu or business occupied --12

the first floor. Card games and roulette were played well into the early morning hours on the second floor. (The third level was McDonald's private residence; the furnished rooms on the fourth floor were rented to transients by McDonald 's first wife, Mary oonan.) Inside this elegant robber's den, well-paid cardsharps operated the dealing tab les, where spectators waited to take their turns. Other McDonald men roamed the lobbies of the train stations and downtown hotels in search of greenhorns, who they would lure in to playing a rigged game. No one kn ows how much illegal revenue these men returned to the synd icate, but according to one contemporary newspaper report, the bunko men

[

ti diagmm of O'l.N11J"1 gambling rlor at 4187 Soulh Ha/.,ted Street.

j)(I

raked in between nine hundred thousand and one million dollar annually. or this, 40 percent went to the house ; 20 percent to the police; 40 percent for themselves. During the heyday or parlor gambling in the 1870s up to the mid-1880s, McDonald was the leading purveyor of dice , cards, and straw bail in Chicago. When a gambler was arrested, a hired bondsman paid by the syndicate appeared in court where the corrupt judge received a bribe to release the man. The bond money was later divided between the judge,

the bondsman, and the syndicate. The wholesale buying and selling of justice was a byproduct or the illegal industry, and it he lped land McDonald squarely in the political rea lm. To protect such a flourishing racket, it was incumbent upon him to develop a working partnership with the Cook County sheriff, who administered the jail and saw to it that all bond forfeitures were prosecuted. ,\ cooperative sheriff could serve many userul purposes. Il e could drive the independent gamblers from the city or protect good clients. McDona ld d es pised the police . When asked to donate a dollar to an indigent po liceman ': burial rune! , he reached into his safe and handed over ten dollars. "Here's ten," McDonald said, "go bury ten more!" But he also understood that cooperation with the police was essential for long-range stabi lity . Guiding the appointment process of the police superintendent, divisional inspectors, and captains was a goal he eventually achieved with the backing of the Democratic Centra l Committee, whose loyalties he commanded. 43

Chicago History,july 1993 After a police raid on McDonald's operation in 1880, McDonald prevailed upon his old friend Mayor Harri on, whose election victory a year earlier was financed by the gambling and liquor interests, to remove the offending police superintendent, Simon O'Donnell , who had instigated the raid. O'Donnell was summarily demoted and reassigned to the Twelfth Street "Terror District, " an immigrant neighborhood plagued by a high crime rate, in favor of William McGarigle, who was cager to cooperate with the syndicate. McGarigle masqueraded as a rerormer, but he complied with the operators or the gambling and bail rackets. The parlors remained unmolested for two years-long enough for McDonald to decide that McGarigle should run for sheriff in the 1882 election. Mayor Harrison expressed his doubts about McGarigle's strength against the Republican Seth Hanchett, who campaigned on a strong temperance and

reform platform. McDonald dismissed Harrison's warnings and poured fifty thousand dollars into a doomed campaign. Seth Hanchett squeaked by with forty-nine hundred votes over McGariglc. Jt was the first political setback for McDonald , but it did not loosen his grip over the local Democratic party. Through the mid- to late l 880s, McDonald was the power behind a ring of county "boodlers" who set national standards for graft and political chicanery that paralleled the Tweed ring or New York. (Man)' or these boodling political bosses went to prison in the celebrated Omnibus case of 1887.) By 1885 McDonald not onl)' controlled the county board but the police department as well. His opinion carried great weight with the mayor, and the downstate Democrats soon found themselves powerless to prevent him from naming Cook County grafters to the national nominating delegation every four years.

Fl>lST \\".\RI>, C:JIIC.\GO.

~ - ~ ] BROTHl:LS

PAWN BROKERS

-SALOONS

LODGING HOUSt:S

Ma/J of Chicago's Firs/ Ward vice district, from reformer William Stead's I[ Christ Came to Chicago ( I 894). On th e

outskirts of Chicago\ business district, this area housed saloons, gambling homes, and brothe/.1 a11d, according to refonners, /Jro111ised hell and da11111atio11. -J.4

: 111

F,11i/ B11.1ines.1

U/1. dra wing ofjolm j. Coughlin, Fi n l Ward aldemwn /10/111/arly /m own as ''Ba1hho11.1e.Joh11. " Righi, Su/m-intendenl Si mon O'D01111e//. O'Do1111ell wa.1 de111oied bernu.1e he would 11 01 rno/1eml1' 1uith Mike McDonald.

T he steady, unrele ntin g d ro ne o r Chi cago's Repu blican newspa pers, specifi cally the T ribun e a nd th e Inter-Ocean, excori ated McDo nald and hi s mini ons as vil e, d a ngerous me n who bilked th e publi c a t every turn. Th e ir criti cism, howeve r, was gro und ed in politi cs rath e r th a n mora l o r et hi cal issues. By th e e nd o r th e 1880s, th e popul a rity of the o ld pa rl or ca rd ga me\ d ecl in ed. T he medi a a nd cl e rgy re in fo rced the ir reputatio ns as di sho nes t, unwinna ble ga me . . T he shift in atLitud e towa rd gamblin g had a lot to do wi th cha nging public tastes. Th e rise or pro fess io nal specta tor sports like baseball a nd horse racin g, a nd the p opul ari ty or sta r athl etes whose na mes were comm o npl ace in th e 1870s a nd 1880s was also a fac tor. As a result o r th e reformers' work, the criminal code was amended in 1887 to explicitl y fo rbid pool sellin g a nd boo kma king in the city . Yet an important loophole permitted th ese activities within the e nclosure of a racetrack or county fa irgrounds. This law, coupled with societal chan ges, alte red ga mblin g in C hicago a nd prompted th e city's sportin g communi ty to capitalize on the public's grow in g inte rest in h orse racin g a nd harness

Chicago History, July 1993

racing. Within a year of the passage of this statute, Gambler's Alley and much of Clark Street was closed down by Police Inspector John Bonfield, who earned great notoriety during the Haymarket Affair of 1886. By 1890 the once genteel and patrician sport of thoroughbred racing was organized into a big business. Since horse racing was the only sport that allowed gambling on the grounds, professional gamblers were eager to compete for the right to "sell book," or offer bets on horse races, regardless of their lack of sophistication or understanding of the nuances 46

of this complex sport. The bookmakers were free to record wagers on the lawn of the track or from small wooden press rooms located under the grandstand. 1o money changed hands, since betting was done on credit, and accounts were settled between the bookmaker and hi client at the end of the week. Illegal betting flourished in politically connected downtown saloons that opened their back rooms and provided protection from police in return for a cut of the earnings. Warned of an impending police raid, the bookie could disappear into the streets with

A II fa,i/ B11si11 ess

the too ls of hi s trade-notebooks, ledger sheets, and pencils-safely in hand, no cumbersome dealing boxes or rou lette whee ls to hide. Thus the unique Chicago contr ibuti on to the gamb lin g lexicon-the traveling "handbook" man, who took bets on the street instead of in a poolroom or other cemra l locat ionwas born. This development stymied police efforts to ircumvent the trade . Inspector Frederick Marsh comp lained ear ly in l 892, "We arrest them wherever we find them, but we can do little with them for they carry their books in their pockets."

Horse racing was the 011 /y sport lo allow gambling on the grou11d1. Above, Derby Day at Washington Park. Painting by Theodore Croll. Left, police inspector Frederick Marsh.

Chicago Hislo1y, J uly 1993

Top, 1910 Decoration Day at Hawthorne racetrack. Bollom, the wire room on the City ofT,-ave,-se, a popular gambling boat. l n return for a cul of the earnings, wirerooms and back rooms J1rovided an oasis for illegal betting, as well as protection from police.

1111

The increased availability of the telegraph made it possible for these handbook men to chart the latest odds, track conditions, and race results from other cities through \,Vestern Union Telegraph. Bookies operated from a wireroom, which provided the look and feel of the track without the horses. Men stood in lin e at the wireroom to get their bets down before the (irstjockey had left the post. As the popularity of the sport grew in the 1880s, more and more cigar stores, barbershops, and empty warehouse buildings doubled as illega l betting agencies and wirerooms. The right of a racetrack owner to choose who would operate the legal betting on the grounds led to some vicious warfare between rival gambling chiefs. Chicago's gambl ing bosses came up against a formidable adversary in a cantankerous and obdurate horseman named Edward Corrigan. Corrigan sought a racing monopoly in the Midwest and was well on his way to achieving his goal after opening his luxurious new Hawthorne track in the town of Cicero in 1891 . Corrigan had granted the wagering privilege Lo Joseph Ullman's Universal Fair and Exposition , instead of to McDonald and the other synd icate gamblers. McDonald answered the cha ll enge by entering into a partnership with the Hankins brothers, who ran several Clark Street gambling houses, and John Condon, a former parlor boss from Logansport, Indiana, and a bitter enemy of Edward Corrigan . These men constructed their own thoroughbred track adjacent to Garfield Park on the \Vest Side. At stake were millions of dollars in revenue from bookmaking. The dispute was complicated by the entangling political alliances. Corrigan was aligned with the Republican mayor Hempstead Washburne, who had strongly opposed the Garfield track. Freshman Alderman John "Bathhouse" Coughlin represented McDonald and the Democratic gamb lin g interest'. Less than a year after the Garfield track opened, former Mayor Carter Harrison I, who had since parted company with McDonald, led a crusade to close it. The City Counc il vacillated over imposing a stiff licensing lee or simply closing the track all together. Impatient, Corrigan arranged the arrest of agents sell in g

Evil Business

Many /Jo/ice ignored illegal belling (to p /Hmel), but Herman Scheulller (bollom /Janel) symbolized the Jew who u/Jheld the law. Cartoon by John T. McCutch eon.

bets on the out-of-town races inside the grandstand of McDonald 's track by hiring private constables to execute the warrants issued by corruptjudges. The law clearly stipulated that bets could only be sold on race day for races being run inside the enclosure. This ordinance was routinely ignored by the racing men, but it proved useful to Corrigan in this case. The thorn)' issue reached a sudden and unexpected climax on September 6, 1892. For severa l weeks, Police Superi11tendent Robert Wilson McLaughery carried out Mayor \Vashburne's directives by augmenting Corrigan 's raids with a few of his own. On September 6, a police detachment descended on the Garfie ld track and began chasing bookies around the paddock while small boys laughed and jeered at them from atop the wooden fence. Suddenly, the crackle of gunfire sent two hundred policemen scurrying to the southwest gate, where they found Capt. James M. Brown, a wealthy Texas horse breeder, lying on the ground, wounded. Nearby lay Chicago police officer John Powell, killed by a gunshot wound in hi abdomen . Vengeful city police circled Brown and shot him to death at point-blank range.

Chicago History, j uly 1993

\',

•~_7_'1 .'

,, ,

,,.,... ••11-----..... WIii-

L .'I, ····-

-- --

By 1890 thoroughbred raci11g was 01ganized into a big business, resulting in increased inter/rack ri·uahy and illegal activity. The tensions culminated i11 J892, with a murder at the Garfield track. Mayor Hempstead Washbur11e (ojJposite top) closed the track. In 1904 reformers /n-evailerl, leading Mayor Carter Hanison 11 to close Washington Parh, Hawthorne, and Harlem racetracks. Opposite bol/0111, cartoon by H. R. Heaton, 1895. Above, Derby Day at Washington Park, 1889.

Murder at the Garfield track galvanized public opinion against the gamblers and spurred the City Cow1eil to close the track six days later. The repercussions of the Brown shooting led to an eventual ban on thoroughbred racing in the state. The Illinois General Assembly enacted the first of two racing prohibitions in 1895. With the exception of a few trotting races at Ingalls Park in Joliet, the ban held until 1898. Across the country racing was never more popular, though it increasingly came under attack by antigamblin g factions. Popular resort communities like Saratoga Springs, ew York, flourished as a result of legal betting on the ponies. By 1905 it wa estimated that racetrack owners in the United States earned in excess of $110 million. A year before the Brown shooting the Chicago Inter-Ocean commented that Chicago as a "racing center was second to none in the country, and the blue grass breeders can send their thoroughbreds to no course where they will hear a cheer of approval as they come under the wire here in the city by the lake." 50

Most sportin g men in C hi cago longed for the return of racing. The economic lo s to Illinois was incalculable, especially rn the troubling post-world's fair economy. The important breeders moved their stables out of state. In 1898, the legislature buckled to pressure from the lobbyists and approved racing for H awthorne as well as for the newl y opened \Vashington Park track a nd the Harlem track in River Forest. The lessons to be learned from the Garfield fiasco did little to discourage the activities of the gamblers. In the next few years the racetrack wars actua lly intensifi ed as bombs and arson fires replaced warrants and injunctions as the preferred weapons in the gamb ler's arsena l. The fight to co ntrol wagers on races and sporting events and the lucrative wire franchises that dispensed race results to subscribers across the country became the focus of the various syndicates that had emerged out of McDonald's disintegrating empire. A new age of organized crime was dawning in the city; weaponry and

111

/ ,11,/ /11111111 ·1.1

i111illlicl;11io11 repla« ·cl I( Dottalcl\ 111t'tlwcl, of f'1ic11dl) lOOJH'1atio11 11itil a111lw1itil·, 10 th1 · n1t1111;il he11di1 of ,ill 11H: 111i>c1., ol tl1l· 11 tl',t. So111c1i11lt', the tlueal ol viol( 'll<t ·, rn 11or,l', 1lw 11itltdrall'al of poli1ical p1otcc1io11 . 11·,1-, l'IHHtgh to ill ing a I i,·:d i11to lilll'. B11t ,0111c 1ne11 rclt1sccl 10 bc11d to c:,..101 tio11 of ,111y kind . Stl( Ii a 111an w;i-, .loh11 R. V\lablt. ow11<-r ol Wa~lti11g1011 1'a1 k, ,i1e of' tl1c f;lll1cd 1\1nnirn11 l)erhy. l•'. arl) 111 I!HJ:\ Co11clo11 a11cl hi, pa1 t 1w1 ·10111 Mc(;i11ni, M'lll a 111(',sagt' 10 \V:il,lt 111.11 1eq11c,tecl hi111 to llll tt ovn lilt' i>t'11i11g f'ra11d1i,e 10 Condon . If lie did 1101 co111pl y, lie would "1cceive i11fcirniation front 1he Ma yor\ Ofliff 1lt;1t thert' will he 110 betting al \V;1,lii11g1011 1';11 k." \Va bit ordered ( :011do11 \ agl'll I 0111 of the of'fice. I le ,aid , " Yo11 lioy-, 111ay i>l' able to

(

rl1..s

SQ uE At

tll: TRAY.) Ht~ Hu~T

rnn rnil )'011r threat,, lm1 if )'Oll do, ltang uepe 011 till' gait' of l'\c·1 1 r;icetrac k i11 lllinoi,." l11tc·11rac k I iv;ilr · had l',< ,dated to ga11g 11.11 f:1re bl't11·cT11 I H!ID a11d I !lO I, .i, rn1e grnup of' g,11nhil'r, 11 mild rnut i neh ,e1 fin· to the ot lie1 \ book1naki11g ,t,111d in the gra11d,1,111cl . I lit· 1nolll<l" of lite polin· 11e11· i11c1l·a,ingh ,11etd1l'cl tili11 . I lie racuratk 01111e.., 10111 po1111dcd 1lw 11ega1i,l· publi< i1, Ii grcedil) fol lowing IIH' trail of'111011q . IIH'y wc1c· C'a,ily ,wayed liy 1lw l>ook111,1kn, m't'1 the bcttc1 interc,t, of ,port. It ll'a, i>cT0111i11g 1lt,11 way all over the crn11111· ·. 111 1!)01 , 1ta , rn Ca11c·1 lla1ri,011 I clmccl \Va,hi11g1on Park , I J;11,1lio1 m· , a11cl l la1 km l;$('(l'a('k,. It wa, ')lllJ)IOlll.tti( or t i gn>11ing 11a1ional lll0\l'llll'l11 a1,a f'rolll racetrack gam bling . ~la11 y ,1a1e, cnac ted a111ilic.·1ti11g l.111,: b, I $OH t ltl· \te111 llll·a,me, ltacl <lml'd '.?H!l ol the.· 11a1ion ':,, '. Ill tltoro11ghhrcd t1;Kk, . lhc·1c would I><· 110 11101T rac c.· ltor,c.· wagl'ri11g ill llli 11oi" 11111 ii I!)'.?'.?, 11 he11 I I.11\ I ho1 llt' 1l'OJ)L' lll'd. ·1 ltc loud raLCln1<.J..:, ~Loo<l ::.ilcnt and c111pt). Corrigan , bankrupt and brokenhearted, was forced to sell Hawthorne to Thomas Carey in 1909 to satisfy outstanding debts. But the dyed-in-the-wool handicapper was not about to stand idly by and wait out this second prohibition period. For the younger gambling bosses with resources and imagination there were fresh opportunities and customers to be served. 51

Chicago Histo,y, j uly 1993 As the new century evolved, the older bosses were fading from view. McDonald, a success in politics and business but a wretched failure in his two marriages, retired to the stately elegance of his Ashland Avenue mansion and was rarely seen in public. He died in 1907. John Condon left Chicago after his Michigan Avenue residence was bombed one night. He retired to his western ranch with what was left or his fading fortune. For the new men who remained on the scene, like MontJ. Tennes, a former saloon owner and the most powerful figure since McDonald, business was never better, even without sanctioned racing. The new syndicates upplied the necessary means to bet on foreign races, and in the decade following the 1904 ban, the growth of illegal wirerooms was explosive. For the first time, the city was divided into geographical spheres of influence by the criminal syndicates. The growth and expansion or Chicago since the heyday of downtown parlor gambling in the 1870s opened up ,Âˇirgin territory well outside the Loop. Competition for control of the neighborhoods resulted in constant gang warfare.

WHO PUTS THE BLINDERS ON HIM?

Corrn/Jt elected officials and /Jolire officers enabled gamblers and a morally susJ;ert indmtry to thrive, thus laying !he fo1111datio11 for the modem crime .1_)'nditale. Above, cartoon by idne_)' Smith. Bf'low, .,aloon on th e corner of H.a 11do!J;/z and Dearborn streeL1, I 9 I 0.

1 111

In a few ho rt years Mo nt Ten nes bla nketed the city with a n arm y of ha ndbook me n as he atte mpted to e mul ate McDo na ld 's ea rl y quest for mo no po ly. But Tenn es lacked th e po liti cal orga ni zati o n of the agin g ga m bler boss. Chicago was too vast, a nd a llia nces had to be made with th e indi vidu a l wa rd o rga niza ti o ns. Th e best he could d o was to form tempora1y partn erships. Mont Te nn es bega n a bo mbin g ca mp a ig n in 1907 aga in st hi s ri va ls. Compe tin g poo lroo ms (or be ttin g age ncies) we re hit by a se ri es o r d yna mite bo mbs, whi ch the po li ce see med powe rl ess to sto p . In a ll , twenty- three of th ese dev ices were hurl e d durin g th e l 907 Ga m bl e rs' Wa r, from whi ch T e nn es e me rged the cl ear victor. Mo nt T e nnes like d to refer to him se lf as a " news ma n di stributin g spo rtin g res ults," a lth oug h hi s me th ods uggested o the n vise. Th e bombs durin g th e l 90 7 wa r we re th rown la te at ni g ht o r ea rl y in th e mo rnin g wh e n th e stree ts were d e e rted. No o ne was hurt o r kill ed. T he inte ntio n was to de mo li sh a poo lroo m a nd impose a n eco no mi c hard ship th a t mi g ht preve nt a r ival fro m reo pen in g . Mo nt T e nn es eve ntu a ll y succeeded in buildin g a ga m blin g mo no po ly with hi s co n tro l o r di spe n in g th e te legra phed rac in g resul ts . T e nn es was o ne o f th e last o f th e Victo ri a nera crim e bosses, kn ow n as th e " Mu stache Petes." T e nn es, like McDo na ld , H a nkin ·, and Co ndo n before him , was a ga m bler in the trues t se nse o r the wo rd . T hese me n bega n as sma ll boys hu stlin g fo r ni cke ls a nd d im e in ga mes o f cha nce. Ga mbling was a mea ns to an e nd a nd , in a perver se way, a n e mbodim e nt of th e Ame ri ca n id eal. It was a ch a nce fo r an inne r-city youth to ri se up fro m hi s modest stati o n in life th ro ug h p luck, e ne rgy, a nd ta le nt. Th ese Victo ri a n gambler re fl ected th e ri g idity or th e tim es in which they lived, yet took ad va ntage o f th e mo ra l a mbi g uity th a t surro und ed ga mblin g, wh e ther it was ca rds, di ce, o r ho rses. \Vas ga m blin g a fo rm o f co mm e rcia li zed vice, or a le isure pastime no t to be deni ed ? Be fo re 1920, th e ga mblin g me n ra n th e ir a ffa irs we ll outside the mo re vi cio us fo rms of vice. Poo lroo m s, ca rd de ns, a nd ha ndbooks we re ind e pe nde nt e ntiti es, eve n if th ey co ngregate d in th e levee di stri cts. The wage ring men wo re fl as hy cl o thin g a nd lived o n th e cuttin g ed ge o f soc ie ty. ln tim e th ey would be

fa1i / B11si11 ess

ro ma nticized in our pop ul ar culture as d a rin g "bon viva nts." Ye t, by ·eek in g to mo no po li 1.e a mora lly suspect in d ustry, a nd by atte mptin g to suborn e lec te d o ffi cia ls th ro ug h br ibery to ac hi eve th ese e nd s, the ga mblin g me n ~ce mecl less ro ma n tic fi g ure · a nd mo re like und erwo rld thu gs, a nd th ey laid the fo und a ti o n or th e mod e rn crim e synd ica te. By 192 0, th e new cr im e sy ndi ca te chi e f"ta in s co nso lid a ted prostituti on , ga mblin g, boo tl egg in g, a nd th e infiltra ti o n o f labo r uni o ns int o a mo no lithi c o pera ti o n co ntroll ed by "bra nch ma nage rs." Wi th the e nd of Mo nt T e nn es·s re ig n a nd th e qui ck r ise o f Al Ca po ne's mo b, organ ized ga mblin g los t wha teve r sma ll vestiges o f res pecta bili ty it o nce e nj oyed. For Furth e r Readin g For mo re in fo rma ti o n o n nin eteenth - and earl y twe nti eth - c ntury crim e a nd ga mbling sec two books by Ri cha rd C. Lindberg, Chicago 8.agli111.1': tl nothn Look at Chicago I 880-1920 (South Be nd , I 1: Ica ru s Press, 1985) a nd To Serve and Coller! (New York: Pracgc1·, l 99 1). Other books o n gambling in clude : Ann Fabia n, Card1hmjJs, Dreambooks, and B11c/1et Sho/1.1: Ca111bfi11g in Nineteenth-Century llmnirn (Ithaca, N Y: Corn e ll Uni \'c rsil)' Press, l 990); Ri chard Sasul )·, Bookil's and Beffors: Two llundred l'ean of Gambling (Fo rt Wo rth , T X : Ho ll, Rine ha rt, a nd Winsto n, 1982); a nd Ll oyd We ndt and Hcrn1a n Koga n, !,orris of the J,evee (I nclian a po li s, I N: Bobbs- Me rrill , I 943) . T o lea rn 11l <ffe abo ut Chi cago's earl y reform moveme nts see l Ie rbe rt As hbury, Gem of the Prairil' (New Yo rk : Alfred Kn o pf, 1940); Emmc u Dedmo n, Fabulous Chimgo (New Yo rk : Anthe ne um , 1953); a nd Step he n Lo ngstreet, Chicago: tin l ntimale Portrait of Peo/1le, PIPa.11tres, and Power: 1860- 1919 ( 1ew Yo rk: David McCay &.: Co., 1973) . In 1894 1-e forn1 e1· Willi a m Stead add1·cssed C;hi cago's evil s in /(Christ Came to Chicago (Chicago: La i1·d & Lee, l 894).

Illustrati ons 38, Cl IS Prints and Ph otogra phs Collectio n; 39 to p, Cll S, DN 3803; 39 bo u o m, CHS, DN 4942; 40-4 I , C I IS Print s a nd Ph o togra ph s Co ll ectio n ; 42, C l IS, IC H i-205 17; 43, fro m Chicago tl111erica11 (Dece mbe1· I , 19 1 l ), C HS Li bra11•; 44, fr o m If Christ Came to Chirago ( l 894), CH S Libra q •; 45 le ft, fro m New York Sunday World; 45 ri g ht, CH S, IC Hi -23788; 46-47, C HS Pa imings and Sculp ture Collectio n; 47 bottom, Cll S, IC Hi -2378 7; 48 to p, C HS, D 56,453; 48 botto m , C HS , ON 25 77 ; 49, fro m Chicago Tribune, Cl! S Libra1-y; 50, CH S, IClli-0 364 1; 5 1 le ft, CHS , IC lli -23789; 5 1 ri g ht, C H S, IC Hi -23786; 52 to p , fro m Chicago Tribune Uul y 18, I 9 14), C HS Library; 52 bo tt.o m, C HS, IC Hi-20527 . 53

YESTERDAY'S

CITY

The Fair in Black and White Marian Shaw Editor's Note: From Moy through October 1893, over twen ty-one million /Jeo/Jle from across the country and around the world de cended upon Chicago to visit the World~ Columbian Exposition. Among those visiton was ' - - - - - - - - - - - - ' Marian Shaw, a J01tytwo-year-old writer and schoolteacher from Minneapoli5. As a corres/Jondent for The Argus, a North Dakow newspajJer managed by her brother, Shaw filed at least twelve reports of the fair. In these articles she provided her readers-many of whom would never visit the fair themselves-with vivid accounts of the /air's splendid buildings, the various r,xhibits and artworks on disjJlay, the exotic amusements of the Midway, and other attractions. Marian Shaw was among an increasing number of women in the late nineteenth century who worked as professional journalists. In addition lo these articles, she published a series of" letten describing the New Orleans World's Industrial and Cotton Cr,nte11a1y

GIAND

ll!USIONIS: CHICAGO~,

WOÂˇ~ FAIR

011893

Ex/Josilion of 1884, as well as several works of.fiction. Despite these achievements, however, Shaw's reputation as a writer Jctded afler her death in 1901. In the early 1960s, copies ofher world's Jctir mticles were discovered at a rwnmage sale in Minneapolis, and, after much research, the details of her life were uncovered. In 1992 her articles were re/Jllblished in World's Fair Notes: A Woman Journalist Views Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition (St. Paul, Minn.: Pogo Press, 1992). The following article, which describes Shaw's visits to the Jctir's state buildings, is excer/Jtecl from the book. In her reports Shaw expressed a sense of awe at the grandeur oftheJc1ir. She was, howeve1~ ske/Jtical ofthe more exaggerated claims made by fair organizers. She never believed, for exam/Jle, that a walk along the Midway substituted for a tri/J around the world, realizing that the ethnic villages on display rejmsented foreign cultnres about as acCllrately as the Bi~lfalo Bill Wild West Show e/Jitomized American culture. Despite this insight, Shaw's attitudes towards ethnic grou/Js are firmly rooted in late nineteenth-century beliefs about the superiority of white American Cllltnre. The World's Columbian Ex/Josition is the subject of the Society's recently ojmucl exhibition Grand lllusions: Chicago's World 's Fair of 1893, which runs through July 17, 1994. The exhibition recreates the gra11d s/Jectacle that Marian Shaw and other visitors ex/Jerienced, while ex/Jloring what lay beyond the spectacle.

Marian Shaw exfJected to see th e breathtaking architecture of th e White City a she entered !he Jairgro1111cls but was instead greeted by the more pedestrian charms of the Midway (above) . Photograph by C. D. Arnold. 54

THE WORLD'S FAIR A Special Correspondent Tells of the Many Beauties to Be Seen There. Pen Portrayal of Some of the Scenes and Incidents During a Visit. Valuab le Advice Will Be Found by Those Intending Visiting the Fair. Marian Shaw CHICAGO, Aug. 18.-[Special Correspondence.]-! n a letter of Bishop Vincent, written upon the occasion of his first visit to the Holy Land, he says: "I said to my friend, just before landing at Joppa, 'when our feet touch the sacred soil, let our first words and thoughts be those of praise and devotion!' A moment after, we were standing in the muddiest and filthiest spot I had ever seen, among yelling Arabs, howling muleteers, braying donkeys and sights and sounds more suggestive of the inferno than of the hallowed, peaceful Canaan of our dreams, and our first impulse was to curse rather than to pray." The visitor at the world's fair who enters from the land ide is liable to experience a similar, though less poignant, disappointment. We had expected the glorious panorama of the "White City of the Unsalted Sea," with its glittering domes and towers to bur t upon our vi ion like a thing of beauty. After pushing our way through the noisy crowds of street vendors, hackrnen and rumbling carts, deafened by the roar of the elevated trains above our heads, we entered the gates of our long-looked-for Elysium. The roar of the outside world, indeed, had died away, and the peace and quiet within the walls was a blissful contra t to the Babel outside, but as sightseers we were disappointed. Nothing more attractive than the rear of some

TojJ, the masthead Ji-om the Fargo Argus, which published the articles 011 the fl1ir wrillen by Mari.an Shaw (above).

of the state buildings met our eyes. To the left, upon a rai ed platform, a savage looking grizzly bear, standing upon his hind legs, grimly invited us to enter the Esquimaux vil lage. Doubtless the ethnological student finds here much to interest him, but it would be well for all visitors to this primitive encampment to follow the example of the Cossacks when they 55

Chicago HistO'ly,July 1993 attacked the garlic-eating French battalionstop their nostrils with clay. One finds here as many odors as Coleridge found in the unfragrant city of Cologne-"all well defined." Emerging into the fresh air again, we take in a few whiffs of pure oxygen, and continue our walk. 1ow we begin to be repaid. A broad, beautiful avenue opens before us, at the further extremity of which we catch a glimpse of the waters of Lake Michigan, "darkly, deeply, beautifully blue." On either side of this avenue lie the state buildings, varying in style of architecture as well as in external and internal decoration. Some of these buildings serve merely as headquarters for the commissioners from the

Above, the North Dakota Building. Citizens raised money lo help erect the building when the money a/1/1ro/1riated by the slate government was depleted. Photograph by C. D. Arnold. Right, crowds walhing along the Midway Plaisance. TIU' Ferris vVheel towers in the distance.

various states, and are not distinctive in any way, having comfortable and restful, often elegant salons and waitingrooms for the convenience of visitors. The most interesting are those which in their architecture and decoration are illustrative of the peculiar industries or products of the states they represent. Loyal orth Dakotans will not fail to visit their beautiful building, for the erection of which the generous contribution of private citizens exceeded the $50,000 appropriated by the legislature. They will feel a just pride not only in the wonderful exhibit of the resources and industries of their young state, but in the artistic arrangement of the native products which adds greatly to their attractiveness. Tho e unexperienced in this form of decoration would never imagine that the simple products of the field could be woven into such fantastic and beautiful forms as are found in the decorations of many of the western states. Notable among these are the pavilions of grains and native grasses found in the exhibits of Kansas, Illinois, the two Dakotas, Colorado and Iowa. Art in this direction reaches perhaps its culminating point in the Iowa building, where is found the wonderful "corn palace" formed entirely of grain artistically arranged in fiÂˇescoes, arches, columns, friezes and pavilions.

The iulerior of lite Iowa Building. This s/r1trlnn1 featured n "corn /1alnre"-c0111/Josed offrescoes, arches, columns, friezes, and jJavilio11s 111ade o(rom-to highlight lhe slate's major crop. Photogra/Jh by C. D. Arnold.

Chicago History, J nly 1993

Iâ&#x20AC;˘

The Idaho Building (top) rejnesented the log houses built by pio11eers. Photograph by C. D. Arnold. Bottom, the .1oulh entrance of the California Building. Some of the domes co11tai11erl old Sjxmish cilllrch bells.

) l'\/1'/r/(ly'I (.'//\'

·1 here arc bas-rcliers ol agri< ultural designs done in grass and grains, fantastic forms , gracdid S( roll work, m ytholog ical ligures, mon 11111ents and statues entirely compmed or g rains of corn, wheat, oats a 11d various kinds or seeds. ·1 he 011 11 agrirn ltural prod11ct which the artist has railed to mak , w,e or is the JJOOI ltomcl y potato. 1len: abo in miniature is a model or the state house clone in grains and scccb, it s noble portico:-. and co lun1n :-. rormcd of different co lored g rains in glass tub ·sa nd rece ptacles of' various shap<.·s. The " fla x pal ace" is a11other unique structure cornpmed of' fla x in dif1crcnt stages of grow l h and development . Om· o f the most original and interestin g or the state buildings is that of' Id aho. It is huilt or immense native logs to represent the n,de home o f th e western pioneer. It s window:-., panel:-., and wa in scotin g- arc made o f native ore covered with mi ca or whi ch Id aho is said to produce the fin est qualit y i11 the wrn Id . Within, the building is rurnishcd in true pionce, style, most of' the massive furniture be in g home made , ,ll tisti ca ll y ado1nc:d with stag ho, ns and deer skins. Buffalo and wolf skins take the plate of ca 1p ·ts, and the wa ll s arc a do, ned with trophies or the rhase , hunters' equipments, and Indi an cur imities . ;\ r ·w articles of lu x ury arc seen, reminiscences of' the com fc,rt which the pioneer has left behind him in his far-distant caste111 h o11 1e. In this building a lso is to be found the mita hall , and man y beautiful spcli111ens of agates. Ca lif ornia altralls th · visitor again and again. The buildin g i~ a mi x tun· of the old adob(' 111i"sion house , with soml'thin g of' the ornate: Moor i'lh to relieve the somber effect. On its roof is a tropical ga rden , above which rises a dome eight y feet in he ight. In some of its towers \wing thl' o ld Spanish bl'lls that in early times ca ll ed the de vo ut pioneer to wor'lhip. Within Lite building is a bewilderin g display of fruits , grains, tropical plants, minerals and other products of this wonderful state. A short distance from the entrance a bronze tatue of James Marshall , the discoverer of go ld , confronts us. Dressed in a roug h miner's su it, with broad brimmed , slouch hat, he stands erect holding in his right hand a nugget of gold , with his left hand pointing to the place of its discovery. A littl e further clown the main

l11 w/i, !ht· <:11/1/01111" !foi/d1ng 1/oorl th1.1 l011ghl 1111ufr t'llill"l'ly of /111w1•1 , 0111• oft he .1/flll' '1 il'l1rl1111;

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aisle is a figtnT of'a horse and rider in kni g ht 's armo,, with coat of' mail and hcl,nt·t, holding a sword in his outstn.:td1ed lrn11 cb. ·1 his unique figure is made entirely of' pnn1es and at a distance the cffo< t is ',triking. ,\ noble '>ta t11 e ol the state of' Calif01 nia adorns the (l'tllral ai-,lc, a hcroir female figure holding an o li, c branch in h ·r right hand , her left ,11111 e111bra<ing the national flag and th· hand resting upon a shield b ·ai ing the cmbl ·m of the state. 111 the Colorado builcli11g ma; be seen Pow('rs' f;1111011s statue, "' I he I .a st of I Jis Race ," bought fc>1 $ I 0,000 by th e etll('I prising women or Colorado . Native marble , 111i1H-ral", and wood have entered into the (olls t1t1 ctio 11 or this b11ilclin g. The columns arc ado111l'd \\ith nati ve grain and grasses, and there are a se ri es of fri ezes and pictures wrought in co lored grains. Florida is represented by a reproduction of "O ld Fort Marion," the o ldest structure in Am e rica . Its exhibit consists of flowers , fruits, sponges, cora ls, sea she lls, while a ll around are palmettos and other tropical plants. In this building the famous "butter sculptress," Caro59

Chicago Histo,y,july 1993

line Shawk Brooks, has her studio, and we were favored with an interview with this remarkable and talented woman. She has on exhibition many fine pieces of sculpture, of which perhaps the "Sleeping Iolanthe, " "Lady Godi\'a," and "Love's Dream," in the Missouri building, are the most beautiful. From her earlie t childhood she has modeled in clay or what ever plastic material came to her hand. At 7 years of age she molded blue clay from the spring near her father's house, a portrait of Dante, copied from the cover of an old book belonging to her father. After her marriage she moved onto a farm in Missouri, and there found an outlet for her genius in molding the butter which she prepared for market into fanciful and beautiful forms. She always model in butter, as she finds this medium more plastic and sympathetic than clay. Her works are aftenNards put into plaster and marble. She has never had any instruction, but in her travels abroad has been enabled to observe the works of great masters, and thereby improve her own.

Mrmy of the rooms in the Missouri Building (abo ve) were decorated by various women 's groups fi-mn the slate. Photogra/Jh by C. D. Arnold. Below. the Louisiana State Buildi11g, which featured a Creole kitchm and rafe. Photogra/Jh by C. D. Arnold.

)'p.1/nday's City

Above, the interior of the Minnesota Building. Right, Sleep in g Iolanthe by Caroline Shawk Brook5.

In Louisiana we find a reproduction of an old plantation house, with its broad veranda, immense doors and quaint dormer windows, shaded by the mournful cypress with its funereal draperies of Spanish moss. Here are many curiosities and relics of o ld Creole daysa Creole kitchen and cafe. One room is constructed entirely of the beautifi.tl curly pine. There are spec imens of crystal alt from the famous Avery mine in New Iberia. One room is given up to "Evangeline's people," the only surviving remnants of the old Acadians whose sorrows have been so pathetically portrayed in Longfellow's immortal poem . Driven from their happy homes, these weary wanderers finally settled along the borders of the Bayou Teche in southwestern Louisiana. Here they have sin ce li ved . By intermarriage with the Indians they have greatly deteriorated, the men being lazy and worthless. The women, however, are industrious and frugal. Their chief industry is the weaving of a cloth of peculiar texture from the native nankeen cotton, which, as its name indicates, is of a yellowish hue. They have also a secret method of dyeing a certain fadeless blue. And the processes of carding, spinning and weaving are shown 111 their quarters here.

At the entrance of the Minnesota state building stands the beautifu l Hiawatha statue, contributed by the schoo l children of the state. It represents Hiawatha bearing the love ly Minnehaha in his arms "o\'er lakes and streams and rivers." It was designed by Fjelde, a orwegian culptor, of Minneapolis. The Minnehaha window in one of the parlors forms another attraction. Over the stairway is a unique chandelier, formed by the union of three stags' heads, from each of whose branching antlers hangs a bulb sparkling with incandescent light. 61

Chicago History, July 199 3 Three territories, New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma, have erected for joint use a beautiful little building, with a roof garden, and containing specimens of all the flora of the three territories. It has a fine archeological exhibit, and rare old Spanish paintings on elk skin, some of which are over 600 years old. Before the Utah building stands a bronze statue of Brigham Young, the patron saint of the Mormons. This statue does not seem to meet with much favor, and most of the passersby deign it only a glance, usually of disapproval. Within the building are beautiful exhibits of gold, silver, sulphur, silk and various industries of the state. A miniature reproduction of Great Salt Lake is an attractive feature. Above, the top of what was knowll as the Santa Fe table. It was inlaid with silver, gold, turquoise, and garnets. The table was exhibited in the bnilding that was jointly erected by th e territories of New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma (below) . Photograph by C. D. Arnold.

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Virginia i~ rcprl'~l'lltccl by a11 exact f'ac ~i111ile of'tlic Mount Vcl'lloll '10111c of'Ccorg(' Wa,hi11gto11. It crn1tai11, 1nany of'thc originah, and, wlicrc tl1c,e could not he obtained, the dupli(atc, of the contt·nt" of tlii" ,\lllcrican "vlcn;1, co11,i-,1ing of antique furniture, ,ihcrware , old painting'> and ha1Jging, . Arnong other ( u1 io,itic, arc \011ll' painting" a11d clllhroidc1 ic, clone by Nellie Cu-,ti,, an old ha1 P"idiord belonging al-,o to hc1, pn·,cnted by (,eorgc Wa-,l1ingto11. Littil' hatd1('h, ,uppmcd to n·1Jl'nc111 tlic my1l1ological illlpkllll'llt owned by lluthf'ul Ceorgc, arc here offt'lcd fiJr "ak. In most ol the buildings of' the southern and New England states the colonial ~tyle of architecture pre\'ails, and in all them one (incls interesting relics or old colonial clays. Perhap~ the most attractive or these is the Connecticut building. All the rooms are furnished in the style of 100 or 200 years ago. ln some, the walls are covered with silk tapestry, fac-similes of that which adorned the walb in

the rnamion of'solllc colonial magnate. Otlicr~ arc decorated with paper in hrigh1 pi( torial dc.,ig11" of'anirnab, hircb and flowl'r\, "11d1 a, never wc1(· "ccn " in licavcn above, 011 Ilic cart h he neat Ii, or i11 the water~ u nclc1 l he earth." ·1 here i, the gun with whit h Ccn. hracl Putnam "hot the wolf', the chair of "l'ar~011 l\cwcll" I {i '. IO, a high-po;:;tccl bccl-',tcad of mahogany ~I>O year" old, with l'lllhroidcrcd quilt, curtaim and valance l'ro111 I 00 to 200 year~ old. The bed i, ~o higli that "lcps arc nt'Cc,,ary to (limb up lo it. There arc chi11t1. rnvcrcd cfo1ir~ of 17 10, ~pi11dlc-lcggcd 1ablc:-,, 111a,,i\'l: 111ahog-a11y bureau, with bra~, mounting , old clocks which have steadily ticked a\\'a)' the lives of five or six generations-rugs braided by hands that have "lain for a century dead." In corner cupboards taken from some or the earliest houses in Connecticut are to be seen antique china with fanciful and startling designs, sih·er spoons, ev.1 ers, and tankards, and various cooking utensils of a fashion long since forgotten. In glass cases are preserved

Chicago History,july 1993

The Texas Building (above) resembled a Spanish mission. At the left are some of the rolling chairs available for rent al the fair. Photograph by C. D. Arnold. Below, the New 1-fampshire Building.

relics of old embroidery, wedding rinery of our great-great grandmothers, inrants' clothing, caps and christening robes in which the babies of generations past toddled and crept and wailed, and ancient doll that were fondled by little maidens or the seventeenth century. On the walls hang silhouettes and colored prints, mourning pieces representing some sorrowtricken woman bending over a tomb tone on which are inscribed the virtues of the dear departed, the landscape bright with startling greens and variegated flowers whose coloring might well make Dame 1ature pale with envy. Beside the great fireplaces with their ancient cranes are old-fashioned bellows, shovel and tongs, and in a convenient p lace near by hangs the useful, time-honored warming-pan. In one of the sweet, old-fashioned parlors is a spinet 64

Yesterday's City

Statues offamous native sons, including Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, stood outside the Ohio Building (ab011e). Photograph by C. D. Arnold.

of five octaves made in London , 1725, bearing above its keyboard the inscription sollicitae jucunda oblivio vitae, which may be freel)' translated "sweet forgetfulness of the cares of life." There are samplers most elaborate in design and wonderful in execution, wrought by industrious little ha nds that have long since gone to their reward. One done in 1734 by Sarah Ann Eliot-descendant of the great Indian apostle -"in the ninth year of her age at Miss Kimberly's school," recounts in cross-stitch the virtues or some departed relative. \Ve would f"ain have lingered in this quaint and quiet spot, which seemed to us a sort of "sa int's rest." We relt as though transported to another world far-removed from the strife and turmoil or our hurrying, bustling nineteenth century.

In the ew Hampshire building we found more relics, revolutionary and pre-revolutionary. Here are views of the \VhitP. Mountains, a panoramic view of the Pemagewasset river, and a beautiful grotto combining the beauties and wonders of many similar grottos of the "Old Granite State." In the New England group, "Little Rhody" is represented by a beautiful building of the Doric order, filled with relics and objects of interest. It is among the most attractive of this group, and has been presented to the City of Chicago. Texas, the "Lone Star" state, is repre ented by a building constructed after the style of the old Spanish mission . It contains spec ial exhibits of great value and thousands of curiosities and relics. 65

Chicago History, July 1993 Ohio has an elegant building, partly colonial, partly modern, with rich and costly decoration . One of its greatc Âˇt attractions is the monument in front or the main entrance, typifying the greatness of the state. It represents "Ohio" in the form of Cornelia, a graceful and noble bronze figure standing upon a granite pedestal. At her feet, surrounding the base or the monument are statues, also in bronze or six statesmen, Sheridan, Grant, Sherman, Chase, Stanton and Garfield towards whom she points, while above them the carved inscription, "These are my jewels," fully expresses Ohio's pride in her sons. At the entrance of 1i souri's building stands the beautiful marble statue "Love's Dream" already referred to. It represents a half length female figure rising from a shell, a cupid clinging to her breast. 'vVater lilies and cupids riding on dolphins surround the base. The faces arc pure and classic. The beautiful ':iasper room," whose walls sparkle with crude lead and zinc next attracts us. This room was furnished and decorated by the women of

lnLerior of the Montana Building.

The Kansas Pavilion in the Agrirnflure Bwfding.

Jasper county. Other rooms fitted up with modern elegance testify to the enterprise of various cities of the state. The varied and profuse exhibit of Illinois fills its magnificent building from floor to dome. The sightly yellow dome of this building, visible from near!) every part of the grounds, soon becomes a familiar landmark. Entering on the north side, one pauses to gaze on the tattered battle flags that tell in a silence more eloquent than words of the part Illinois' brave sons took in the pre!>crvation of the union. Many relics of early days are found here, among them the church bell that first awakened the resounding echoes of the Missis!>ippi valley. It was presented by Louis XV to Marquette. \\'e should linger too long if we attempted to examine all that art, ~cience, literature and agriculture hmÂˇe contributed to these spacious halls. \\'e pass on to Indiana, attracted by its red Gothic towers and gray walls, and linger to recline a while in the comfortable chaise lounges in the cosiest of its many charming salons. Kentucky typifies in its structure a southern colonial mansion, lilied with interesting relics and curiosities, while its cool parlors and verandas tempt the weary sight-seer to repose. Maine shows many relics and historic treasures. A group of stuffed animals will interest the zoologist. Maryland has fitted up an elegant club house. Its special exhibits are to be found in the main buildings. In the chaste and elegant Grand Rapids and Saginaw rooms of

Yesterday's City the Michigan building, one is fain to linger and listen to the soul-filling strains of the grand organ, which, at night, illuminated by 500 incandescent lamps, delights both eyes and ears. The Grand Rapids room is in Louis XIV style, in white and gold with old colonial fire place. The walls are everywhere adorned with exquisite tapestries and paintings. The Montana building, noted for originality of design, is filled with products, chieOy mineral, peculiar to the state. Before the Washington building rises a stately flagstaff of native fir, 250 feet high. At its base is a pyramid of the various mineral products of the state . Within the building we see a miniature representation of a harvest scene where are shown all the processes of ploughing, planting, harvesting and threshing. There is also an interesting educational exhibit.

In Kansas, aside from the agricultural exhibit, is a collection, arranged with panoramic elTect, of North American mammal Âˇ. This exhibit is furnished by the State univcrsit)'. A miniature train of cars, illustrati,Âˇe of the Kan as & Topeka railroad, whizzes above our heads around the circuit of the galleries. ebraska's headquarters are commodious and elegant, with many interesting special exhibit . Like many of the western bui ldings, it i fragrant with the sweet perfume of the harvest fields. New Jersey presents a fac-simile of Washington's headquarters at Morristown, with many relics of revolutiona11 times, and exhibits of the products and industries of the state. Probably the most substantial building on the exposition grounds is that of Wisconsin. It is constructed of brown stone from the shores of Lake Superior, pressed brick from Menom-

The cool j){lr/or.1and verandas oj !he Kentucky Building (above) provided weary ft1i1goers with a /Jlace lo res/. Photograph by C. D. /Imo/cl.

Chicago History , july 1993

inee, and shingles from the woods of its northern forests. Its interior is beautifully finished in hard wood and mosaics, and all its material, except the onyx finishing, is derived from its own state. There are few characteristic exhibits, but two beautiful works of art deserve special mention. One illustrates the motto of the state, "Forward." A gracerul female figure stands in the prow of a boat whose figurehead is Old Abe, the famous eagle of the Eighth Wisconsin regiment. The left hand grasps a flag, while the right is extended upward and forward. The face is expressive of energy and determination, without sacrificing any of the "eternal womanly." The figure was designed by Miss Miner of Madison. The other statue represents the "Genius of Wisconsin. " It is a female figure of exquisite contour and graceful pose. She leans against a rock with the head slightly thrown back, displaying the exquisite mouldings of throat and neck. The left arm is raised, with the hand resting caressingly upon the neck of an eagle with lowered beak and extended wings. The face of the woman expresses nobility, purity and sweetness. The left hand hangs lightly at her side. The drapery falls in gracefu I folds from the right shoulder, leaving the left arm, breast and shoulder bare. This statue is the work of Miss Nellie Farnsworth Meers of Oshkosh. She is not yet 21 years of age, and bas received no instruction. From a child, she has always had a mania for modelling. After her model had been accepted by the judges she was advised to study under some efficient an instructor, but her teachers soon decided to leave her genius to its own bent, and allow her to work in her own way, with her own tools. The statue described above has been pronounced by eminent surgeons to be anatomically perfect, and Julian Hawthorne declares it to be the finest thing in art on the exposition grounds. Miss Meers is one of three gifted sisters, specimens of whose work in art and literature are to be found in the woman's department. The Old Bay state is fittingly represented by a mansion modeled after the old Hancock house, for many years a familiar landmark on Beacon street, Boston. It is furnished with oldtime elegance and contains many ancient and historic relics, and notable works of art. Here 68

are copies of the charters granted by King Charles and William and Mary, old state papers, rare old portraits, glass cases containing the rich brocades and wedding finery of old-time belles, who doubtless caused many a heart-throb and pang of jealousy in the breasts or ancient cavaliers who nourished in those clays "when we lived under the king"-embroiclerecl wedding slippers or a very substantial size, testifying Lo the broad understanding of our reminine ancestors. There is a cradle in which five generations of the Adams family, including the two presidents, have been rocked (this cradle was made by the village undertaker), autograph letters of noted authors, poets and statesmen, solemn antiquities and other things too numerous to mention. A unique embroidered sampler, done by Mary Parsons, aged 10, in 1740, represents Adam and Eve in the Garden or Eden. The conception is so original and so diITerent from the usually accepted idea of our first parents in their primitive state, that it is well worth studying. "Under green apple boughs," laden with the reddest specimens of the fruit of that forbidden tree which "brought death into the world, and all our woes," are seated a lady and gentleman dressed in the height of the prevailing fashion of a century and a hair ago-a style wonderfully in advance of the traditional [ig leaf. Adam, attired in a red and yellow skirted coat, with a ruff, knee breeche , high heeled, silver-buckled shoes, and powdered wig, looks benignly down upon Eve, seated a little below him on the 0owery bank. From under the ample skirts of the lady peeps coquettishly the toe or a slipper. A long pointed waist, flowing sleeves, and elaborate headdress complete our primal mother's costume. An impossible parrot is perched upon her knee, while all around are nondescript animals whose like have never been seen since the fall, if indeed they existed before. Eve is languidly reaching up for the fatal fruit, serenely unconscious of all the mischief she is brewing. The "Keystone State" has reproduced in part Independence Hall. This building also has been presented to the city or Chicago. It is spaciou and elegant, adorned with beautiful frescoes, stained glass windows, paintings and tapestries. Among the many relics found here

Yesterday's City

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To/1, the Wisconsin Building was ronstrucli'd of brownstone, brick, wood, and other materials Ji-om the stale. The Massochuse/ls Building (bo/10111) co11tai11ed 111011y artifacts representing the state's early histOI)'·

Chicago

Hist01y, j11ly

1993

}'f.1/Nday'.1

is the old "Liberty Bell" with its famous inscription "Proclaim liberl)' throughout all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof'." Herc is the chair in which Jefferson sat when he wrote the Declaration or Independence, and the inkstand which he used on that occasion, the charter given to Penn by Charles II, and many portraits of' historic characters. Probably the most magnificent or a ll the state buildings is that of New York-the "Empire State." It fittingly repre ents in its mosaic, marble fl oors, its broad and richl)' ornamented stainvay, its marble fountains, elegant banquet hall and salons, the wealth and magnificence or the greatest state in the union. This beautiful structure is, in part, a reproduction or the old Van Rensselaer residence, for many years a familiar hi storic landmark of' New York city. Here a lso are many interesting relics or the o ld O/J/Jo.1ile to/J, the 111og11iflcrnt Ne11 1 )'or/i Building. The mofaffimled a s/Jifndid view of tlz1, entire Jr1ir. Oj)/Josi/1' bol/0111, t/i,, Bo11quet !fall in the N,,w r'or// Building. Below, the Ubnty Bell in the Pn111.1_1â&#x20AC;˘lvonio Building.

City

Dutch coloni ts, descending from the time or rough old Peter Stuyvesant through the Knickerbockers and all the famous "Vans" that have helped to make the history and prosperity of' the state. From the roof of this building we obtained our first extended view of the lair grounds. Whatever feeling of disappointment we may have experienced at our first entrance, all was forgotten in the glori ous prospect spread out before us. To the east was the shorclcss lake in all its blue expanse, to the north and west lay the great, busy city of Chicago, whose turm o il reached us only in the faintest echoes, while to the south, the "\\'bite City" was unfolded in a ll its marvelou~ beauty. Its minarets, domes and towers were li ghted up by the clear sun li ght. Its peaceful lagoons with gondo las darting hith er and thither, and the cool retreats of "Wooded Island" added an indescribable charm . No sound of traflic or labor disturbed the quietness of the scene. But fo1Âˇ the crowd of pleasureseekers wandering through the broad a\'enues, we could scarce ly have realized that it was a city of the livin g. \\'e recalled the words of'Rev. Mr.

Chicago Hist01y,july 1993

Crowds headed for th e fairgrounds boarded trains near Lal1e Front Park. Photogra/1h by Co/Jelin.

Stead in a recent article in the Review of Reviews, that never, until be reaches the ew J erusalem , does he expect to look upon a scene of such bewildering beauty. Let no one who visits th e world's fair fail to spend a day at least in making a tour of the state buildings. Here will be found something to suit the tastes of all. The student of history, the romanticist, th e scientist, the geologist, the lover of nature, can revel in those things which most delight his soul. Nowhere else can one gain so clear an idea of the progress and prosperity of our country, and of its marvelou s resources. The heart of th e loyal American thrills with pride as he gazes upon these evidences of our country's greatness. The more he investigates and examines, the more assured he will be that, ''This is the land, of every land the pride, Beloved by heaven , o'er all Lhe world beside. " 72

II lustrations 54, CIIS, ICHi- 13855; 55 top, from the Fargo Argus (Sunday, June 11, 1893), courtesy of Pogo Press; 55 bottom. from The Mi1111ea/1ohl Tribune (Apri l 2 I, 190 I), courtesr of Pogo Press; 56 top, CIIS, ICHi-23723; 56 bottom, CHS, ICHi-23i27; 57, CHS, ICHi-23 186; 58 top, CI IS, ICHi -23726; 58 bottom. from Cahjomia at the lf'orld'.1 Columbian ExjJosition (1894), CHS Library; 59, CHS, ICHi25258; 60 Lop, CHS, ICIIi-23722; 60 bottom, from IVorlfl's Fair Photographed ( 1873) CIIS Library; 6 1 left, Minnesota llistorical Society; 6 1 right, CHS PainLings and Sculpture Collection; 62 top, counesy Mw.eum of New Mexico; 62 bottom, CHS, IC! li-23728; 63, from Connectirnl al the Columbwn Ex/Josi/ion (1898), CII S Library; 64 top, CHS, ICHi -23729; 64 bottom, 1ew Hampsh ire Historical Society; 65, CHS, ICHi-23724; 66 top right, The Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas; 66 bottom left, Montana Historica l Societ)', Helena, Montana; 67, CHS, ICHi-23730; 69 top, State Historical Society of Wisconsin; 69 bouom, from Re/Jori of the ,\Jassachusetts Board of World Fair /vlanagers (l 894), CHS Library; 70 top and bottom, from New York al the World's Colu111bia11 Ex/Josi/ion ( 1894), CHS Libr,ffy; 71, from Pennsylmnia al the Columbian Exposition ( 1893), CHS Library; 72, CHS, !CHi-25111.