Fire and steel allow buildings to grow sky-high
Perhaps the cow had pushed the lantern, or maybe it was one of the men playing cards. Nobody knows exactly what happened in 1871 to ignite an inferno of fire which developed in O’Leary’s barn and quickly spread between Chicago’s bone-dry wooden buildings.
“Pieces of burning roof-plates, planks, roofing felt and other objects fell through the air like snow,” wrote one eyewitness. “The wind was blowing like a hurricane, howling like myriads of evil spirits,” wrote another, “drove the flames before it with a force and fierceness which could never be described or imagined.”
Three hundred lives were lost; 18,000 houses collapsed. But new types of buildings rose from the ash – higher than ever before.
Today’s soaring skyscrapers, including the current record-holding 828-metre-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai, are all rooted in 18th century Chicago – where they sprang from the unremitting efforts of four men.
Inspired by a bird cage
When the ‘Great Chicago Fire’ ended on 9 October 1871, Chicago’s city government approved an emergency law: new structures were to be made of fireproof materials such as brick, marble, and limestone. But these were expensive, so that only a few private individuals could afford to comply, and
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days