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 James Monroe, after whom 
 Monroe Street was named 
 
 Through the courtesy of 
 Mr. Rufus C. Dawes 
 
Notes on the Monroe Street 
 of Early Chicago Days 
 
 1914 
 
 Compiled by Edwin F. Mack 
 Second Edition 
 Published by 
 
 Central Trust Company of Illinois 
 
 125 West Monroe Street 
 
 Chicago 
 

 Copyright, 1914, 
 
 by 
 
 Central Trust Company of Illinois, 
 
 Chicago, Illinois 
 
 Gift 
 \uthcr 
 
A WORD OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 
 TN gathering these notes about old Monroe Street 
 -^ (from the River to the Lake), the compiler wishes to 
 acknowledge the courteous assistance of Mr. M. E. 
 Dahl, of the Chicago Historical Society, in the search 
 among the books, pamphlets, maps and papers in the 
 possession of the Society, from which much of the 
 material of this little publication was secured. 
 
 The compiler has also drawn heavily upon the 
 monumental History of Chicago by A. T. Andreas; 
 upon the later History of Chicago, in five volumes, by 
 J. Seymour Currey, as well as upon other publications 
 mentioned in the text. 
 
 Among those whose personal recollections have been 
 of service, special acknowledgments are due Mr. W. D. 
 Kerfoot, Mr. Frank W. Smith, Mr. James Walsh, 
 Mr. Nathan Diqkinson, Mr. Herbert Darlington, Mr. 
 Charles M. Sturges, Mr. A. B. Adam and Mr. Frank 
 O. Butler. 
 
 E. F. M. 
 

 .:»*' 
 
 fcil^S-^^J ..''^':^ '. '^" 
 
 ^J 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 
 ■j/3«Ktf::BiOEK±::;.-::.; ^ 
 
 as 
 
 r// Lnftd 
 
 BAMCe M- EAST 
 
 
 MAP SHOWING HUBBARD'S TRAIL 
 
 Reproduced from part of a map ap- 
 pearing in Andreas' History of Chicago 
 
OLD MONROE STREET 
 
 FROM THE RIVER TO THE LAKE 
 
 ^ITA map of Chicago dated 1830, in the possession of 
 '-^the Chicago Historical Society, shows the village of 
 Chicago clustered about old Fort Dearborn, near the 
 mouth of the Chicago River. The present location of 
 Monroe Street was then out in the country, in the 
 section of land south of the village bounded by Madison, 
 State, Halsted and 12th Streets. 
 
 This map shows the district on the west side of the 
 River pretty well wooded, while on the east side of 
 the River the woods extend not quite halfway to 
 Hubbard's Trail (about the present location of Clark 
 Street), leading to Danville. 
 
 This trail was named after Col. Gurdon S. Hub- 
 bard, who was the first white man to blaze a trail 
 from Chicago overland to the southern part of the 
 State, instead of following the course of the rivers, as 
 had been done previously. 
 
 ^JT Monroe Street is located in what is known as a 
 ^School Section (640 acres). Section No. 16 in every 
 township in the State of Illinois was granted to the 
 State by the U. S. Government for the use of the 
 schools. The school section in this township was 
 bounded by Madison Street on the north, 12th Street 
 on the south, State Street on the east and Halsted 
 Street on the west. 
 
 ^JTIn order to raise money for school purposes, an 
 ^auction sale was held on October 21, 1833, and con- 
 tinued for five days, in the first Tremont House, 
 located at that time on the northwest corner of Dear- 
 born and Lake Streets. 
 
 First Map 
 of Chicago 
 
 Hubbard's 
 Trail 
 
 Big Real 
 
 Estate 
 
 Auction 
 
$6.72 an 
 Acre 
 
 Golden 
 
 Jones' 
 
 Purchase 
 
 Original 
 Town Limits 
 
 Naming of 
 
 Monroe 
 
 Street 
 
 Out of 140 blocks comprising the school section, 
 all but four blocks were sold for a total of $38,619.47, 
 or an average of $6.72 an acre. One of the four 
 blocks remaining for school use was the block bounded 
 by Monroe, Dearborn, State and Madison Streets. 
 
 ^TTIt was at the foregoing auction sale that Benjamin 
 ^^ Jones (also known as "Golden Jones" on account of 
 his wealth) on October 22, 1833, purchased from the 
 State of Illinois, Lot 2, Block 117, upon which the 
 Central Trust Company of Illinois now stands, for 
 the sum of $78, being about the price today of one 
 sq. ft. of the 16,920 sq. ft. in this lot. 
 
 This lot appears to have passed out of the Jones 
 family April 13, 1868, through a deed given by the 
 executors of the estate of William Jones, father of 
 Fernando Jones, to John M. Douglas for $58,500. Mr. 
 Douglas was at that time President of the Illinois 
 Central Railroad. 
 
 ^ir Monroe Street was not within the original limits 
 <--*^of Chicago when it was incorporated as a town on 
 August 12, 1833, the southern limits of the town at 
 that time being Madison Street. 
 
 However, the southern town limits were extended 
 on November 6, 1833, as far south as Jackson Street; 
 and on that date, therefore, Monroe Street became 
 part of the town of Chicago. 
 
 Chicago was incorporated as a city March 4, 1837. 
 
 JTTThe Chicago Democrat, in its issue of December 3, 
 ^1833 (in the files of the Chicago Historical Society), 
 contains an ordinance passed by the Town Council 
 on November 7th which was rather remarkable for 
 the number and scope of its provisions. 
 
The second paragraph of this ordinance reads as 
 follows : 
 
 "BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that the first street in 
 said town, south of Washington Street, be named Madison Street; 
 the second street shall be named Monroe Street; the third shall be 
 named Adams Street and the fourth shall be named Jackson 
 Street." 
 
 ^jr Among the other articles of this comprehensive 
 *-*^ordinance, paragraph 3 ordains: 
 
 "That from and after the first day of December next, every 
 owner of any hog, sow or pig found running at large in said town 
 without having a ring in its nose or yoke on its neck, shall be liable 
 to a fine of two dollars for each and every offence." 
 
 Another paragraph of the same ordinance pre- 
 scribes in considerable detail how the citizens of Chicago 
 shall run their stovepipes through the ceilings and roofs 
 of their houses. 
 
 O* Referring to paragraph 3 of the foregoing ordi- 
 ^nance, it should be stated that by 1842 hogs roaming 
 about the streets of Chicago had become such an un- 
 mitigated nuisance that an ordinance was passed on 
 April 21st of that year prohibiting them from running 
 at large in the streets, even when provided with rings 
 in their noses or yokes on their necks. 
 
 ^TT James Monroe, after whom Monroe Street was 
 ^ named, was the fifth President of the United States, 
 his two terms of office as President extending from 
 1817 to 1825. Besides the office of President, Monroe 
 also distinguished himself in other political offices, 
 principally as United States Senator, Minister to 
 France, Spain and England, and as Governor of Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 Monroe's name will always be best remembered in 
 connection with the Monroe Doctrine, which was 
 
 Monroe 
 
 Street 
 
 Named 
 
 Primitive 
 Conditions 
 
 The Hog 
 Question 
 Again 
 
 James 
 Monroe 
 
BEFORE THE ORDINANCE IN REGARD TO PIGS 
 
 10 
 
enunciated by him in his annual message to Congress 
 in 1823, This doctrine was a warning to European 
 nations against interference in the affairs of the nations 
 on this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 ^ITThe following Monroe Street addresses appear in 
 
 ^the Chicago City Directory of 1844: 
 
 S. Foot, Teamster, corner Clark and Monroe Streets. 
 
 [Where the Fort Dearborn Building now stands.] 
 Josiah B. Crocker, Whitewasher, Clark Street, corner 
 
 of Monroe. 
 Nathaniel F. Butler, "res. Monroe St." 
 Samuel S. Barry, Painter at Cushings, "House Monroe 
 
 St., between Clark and LaSalle Sts." 
 James M, Adsit, Carpenter, "House Monroe St." 
 
 [Where the Inter-Ocean Building now stands.] 
 
 In 1846 Mr. Adsit engaged in the private banking 
 business on Clark Street, and continued in that business 
 until his bank was absorbed by the Chicago National 
 Bank at its organization in 1882. Mr. Adsit became 
 Vice President of the Chicago National Bank, and held 
 that office for a short time. 
 
 ^TTThe business center of Chicago from 1840 until 
 ^ about 1860 was on Clark Street, in the first two or 
 three blocks south of the river. This was brought 
 about largely by the construction of the Clark Street 
 Bridge in 1840, 
 
 Merchants and small shopkeepers sought locations 
 in the neighborhood of the bridge, where the traffic 
 was greatest ; and when both sides of Clark Street were 
 occupied by commercial houses. South Water Street 
 and Lake Street, for three or four blocks east and west 
 of Clark Street, were filled up with business houses, 
 hotels and offices of professional men. 
 
 Monroe 
 Doctrine 
 
 1844 City 
 Directory 
 
 Business 
 
 Center 
 
 1840-1860 
 
 11 
 

 
 
 Hi! 
 
 
 STAGE COACH ARRIVING AT THE SHERMAN HOUSE 
 
 From a description 
 
 12 
 
^TT William Bross, who later became associated with 
 ^Joseph Medill and others on the Chicago Tribune, 
 in his reminiscences (Lakeside Classics) speaks of the 
 sidewalk situation here in 1848 as follows: 
 
 "The sidewalks, where such luxuries were indulged 
 in, lay, in most cases, upon the rich prairie soil, for the 
 stringpieces of scantling to which the planks were 
 originally spiked would soon sink down into the mud 
 after a rain and then, as one walked, the green and black 
 slime would gush up between the cracks," 
 
 ^TTMr. W. D. Kerfoot, in referring to the condition 
 ^of Monroe Street and other streets in this neighbor- 
 hood in the Fifties, says that the streets were frequently 
 impassable for weeks at a time during the spring rains, 
 and that driving over these frozen seas of mud in 
 cold weather often gave one the sensation of driving 
 over a rubber pavement, with the added experience, 
 occasionally, of breaking through the crust into the 
 mud below. 
 
 ^ITMr. Kerfoot tells two good stories of road condi- 
 ^tions in Chicago in those days, the first one of which, 
 with some poetic license, illustrates general conditions, 
 while the second one is probably based upon an actual 
 occurrence. 
 
 Upon one occasion, after quite a rainy spell, a 
 citizen saw a man's head and shoulders sticking out 
 of the mud in the middle of the street, and asked him 
 whether he could be of any assistance to him. The 
 man promptly answered: "No, thank you. I have 
 a horse under me." 
 
 In the days of the old Frink & Walker Stage Coach 
 Line a coach drew up, one very muddy November 
 evening, at the old Sherman House, located on the 
 site of the present Sherman House. By means of 
 
 Soggy 
 Sidewalks 
 
 Bottomless 
 Streets 
 
 "No, 
 
 Thank 
 
 you!" 
 
 13 
 
A Stage 
 
 Coach 
 
 Experience 
 
 Gas Works 
 
 on Monroe 
 
 Street 
 
 Ten-year 
 Franchise 
 
 two stout planks the passengers were able to bridge 
 the sea of mud and pass from the stage coach to the 
 sidewalk. 
 
 The horses were also able to struggle out of the 
 mud that evening, but the stage coach was left there, 
 to be pulled out in the morning. During the night 
 winter suddenly set in in full vigor, and the stage coach 
 was so firmly frozen in that it could not be taken out 
 until spring. 
 
 ^TTThe south side of Monroe Street, between what is 
 ^now Franklin Street (which was not then opened 
 through) and Market Street, was the site of the first 
 gas works in the city, erected in 1850 at a cost of 
 $105,000 by the Chicago Gas Light & Coke Com- 
 pany. 
 
 The ground between Market Street and the River 
 was occupied by Walter & Rogers' coal yard. 
 
 The lot on the southeast corner of Monroe and 
 Market Streets was not included in the gas com- 
 pany's property, but it had a little office on Monroe 
 Street, just next to this corner lot on the east. The 
 company's main office at that time was in the Dickey 
 Building, on the southwest corner of Dearborn and 
 Lake Streets. 
 
 The gas holder was about halfway between Market 
 Street and what is now Franklin Street. Soon after 
 its location on Monroe Street the company extended 
 its property through to Adams Street, where the retort 
 was located. 
 
 The Chicago Gas Light & Coke Company was 
 incorporated by special act of the State Legislature 
 in February, 1849, with the exclusive right to manu- 
 facture, distribute and sell gas in the City of Chicago 
 for a period of ten years. 
 
 14 
 
The gas was first turned on in September, 1850, 
 according to William Bross, who states that until that 
 time people had to grope around in the dark or use 
 lanterns. It seems, however, that the extension of 
 the service was rather slow, for Mr. Bross states that 
 it was not until 1853 or 1854 that the pipes reached 
 his home at No. 202 Michigan Avenue. 
 
 In 1850 the company got $3.50 a thousand feet for 
 its gas. In 1871 the price was $3.00 a thousand; and 
 it remained at that price until 1883, when it was re- 
 duced to $1.25. 
 
 The demand for gas became so great with the 
 growth of the city that the company in 1867 erected 
 new works on the North Side, on Hawthorne Street 
 (now Kingsbury Street), between Haines, Hobbie and 
 Crosby Streets. The Monroe Street plant was de- 
 stroyed in the Great Fire of 1871, while the Haw- 
 thorne Street plant was at that time saved only by the 
 greatest exertions. The plant on Monroe Street was 
 not rebuilt after the fire. 
 
 The Chicago Gas Light & Coke Company was 
 merged into the People's Gas Light & Coke Company 
 in August, 1897, pursuant to an act of the Legislature 
 permitting the merger of seven independent and more 
 or less competitive gas companies in the city at that 
 time. 
 
 ^ITThe Chicago Almanac and Advertiser for 1855 
 Ogives the following business addresses (including 
 boarding-houses) on Monroe Street: 
 
 Mrs. Hendee, Boarding House— 43 Monroe Street. 
 Dr. Thos. Bryan— 96 Monroe Street. 
 Dr. C. V. Dyer— N. W. corner Monroe and Dear- 
 born Streets. 
 
 When 
 
 Darkness 
 
 Reigned 
 
 Early 
 Gas Rates 
 
 Street 
 Addresses 
 in '55 
 
 15 
 
street 
 Addresses 
 
 William 
 Goldie 
 
 La Salle 
 
 Street not 
 
 Opened 
 
 Through 
 
 J. A. Kent, Perfumer— 105 Monroe Street. 
 
 Elizabeth Brock, Boarding House — 143 Monroe 
 Street. 
 
 Thos. Milner, Builder— 171 Monroe Street. 
 
 H. Bradford, Grocer — 181 Monroe Street. 
 
 Miss S. A. Heath, Select School— 186 Monroe 
 Street. 
 
 This school was taken down in 1855 to make room 
 for the construction of North's Circus, referred to 
 on Page 24. 
 
 Wm. Goldie, Manufacturer of Sashes, Doors and 
 Blinds — 216 Monroe Street, beside the Gas Works. 
 
 Watson & Ross, Builders— 219 Monroe Street. 
 
 W. Dorchester, Lumber Yard — Corner of Market 
 and Monroe Streets. 
 
 ^TT William Goldie, mentioned in the foregoing list, 
 ^came here from Scotland, and in 1852 started in 
 business as a building contractor. In 1853 he added the 
 sash, door and blind factory on Monroe Street (about 
 where Franklin Street is now opened through). In 
 1861 he sold out and served through the Civil War, 
 later returning to his old business. 
 
 He built the first business block after the fire, the 
 old Marshall Field Building, State and Washington 
 Streets. Among his other buildings was University 
 Hall at the State University, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 
 
 ^TTIn the Fifties Monroe Street was pretty well out 
 *--^in the suburbs. Gager's City Directory Map 1856-7 
 shows that LaSalle Street was open at that time from 
 the river only as far south as Madison Street; but 
 Bailey & Company's City Directory 1859-60 shows 
 LaSalle Street opened through across Monroe Street 
 to the south branch of the river. 
 
 16 
 
^jr Until 1853 Dearborn Street was open only as far 
 ^south as Madison Street. In that year the east half 
 of the street (33 feet) was opened through to Monroe 
 Street by consent of the property owners, those on 
 the west side of the street successfully fighting the 
 opening of the west half. 
 
 It was not until a considerable time after the Chi- 
 cago Fire that the full width of Dearborn Street was 
 opened through. 
 
 ^TT Monroe Street in the early days was not paved. 
 ^As a matter of fact, until 1848 all of the Chicago 
 streets were simply country roads. After that date 
 planking was put down on some of the streets, but 
 not as far out as Monroe Street. 
 
 Andreas, in his History of Chicago, under the head- 
 ing "A Complete Record of Street Improvements 
 from 1857 to 1871," makes the following references to 
 Monroe Street: 
 
 From State Street to Michigan Avenue— Wooden 
 block pavement 1867. 
 
 From Clark Street to Market Street— Wooden 
 blocks 1869. 
 
 From State Street to Clark Street— Wooden blocks 
 1870. 
 
 The first asphalt pavement ever laid in Chicago 
 was put down by J. L. Fulton & Company in the 
 spring of 1870 at the intersection of Clark and Monroe 
 Streets. 
 
 ^It appears that in the latter part of the Fifties and 
 ^in the Sixties South Wells Street (Fifth Avenue) from 
 Madison Street to Van Buren Street was largely the 
 resort of the vicious and criminal elements of the city. 
 One contemporary author describes that section of 
 the street as "an aggregation of vileness." 
 
 Dearborn 
 
 Street 
 
 Opened 
 
 No 
 Pavements 
 
 Monroe 
 
 Street 
 
 Pavement 
 
 Chicago's 
 Tenderloin 
 
 17 
 

 AN OLD TAVERN 
 
 Similar to "Under the Willow" 
 owned by Roger Plant 
 
Labyrinths 
 
 and 
 
 Tunnels 
 
 "Roger Plant's 'Under the Willow,' southeast Under the 
 corner of Wells and Monroe Streets," quoting from Willow 
 Bygone Days in Chicago by Frederick Francis Cook, 
 "was the very core of this corruption. Originally 
 'Under the Willow' applied only to the corner build- 
 ing. But, with the progress of the war . . . one ad- 
 joining rookery after another, both to the east and to 
 the south, was added until the name applied to nearly 
 half a block; and Police Captain Jack Nelson dubbed 
 it 'Roger's Barracks.* 
 
 "Patrols were never at a loss where to look for 
 'strays' from the outlying camps, though this was by 
 no means always the same as finding them, for Roger 
 maintained a very thorough outpost system; and it 
 was only by approaching these delectable precincts in 
 character as sheep ready for the shearing that an 
 alarm could be forestalled and escape from the 
 labyrinth by devious passages and alleyways cut 
 off." 
 
 It appears to have been the popular belief at the 
 time that there was a tunnel running from this saloon 
 under Wells Street to the shanties and rookeries which 
 then filled the district between Wells Street (Fifth 
 Avenue) and the river. 
 
 To quote further from Bygone Days in Chicago: Mrs. 
 "Roger was a diminutive Yorkshireman, whereas Plant 
 Mrs. Plant, a graduate from the purlieus of Liverpool, 
 easily balanced two of him on the scales, with some- 
 thing left over. 
 
 "In his small way Roger was quite a character. 
 Calling his place 'Under the Willow' showed his 
 sentimental side." As a matter of fact, there was a 
 large willow tree standing in Monroe Street, along- 
 side Roger Plant's saloon at that time. 
 
 19 
 
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF CHICAGO IN 1857 
 * Indicates present location of Central Trust Company of Illinois 
 
 Through courtesy of Chicago Historical Society 
 
 20 
 
Mr. Cook goes on to say: "And then there was 
 Roger the humorist. Every window-pane of the den 
 displayed on a flaring blue shade, in large gilt letters, the 
 legend 'Why Not?' It is needless to say that the 
 phrase acquired a large street currency. 
 
 "The place was a refuge for the very nethermost 
 strata of the underworld — the refuse of the bridewell. 
 Only by seeking the bottom of the malodorous river 
 could its inmates go lower — as they sometimes 
 did. 
 
 "So evil a name did this thoroughfare [Wells 
 Street] acquire from its belongings that later, to fit 
 it for trade, it was, on petition of fronting property 
 owners, fumigated into Fifth Avenue." 
 
 The Great Fire of 1871 performed a valuable 
 service in cleaning out this district. 
 
 ^ While Mr. Cook states that Under the Willow was 
 ^-♦'^on the southeast corner of Monroe and Wells 
 Streets both Mr. Kerfoot and Mr. Dickinson clearly 
 remember that it was located on the northeast corner 
 of Monroe and Wells Streets; while another early set- 
 tler was uncertain as to the exact location, but was 
 inclined to the belief that it was on the southeast 
 corner. 
 
 To settle the matter, the following letter was 
 secured from Herman F. Schuettler, First Deputy 
 Superintendent of Police: 
 
 "The records in the City Clerk's Office show that a 
 license for saloon was issued to Roger Plant, 171 South 
 Wells Street. The records in the City Map Depart- 
 ment show that 171 South Wells Street was at that 
 time located at the northeast corner of Wells and 
 Monroe Streets." 
 
 Why Not? 
 
 Change 
 in Name 
 of Street 
 
 Conflicting 
 Testimony 
 Settled 
 
 21 
 

 NORTHS CIRCUS 
 
^irOn April 4, 1855, North's Circus came to the city 
 ^**^and, after performing on a vacant lot, Levi J. North 
 and Harry Turner, the owners, erected a two-story 
 frame theater on the south side of Monroe Street, 
 east of Wells Street (Fifth Avenue). The building 
 had 90 feet frontage on Monroe Street and was 206 
 feet deep. 
 
 It contained a performing ring 42 feet in diameter 
 and seated 3,062 people. In the rear of the building 
 there were stables for the horses used in connection 
 with the performances. 
 
 In 1856 C. R. Thorne became manager, and changed 
 the name to National Theater. He engaged a stock 
 company, and the theater was fitted up for legitimate 
 dramatic work. 
 
 In 1857 the place was re-adapted to equestrian and 
 spectacular entertainments, but was soon again trans- 
 formed into a legitimate theater, and was opened as 
 such in 1857 by J. H. Wallack in Othello, Virginius and 
 similar plays. Mr. and Mrs. John F. Drew appeared 
 there in May, 1858. 
 
 The house ceased to be profitable in 1859, and, 
 after many changes, was sold. The building was 
 allowed to fall into disrepair, but was temporarily 
 occupied in 1864 by two companies of soldiers while 
 waiting to be paid off. 
 
 In 1868 the building was torn down and a brick 
 business block erected in its place. 
 
 ^JTA large map of Chicago in 1857, hanging in the 
 ^*^ rooms of the Chicago Historical Society, shows both 
 sides of Monroe Street, from the River to the Lake, 
 lined with frame buildings, practically all dwellings. 
 The block in which the Central Trust Company of 
 Illinois is now located, for instance, was occupied by 
 
 North's 
 Circus 
 
 Wallack 
 
 Plays 
 
 There 
 
 Bird's 
 Eye Veiw 
 of Chicago 
 in 1857 
 
 23 
 
VIEW LOOKING SOUTH FROM COURT HOUSE TOWER 1858 
 
 The first arrow indicates the home of 
 Fernando Jones, site of Central Trust 
 Co. The second arrow North's Circus 
 
 By courtesy of the 
 Chicago Historical Society 
 
 24 
 
eight such dwellings, one of which, on the corner of 
 Clark Street, fronted on Clark Street, while the other 
 seven fronted on Monroe Street. 
 
 The next block west shows a frame house on the 
 southwest corner of LaSalle Street and a small frame 
 building just west of that; while nearer Wells Street 
 (Fifth Avenue) stood North's Circus. 
 
 ^TTThe picture on the opposite page was taken from 
 *--^the tower of the Court House, in 1858, looking south- 
 east. The building most conspicuous in the foreground 
 is the First Baptist Church, then located on Wash- 
 ington Street, corner of LaSalle Street, on the present 
 site of the Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 In 1864 this church was taken down and re-erected 
 at the southwest corner of Morgan and Monroe Streets, 
 becoming the Second Baptist Church. 
 
 The arrow pointing downward at the left indicates 
 Fernando Jones' home, on the present site of the 
 Central Trust Company of Illinois, on Monroe Street; 
 whereas the arrow to the right points to North's 
 Circus, on Monroe Street. 
 
 ^TTThe following were some of the people living on 
 ^Monroe Street in the later Fifties and in the 
 Sixties: 
 
 On the northwest corner of Monroe Street and 
 Michigan Avenue lived Hiram Wheeler, one of the 
 incorporators of the Chamber of Commerce in 1863 
 and a Director of the Board of Trade 1859-60. 
 
 Directly back of this house, on the northeast corner 
 of Monroe and Wabash, lived E. H. Haddock, who 
 came to Chicago in 1833 and started a bakery, later 
 establishing a grain warehousing business. 
 
 Chicago 
 in 1858 
 
 Homes 
 of Old 
 Settlers 
 
 University 
 Club 
 
 Powers 
 Building 
 
 25 
 
•iSffJi^M^r- 
 
 
 AT THE MAISON DOREE 
 
 After a drawing made from 
 description by old settler 
 
 26 
 
Across the street, on the southwest corner of 
 Monroe Street and Michigan Avenue, Hved Walter 
 S. Gurney, President of the Chicago Hide & Leather 
 Company. 
 
 On the southeast corner of Wabash Avenue and 
 Monroe Street was a good-sized frame colonial house, 
 surrounded by large trees and shrubbery and setting 
 well back from the street. This was the home of Eli 
 B. Williams. 
 
 Eli B. Williams came to Chicago in 1833, and 
 erected a small frame grocery on South Water Street. 
 In 1834 he was one of the organizers of St. James 
 Episcopal Church. In 1836 he was a member of the 
 original Chicago Charter Commission. In 1844 he 
 became Register of the U. S. Land Office here. In 
 1852 his name appears as one of the Directors in the 
 Chicago Gas Light & Coke Company, while in 1853 
 he was appointed Receiver for Government funds in 
 Chicago. 
 
 In the latter part of the Sixties Mr, Williams 
 rented his home to Mrs. William J. (Anne J.) Johnson, 
 who conducted a ladies' restaurant and ice cream 
 parlor there until the time of the fire. 
 
 The restaurant was known as the Maison Doree 
 (gilded house), and was thoroughly high-class in its 
 appointments and service. 
 
 Many prominent men are still living who used to 
 take their sweethearts to Mrs. Johnson's for ice cream 
 on warm summer nights. 
 
 On the southwest corner of Wabash Avenue and 
 Monroe Street lived Mr. Horatio N. Heald, land 
 agent, one of the prominent men of that time. 
 
 On the northwest corner of Wabash and Monroe 
 was a house — originally a frame house, but a brick 
 
 Monroe 
 Building 
 Site 
 
 Williams 
 Building 
 Site 
 
 Maison 
 Doree 
 
 Goddard 
 Building 
 Site 
 
 27 
 
Windsor- 
 Clifton 
 Hotel 
 Site 
 
 Dr. Gibbs 
 
 Clairvoyants 
 
 Palmer 
 House 
 
 De Jonghe 
 Hotel 
 
 Mentor 
 Building 
 
 house was later erected — owned by Mr. Joel C. 
 Walter of the Board of Trade, who rented it to Mr. 
 Rogers of Walter & Rogers, coal dealers at the corner 
 of Monroe and Market Streets. 
 
 James Carter, the father of Leslie Carter, later 
 lived in this corner brick house. 
 
 Mr. Walter himself lived right back (west) of the 
 corner house, on the corner of the alley on the north 
 side of Monroe Street. 
 
 Just west of Mr. Heald, across the street (on the 
 south side of Monroe, west of Wabash) and on the 
 corner of the alley, lived Mr. John S. Gould, who had a 
 shoe shop (No. 38 Monroe); while just west of him 
 lived Dr. Aaron Gibbs, dentist, who came here in 
 1845 and was one of the active anti-slavery men in 
 the city during the Fifties. 
 
 Across the alley, east of State Street, lived a clair- 
 voyant. The only information which we have been 
 able to definitely establish regarding her, from reliable 
 witnesses (men) is that she was good-looking! 
 
 Between this clairvoyant and the southeast corner 
 of State and Monroe Streets was another clairvoyant. 
 Madam Canfield. 
 
 On the southeast corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets lived the George Anderson family. 
 
 On the north side of Monroe Street, between 
 Wabash and State Streets, west of the alley, lived Asa 
 Woodcock, commission merchant on South Water 
 Street. 
 
 On the northeast corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets stood a little frame bakery. 
 
 On the northwest corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets stood the brick grocery store of W. F. McLaugh- 
 
 28 
 
lin, who later sold his grocery business to Dr. Levi D. 
 Boone's sons, while he himself went into the coffee 
 and spice business. 
 
 Dr. Boone was Mayor in 1855. He made the first 
 appointment of a detective in Chicago by appointing 
 Allan Pinker ton. 
 
 George Boomer had a blacksmith shop where the 
 Majestic Theater now stands (71 Monroe), and Henry 
 Brinkworth a pork shop next west (73 Monroe). 
 
 On the southwest corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets stood J. D. Pain's brick drug store; and di- 
 rectly west were the two-story brick stables of the 
 American Express Company. 
 
 Isaac W. and Dean Bangs, stove manufacturers, 
 occupied the property next west of the Express Com- 
 pany's property. 
 
 West of Bangs Brothers, at what was then the end 
 of Dearborn Street, stood a boarding-house and saloon 
 kept by Silas C. Lum. 
 
 Next west to the Post Office (northwest corner 
 Monroe and Dearborn), in a red brick building, was 
 a saloon, kept by Thomas C. Grayson. 
 
 A few doors west of Grayson's, at 121-7 Monroe 
 Street, was the second-hand book store and news 
 depot of Bamford & Baldwin. 
 
 On the northeast corner of Clark and Monroe 
 Streets was the Eureka Saloon, kept by Augustus 
 Dickerson. 
 
 On the southeast corner of Monroe and LaSalle 
 Streets, where the Borland Building now stands, 
 lived Charles Schaefer. 
 
 Freeman M. Williams, a carpenter, lived at 173 
 Monroe Street and apparently also kept a boarding- 
 house there. 
 
 North 
 
 American 
 
 Building 
 
 Majestic 
 Theater 
 
 Pike 
 
 Building 
 
 Site 
 
 American 
 
 Trust 
 
 Building 
 
 Borland 
 Building 
 
 29 
 
At 183 Monroe Street, east of Wells, was a saloon 
 kept by a notorious colored man by the name of Steve 
 Stamp. 
 
 Sinai CIT^^ ^he fall of 1860 there was a strong reform move- 
 Congregation <-^ment among the Jews in Chicago, and a considerable 
 and Temple number of members of the older congregations with- 
 drew and formed the Sinai Congregation. 
 
 Their first temple was a one-story frame building, 
 about 50 feet wide and 80 feet deep, on the north side 
 of Monroe Street, just east of where LaSalle Street 
 was later opened through. 
 
 This building was originally erected for Trinity 
 Episcopal Church on Madison Street. It was moved 
 to its location on Monroe Street for the Sinai Congre- 
 gation, who leased it from Benjamin Lombard, Presi- 
 dent of the Real Estate Loan & Trust Company, in 
 1861. The building was dedicated as Sinai Temple 
 on June 21, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Joseph L. Gatzert, of 111 West Monroe Street, 
 and his wife were the first couple that were married in 
 this first temple of the Sinai Congregation. 
 
 The regular Saturday services were conducted in 
 this building by the congregation until 1863, when 
 larger quarters were secured on the northwest corner of 
 Van Buren and Dearborn Streets. 
 
 This large and prosperous congregation is now 
 housed in the imposing temple on the southwest corner 
 of Grand Boulevard and 46th Street. 
 
 Dr. Hirsch Dr. Emil G. Hirsch has presided over the congre- 
 
 gation since July, 1880. 
 
 The testimony of the early settlers consulted differs 
 as to whether the first frame temple, after LaSalle 
 Street was opened through, was located on the 
 
 First 
 
 Couple 
 
 Married 
 
 30 
 
J^ff 
 
 
 
 
 
 "!.- '"# 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 SUNDAY IN THE EARLY DAYS 
 
 31 
 
Winter 
 Garden 
 Theater 
 
 Minstrel 
 
 Head- 
 
 ouarters 
 
 Marline's 
 Dance Hall 
 
 Central 
 
 Trust Site 
 
 in the 
 
 Fifties 
 
 northwest or on the northeast corner of LaSalle and 
 Monroe Streets. 
 
 ^TTOn the northwest corner of Clark and Monroe 
 *-J^Streets, before the Fire, stood a brick building, the 
 lower floor of which was occupied by a saloon, pawn- 
 broker shop and barber shop, the upper part being 
 known as the Winter Garden Theater (named after a 
 popular New York theater of that day). 
 
 The upper floor was also used as Democratic 
 headquarters, and was sometimes referred to as Demo- 
 cratic Hall. 
 
 The property was originally owned by Solomon 
 Witkowsky, and during the later Fifties and early 
 Sixties the hall was known as Witkowsky Hall. 
 
 This hall appears to have been minstrel head- 
 quarters in those days, as the city directories locate 
 a minstrel company there with J. H. Haverly as 
 manager; while Billy Arlington, who was then a fa- 
 mous minstrel and played there repeatedly, became so 
 closely identified with the place that it was frequently 
 referred to in the prints of that time as Arlington 
 Hall. 
 
 ^jT Upstairs, on the corner diagonally opposite the 
 «-^ Winter Garden Theater, i. e., the southeast corner 
 of Monroe and Clark Streets, there was located, before 
 the Fire, a very popular dancing hall, conducted by 
 Mr. J. Edwin Martine. 
 
 ^JTThe picture on the opposite page represents two 
 *-^ frame buildings which occupied the present site 
 of the Central Trust Company of Illinois. They were 
 burned down in the fire of 1871. 
 
 The building on the right was erected in 1833 and 
 was moved on this lot in 1835. 
 
 32 
 
RESIDENCE OF FERNANDO JONES (al the left) 
 
 Both of the above frame houses stood on the lot now occupied by the Central Trust Company of 
 Illinois until they were destroyed by the Fire of 1871 
 
 Site of Central Trust 
 Company of Illinois 
 
 Through the courtesy of 
 Mr. Frank W. Smith 
 
 33 
 
Fernando The building on the left was erected in 1850 and 
 
 Jones' was moved on this lot in 1855. From 1856 to 1868 it 
 ^^^ was the residence of Fernando Jones, one of the early 
 settlers of Chicago. 
 
 ^ir According to the city maps of 1865, the First Ward 
 «-***at that time extended from the River south to the 
 center of Monroe Street, while the Second Ward 
 extended south from the center of Monroe Street to the 
 center of Harrison Street. 
 
 Old ^jTThe opposite picture shows the Post Office and Cus- 
 Post Office <-l^tom House, which stood on the northwest corner of 
 Dearborn and Monroe Streets in the Sixties, The 
 main entrances were on Dearborn Street. There 
 was an alley on the west and north sides of this build- 
 ing, running in the shape of an L, from Monroe Street 
 to Dearborn Street. At the angle of this alley Andrews' 
 Restaurant flourished for several years. 
 
 Dr. Dyer's The site upon which the Post Ofifice was built was 
 
 Home formerly occupied by Dr. C. V. Dyer as a residence. 
 Dr. Dyer received $26,000 from the Government for 
 his home. 
 
 An appropriation for this Post Office was made by 
 Congress in 1855 in the amount of $84,000. By the time 
 the building was finished, in 1860, instead of costing 
 $84,000, as originally contemplated, it cost $243,000. 
 It was opened for business on November 23, 1860. 
 
 Honest The building appears to have been very sub- 
 
 Construction stantially constructed. Henry A. Hurlbut, in his 
 
 Chicago Antiquities, quotes as follows from an editorial 
 
 in the Chicago Times in 1881 regarding the Post Office: 
 
 " It was erected before the era of public robbery set 
 in, and consequently it was substantial to a degree 
 unknown in this age and generation of public works. 
 
 34 
 
, ' " ■* 1 
 
 
 THE POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE 
 Located, before the Fire, on the corner where the First National Bank now stands 
 
 Frotn an old colored etching, through the 
 courtesy oj the Chicago Historical Society 
 
 35 
 
Light vs. ... Had it not been for the fact that the iron shutters 
 Protection on the west side of the building had been taken off to 
 give more light in the lower stories, it would have with- 
 stood the fury of the flames on that fearful October 
 day" [October 9, 1871]. 
 
 Henry A. Hurlbut, who was a witness of the 
 demolition of these walls, goes on to say in his book 
 that, when the walls were finally removed in August, 
 1881, to make room for the brick building erected at 
 that time on this site by the First National Bank: 
 "Every block or parcel of material removed proclaims 
 
 HONEST MATERIAL and HONEST LABOR." 
 
 The number of clerks employed in the Post Office 
 in 1866 was 106. Today the number of clerks is 3,931 
 and the number of carriers 2,069, making a total of 
 6,000 employes. 
 
 ^JTDr. Dyer (see p. 34) appears to have been one of 
 ^the sturdy old settlers of Chicago. His name appears 
 in the City Directory of 1839 as City Physician. 
 Those who knew him represent him as having been a 
 bluff, hearty gentleman of the old school who was very 
 strong in his likes and dislikes and very free to ex- 
 press them, but fair and square as a man could be. 
 
 He was often consulted by real estate attorneys 
 on account of his intimate knowledge of land conditions 
 about Chicago, derived from his constant trips with 
 his horse and gig to patients out in the country. 
 The Doctor's Upon one occasion a neighbor remarked to Dr. 
 
 Fence Dyer that his fence did not look so white that spring 
 as usual. The Doctor, who was a prominent aboli- 
 tionist, promptly replied that the reason for it was that 
 there were not so many travelers that spring over the 
 Underground Railroad from the South to Canada who 
 could do a good job of white- washing. 
 
 Some of 
 
 Dr. Dyer's 
 
 Traits 
 
 36 
 
'-^r ^ -^ ^ 
 
 
 THE DOCTOR AND HIS HORSE AND GIG 
 
 37 
 
Lombard fW^^ 105-7 Monroe Street, just west of the Post 
 
 Block 
 
 Bessie 
 Piatt 
 
 Knights of 
 Pythias 
 
 Office Building, across the alley, as shown on the 
 picture on page 35, stood the handsome Lombard Block 
 before the fire. This block was built of marble, and 
 was almost of the same size as the Post Office. 
 
 The Real Estate Loan & Trust Company, of which 
 Mr. Benjamin Lombard was President, had its offices 
 in this building. The first secret service office in 
 Chicago also had its quarters in the Lombard Block. 
 
 ^TTMr. William P. Campbell, who is now the manager 
 <-^of the Central Trust Company of Illinois Safe 
 Deposit Vaults, in 1868 boarded diagonally across the 
 street (toward the east) from the present location of 
 the bank on Monroe street in a two-story frame 
 boarding-house kept by Miss Bessie Piatt. 
 
 From the sidewalk he had to go down three or four 
 steps to a board walk leading to the house. After the 
 fire of 1871 all buildings were constructed at grade. 
 
 ^JTA fire insurance atlas of 1869, in the Historical 
 ^-'^Society's archives, shows the Eastman National 
 Business College located in a three-story building 
 on the northeast corner of Clark and Monroe 
 Streets. 
 
 This college at that time was reported to have 
 about 1500 pupils, and was the western branch of the 
 eastern institution at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., H. G. 
 Eastman, L. L. D., President. 
 
 ^ITThe first lodge of the Knights of Pythias in Chicago 
 <-^was Welcome Lodge No. 1, which held its meet- 
 ings, in 1869, and from then on until the Great Fire, 
 in the Grand Lodge Hall located on the top floor of 
 the three-story and high-basement brick building at 
 151-3 Monroe Street, directly across the street from 
 
 38 
 
AN AUCTION SALE OF HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE 
 
 See next page 
 
 39 
 
Knights of 
 Pythias 
 
 Catholic 
 Library 
 
 Sidelights 
 
 from 
 
 Newspaper 
 
 Ads 
 
 Madam 
 Ross 
 
 the present location of the Central Trust Company 
 of Illinois. 
 
 The Knights of Pythias at that time had rented 
 the two upper floors of the building, using the top 
 floor themselves and subletting the floor below to 
 the Catholic Library Association. 
 
 The City Directory of 1870-1 shows that the 
 Grand Lodge Hall was used on Thursday evenings 
 by Welcome Lodge No. 1, on Tuesday evenings by 
 Board of Trade Lodge No. 4, and on Wednesday 
 evenings by Cosmopolitan Lodge No. 6. 
 
 The Grand Lodge Hall on Monroe Street was de- 
 stroyed by the Great Fire. The lodges moved into a 
 new Grand Lodge Hall, in 1873, at the northwest 
 corner of LaSalle and Adams Streets. 
 
 ^TT Among the very few display advertisements in the 
 <-^newspapers in the Sixties having reference to any 
 business or occupation of any kind on Monroe Street, 
 the Chicago Tribune, under date of May 11, 1869, 
 contained an announcement of an auction sale of 
 "household furniture, pianoforte, linen, china, glass 
 and effects of a large boarding-house of 21 rooms, at 
 100 Monroe St., opposite the Post Office" (then at 
 the northwest corner of Dearborn and Monroe Streets). 
 
 Another advertisement in 1869 announces that 
 Madam Ross, at 143 Monroe Street, near Clark, is 
 "the only real scientific astrologist in the West . . . 
 will unfold the hidden mysteries of the past, present 
 and future . . . will bring together those long sep- 
 arated and cause speedy marriages." 
 
 ^JT Monroe Street was still outside of the business 
 «-^ center in 1870. There were a number of boarding- 
 houses on the street before the Fire, and some of the 
 
 40 
 
THE NIGHT OF THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE 
 
 These walls of the Court House were saved 
 
 41 
 
Rooming 
 Places 
 
 The Chicago 
 Fire 
 
 Boarding- 
 house 
 Avenue 
 
 business buildings above the first stories were ar- 
 ranged for sleeping rooms. 
 
 On the southeast corner of Monroe and Dearborn 
 Streets, for instance, there was such a five-story brick 
 building, stone front, before the Fire, known as the 
 Shepard Block. The building had no elevators. 
 
 On the night of the Great Fire three young men, 
 one of whom was Herbert Darlington of Fred S. 
 James & Company, were sleeping in rooms on an 
 upper floor of this building. Mr. Darlington heard 
 the noise of the engines dashing past the building, 
 and got up to see what was the matter. He saw 
 the sheets of flame and showers of fire-brands that 
 at that hour of the night had just reached the river 
 at Harrison Street. Driven by a strong southwest 
 wind, the embers had already set fire to some of the 
 buildings on this side of the river. 
 
 He hastily dressed and went out to get a nearer 
 look at the fire, but promptly returned and woke up 
 his companions. "We had better get out of this in a 
 hurry," he told them, "for it looks as if the whole 
 thing is going to burn down." 
 
 His judgment in the matter was correct, for it 
 took but a very short time for the fire to reach that 
 corner and consume the entire building. 
 
 ^TAs already appears from references in these notes, 
 ^^Monroe Street was quite a boarding-house street in 
 the later Fifties and in the Sixties. 
 
 The City Directory of 1859-60 gives the following 
 boarding-houses on Monroe Street, besides those men- 
 tioned elsewhere in these pages: 
 
 Nancy Bishop, No. 71; Young & Van Evera, No. 
 75; Kate Barmore, No. 88; Caroline Amberg, No. 117; 
 
 42 
 
THE SHEPARD BLOCK 
 Located on Southeast Corner Dearborn and Monroe before the Fire 
 
 From a photograph, through 
 the courtesy of Mr. C. R. Clark 
 
 43 
 
Site of North 
 
 American 
 
 Building 
 
 Majestic 
 Theater Site 
 
 Harris 
 Trust Site 
 
 Wm. Sinclair, No. 118; Aurelia Valiant, No. 175; 
 J. B. Sontag, No. 185. 
 
 0*A copy of The Underwriters' Association of Chi- 
 *-l*>cago Publication under date of March 1, 1871, (in 
 the possession of Herbert Darlington) shows the fol- 
 lowing business addresses on Monroe Street at that 
 time: 
 
 65-9, on the north side of Monroe Street, corner of 
 State Street, Campbell, McNeills & Campbell, linens; 
 and Illinois Soap Stone Stove Co. Saloon in basement. 
 
 71 Monroe, north side of street, corner of the alley, 
 between State and Dearborn Streets — R. H. Countiss, 
 retail grocery. Boomer's horseshoeing shop on the 
 rear of the same lot. 
 
 73 Monroe Street — Packing house of Henry Brink- 
 worth. 
 
 72-4 Monroe Street — American Express Co.'s 
 stables. Before the fire these stables were located 
 on the corner of the alley on the south side of Monroe 
 Street, between State and Dearborn, where their 
 offices stand today. 
 
 Rear of No. 75 — Steam bakery of Blake, Warren & 
 Co. 
 
 88 Monroe Street— Mrs. McClure's Laundry. 
 
 139-41, on the north side of the street, just west of 
 the corner of Clark Street— Marder Luse & Co., type 
 founders. 
 
 140-2 Monroe Street — Frank Sturges & Co., metals 
 and tinners' stock. 
 
 151-3 Monroe Street— Offices and rooms of the 
 Catholic Library (opposite present location of Cen- 
 tral Trust Company of Illinois). 
 
 44 
 
THE EXPOSITION BUILDING 
 
 This building stood on the Lake Front from 1873 to 1892 
 
 Site of the present Art Institute. 
 From an old Architectural Drawing 
 
 45 
 
North's 
 Circus Site 
 
 Exposition 
 Building 
 
 180-2, on the south side of Monroe Street, between 
 LaSalle and Wells (Fifth Avenue) Streets— R. P. 
 Appleby's Steam Picture Frame Factory. 
 
 184-6 Monroe Street, in the same block, near Wells 
 Street (Fifth Avenue) — H. E. Robinson, Agent, Steam 
 Flour Mill. 
 
 The two foregoing addresses were in a brick build- 
 ing located on the old site of North's Circus. 
 
 On the north side of Monroe Street, in the rear of 
 No. 185, on the corner of the alley between LaSalle 
 and Wells (Fifth Avenue) Streets— Tobacco Factory of 
 John Watt. 
 
 205-7, on the north side of Monroe Street, at the 
 intersection of Wells Street (Fifth Avenue) — Stables 
 of the United States Express Co. 
 
 226 Monroe Street, between Wells (Fifth Avenue) 
 and Market Streets, south side of street — Brown Bros., 
 Vaults and Lights. 
 
 228-30, south side of street, on the corner of Market 
 Street — Chicago Gas Light & Coke Co.'s works. 
 
 247-9 Monroe Street— John V. Farwell Co. 
 
 ^ITIn 1873 there was erected on the Lake Front an 
 *-*^ Exposition Building, intended, originally, for an 
 annual exposition of industrial products of Illinois and 
 adjoining states. This building covered the block from 
 Monroe Street to Adams Street, between Michigan 
 Avenue and the Illinois Central tracks. Among the 
 principal promoters and contributors were Cyrus H. 
 McCormick, Potter Palmer and R. T. Crane. 
 
 The Common Council granted permission to the 
 company to use the Lake Front for one year, and 
 periodically extended this permit. The Exposition 
 lost money at first, but became self-sustaining in 1877. 
 
 46 
 

 
 GRAND OPERA IN CHICAGO IN 1885 
 47 
 
Troubles 
 Begin 
 
 Theodore 
 Thomas 
 
 Baltimore 
 
 & Ohio 
 
 Railway 
 
 Depot 
 
 Music 
 Festivals 
 
 When the company paid its first dividend, the 
 Common Council demanded rent. A long period of 
 tribulation then set in, the Common Council demand- 
 ing $15,000 a year and back rent amounting to $90,000. 
 This rent question was finally settled in 1885 by the 
 payment of an annual rental of $1,000 to the city. 
 
 Beginning in 1877, Theodore Thomas gave a series 
 of summer night concerts in this building. 
 
 In April, 1885, the Chicago Opera Festival Associa- 
 tion constructed an immense auditorium in the build- 
 ing, seating 10,000 people, and gave a successful 
 season of opera at popular prices. 
 
 The Exposition Building was finally taken down to 
 make room for the Art Institute, erected in 1892. 
 
 ^TTIn February, 1874, the Baltimore & Ohio Railway 
 *^ which at that time obtained an entrance to the city 
 over the Illinois Central Railroad tracks, rented the 
 northeast corner of the old Exposition Building. 
 
 Access to this depot was obtained through an en- 
 trance to the Exposition Building on Michigan Avenue, 
 leading through a long hallway alongside the Monroe 
 Street wall of the building. 
 
 The railroad used this depot until 1877, at which 
 time they built a brick station just across the street, 
 on the north side of Monroe Street, adjoining the 
 Illinois Central tracks. 
 
 The B. & O. Railroad occupied this depot until 
 1880, when they moved to the Grand Central Station, 
 on Harrison Street. 
 
 ^IT Music festivals were important events in Chicago 
 ^after the Fire. 
 
 The second music festival, or jubilee, as it was then 
 called, was held in 1876 in the Moody and Sankey 
 Tabernacle on Monroe Street. 
 
 48 
 
This jubilee was held under the joint auspices of 
 the Apollo Club and Theodore Thomas. Myron W. 
 Whitney and Anna Louise Carey were among the 
 soloists. 
 
 The Moody and Sankey Tabernacle was erected 
 on the south side of Monroe Street, in the center of 
 the block between Franklin and Market Streets, in 
 1876. The tabernacle was a two-story building with a 
 temporary roof. It seated 8,000 people. 
 
 In 1877, after the tabernacle ceased to be used for 
 religious and musical purposes, the roof was removed 
 and three stories were added. The building was then 
 fitted up for six stores, and can readily be distinguished 
 today by the iron columns along the entire first story 
 front. 
 
 ^TTThe five-story stone building still standing on the 
 «-*^ southwest corner of Franklin and Monroe Streets 
 was then occupied by Sweet & Dempster, hats and 
 caps. 
 
 Before the Fire this same corner was occupied by 
 the saloon and hotel conducted there for many years 
 by Jake Wolfner. 
 
 ^JT Among some of the more important buildings that 
 *^were erected on Monroe Street soon after the great 
 fire in 1871 were the following (our information being 
 derived partly from the files of The Land Owner of that 
 time; from Rebuilt Chicago, 1873, by Wing & Com- 
 pany; from Industrial Chicago, Goodspeed Pub- 
 lishing Company; and partly from recollections of 
 owners and tenants) : 
 
 1. The Bryan Block — four stories and high base- 
 ment, on the northwest corner of LaSalle and Monroe 
 Streets. Among the tenants of this building at that 
 
 Moody 
 and 
 Sankey 
 Tabernacle 
 
 After the 
 Fire 
 
 49 
 
Northern 
 
 Trust 
 
 Site 
 
 Fort 
 
 Dearborn 
 
 Building 
 
 Pike 
 Building 
 
 First 
 
 Fireproof 
 
 Building 
 
 Stood the 
 Test 
 
 time were the Northwestern Insurance Company and 
 the Globe Insurance Company of Chicago. 
 
 Dr. Bryan had completed an office building on this 
 corner only a few months before the fire, which en- 
 tirely destroyed it, and he at once rebuilt. 
 
 2. The Foot Block, on the southwest corner of 
 Clark and Monroe Streets. The first floor of this build- 
 ing was occupied by H. H. Husted & Company, 
 clothiers, who had been in business here since 1843. 
 
 3. The southwest corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets, a full five-story stone and iron building erected 
 by E. S. Pike. The first floor was occupied by N. 
 Matson & Company, jewelers, and the upper floors 
 by A. H. Andrews & Company, school and office fur- 
 niture. This building is still standing. 
 
 4. At the time of the Great Fire, in 1871, the north- 
 east corner of Monroe and LaSalle Streets, now the 
 site of the New York Life Building, was occupied by 
 the first fireproof building ever built in Chicago, known 
 as the Nixon Building. It was not yet finished, but 
 was already under roof. 
 
 The building was so little damaged by the fire that 
 it was finished one week after the fire and occupied at 
 once by leading architects and business men. It was 
 four stories high above a high basement, and after the 
 fire it bore an inscription on both faces of the stone 
 pier at the corner, reading as follows: 
 
 "This fireproof building is the only one in the city 
 that successfully stood the test of the Great Fire of 
 October 9, 1871." 
 
 The building was erected by W. K. Nixon, who had 
 come here from Cincinnati nine years previous to the 
 Fire. Among the occupants in 1873 were: 
 
 50 
 
THE HONORE BLOCK BEFORE THE FIRE 
 
 Southwest Corner Monroe and Dearborn, and extending to Adams Street 
 
 In the distance, the Bigelow House (S. W. 
 Corner Adams and Dearborn), destroyed in 
 the Great Fire of 1871, on the very day 
 it was to have been thrown open to the pub- 
 lic. Courtesy of Mr. C. R. Clark 
 
 51 
 
Tenants 
 in 1871 
 
 Elgin 
 
 Watch 
 
 Company 
 
 Birthplace 
 of Central 
 Trust Com- 
 pany of 
 Illinois 
 
 Otto H. Matz, the architect of the building; W. H. 
 Cunningham, insurance offices ; Ogden, Sheldon & Co. ; 
 Goodrich, Farmer & Co., fire insurance ; Leopold Mayer, 
 banker; and Ogden & Scudder, real estate loans. 
 
 5. The American Express Company on the south 
 side of Monroe Street, near State Street. 
 
 This building, erected immediately after the Fire, 
 had five stories and a high mansard roof. H. H. 
 Richardson, the noted Boston architect, contributed 
 the front of this building as his ideal of American style. 
 On the first floor the Express Company occupied 37 by 
 70 feet. The remainder of the front on that floor was 
 occupied by two stores. The entire rear of the building 
 was given up to the Express Company's purposes. 
 
 Above the Express Company's quarters was the 
 National (Elgin) Watch Company. 
 
 This building was remodelled in 1896 by the re- 
 moval of the high mansard roof and addition of two 
 more stories. 
 
 6. On the southwest corner of Monroe and Dear- 
 born Streets stood one of the Honore Buildings, later 
 known as the Rowland Block, with a frontage of 50 
 feet on Monroe Street and 190 feet on Dearborn Street. 
 
 This building was erected upon the same site where 
 it had stood before the Fire. It was five stories high, 
 with basement, and was built of Cleveland stone. 
 
 In the Seventies it was almost exclusively occupied 
 by real estate men, the first floor being tenanted by 
 Gallup & Peabody, mortgage bankers, who dealt in 
 city and farm loans. 
 
 This building was the birthplace of the Central 
 Trust Company of Illinois, which opened its doors 
 there July 8, 1902. 
 
 52 
 
THE ROWLAND BLOCK 
 
 Southwest Corner Monroe and Dearborn Street 
 
 This picture was taken just before the building was wrecked to make room for the 
 Westminster Building which now occupies this corner 
 
 From a photograph, through 
 the courtesy of Mr. C. R. Clark 
 
 53 
 
A bold 
 Move 
 
 Part of 
 
 Farwell 
 
 Building 
 
 Still 
 
 Standing 
 
 Majestic 
 
 Theater 
 
 Site 
 
 7. The John V. Farwell Company moved to Monroe 
 Street, west, just after the Fire from the corner of 
 Wabash Avenue and Washington Street. They built 
 and occupied a large five-story building with frontage 
 on Monroe Street, west of Franklin Street. 
 
 This move so far west caused great excitement at 
 the time in the real estate and mercantile world, and 
 caused a sudden rise in the value of land in that 
 section. 
 
 The five-story business block still standing on the 
 northeast corner of Market and Monroe Streets is part 
 of the block built and occupied by the John V. Farwell 
 Company in the early Seventies. 
 
 The original building erected by them immediately 
 after the Fire occupied 40 feet in about the center of the 
 block; but they soon built on both sides, until they 
 built up and occupied the entire block on the north 
 side of Monroe Street, from Franklin to Market 
 Streets. 
 
 8. The Cleaveland Building, on the southeast corner 
 of Market and Monroe Streets, built by James O. 
 Cleaveland in the summer of 1872. The building was 
 five stories high and was occupied by Cleaveland & 
 Johnson, hats, caps and furs. 
 
 9. The Royal Palm, 71 Monroe Street (between 
 State and Dearborn), built in the latter part of 1872. 
 This building was four stories high and was occupied, 
 on the ground floor, by a sample room, and upstairs 
 by a billiard room. It was owned by John Garrick 
 and S. L. Cather. 
 
 An enthusiastic writer in The Land Owner of 
 January, 1873, describing the Royal Palm, says of it: 
 "Paris in the palmy and gorgeous days of the empire 
 never boasted of such apartments." 
 
 54 
 
^iriO. A picture of the present Palmer House in the 
 *-^ course of erection is shown in The Land Owner of 
 May, 1873. The picture represents work going on at 
 night by the aid of powerful calcium lights. The 
 building was then up six stories and ready for the roof. 
 
 The writer, in describing the work of construction, 
 says, among other things: "Mr. Palmer appeared every- 
 where with his large lantern and cheered the men." 
 
 Prior to the Great Fire the Palmer House stood on 
 the northwest corner of State and Quincy Streets 
 (present site Consumers Building), where it was erected 
 in 1869-70. 
 
 The hotel on the southeast corner of State and 
 Monroe Streets had been begun by Mr. Palmer before 
 the Fire. The excavation had been made and the 
 foundation was in at the time of the Great Fire in Octo- 
 ber, 1871. 
 
 11. The Clifton House building, on the northwest 
 corner of Wabash Avenue and Monroe Street, built in 
 1872 (still standing). This building was occupied at 
 first by the Clifton Hotel, the name being afterwards 
 changed to the Windsor-Clifton. The hotel occupies 
 all five of the floors above the first, which is given up 
 to stores. 
 
 ^12. The Williams Building, southeast corner of 
 ^Monroe and Wabash. This building was erected 
 about 1876 on the site of the old Williams homestead, 
 which later became the Maison Doree, ladies' restau- 
 rant. (See page 27.) 
 
 The first floor was specially arranged for the 
 Gossage Dry Goods House, with a large entrance on 
 Monroe Street, but, by the time the building was com- 
 pleted, Mr. Gossage for some reason refused to occupy 
 the place. 
 
 Palmer 
 House 
 
 First 
 
 Palmer 
 
 House 
 
 Old 
 
 Maison 
 Doree Site 
 
 55 
 
Edson 
 
 Keith & 
 
 Company 
 
 Chicago 
 Club 
 
 De Jonghe's 
 Hotel 
 
 Canal 
 Lots 
 
 The building has a frontage of 160 feet on Wabash 
 Avenue, and 120 feet of this frontage was occupied in 
 1879 by O. R. Keith & Company, later succeeded by 
 Edson Keith & Company, the wholesale millinery 
 house now located on Michigan Avenue. A year or 
 two later Edson Keith & Company took the remaining 
 40 feet, paying an annual rental of $20,000 for the entire 
 building. 
 
 Edson Keith & Company remained in this building 
 until January 1, 1900. 
 
 ^TTIS. The Chicago Club moved into its new club 
 ^house at 43-5 Monroe Street in August, 1876. In 
 1879 a memorable banquet was given to Gen. U. S. 
 Grant in this club house. 
 
 In 1893 the club moved into the old Art Institute 
 Building, southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and 
 Van Buren Street, where they have been located ever 
 since. 
 
 The Monroe Street building is still standing and is 
 now occupied by De Jonghe's Hotel. 
 
 The lot on the northeast corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets, upon the rear of which this building stands, 
 was sold by the Commissioners of the Illinois and 
 Michigan Canal in 1848 for $3,190. It had a frontage 
 of 76 feet on State Street and 170 feet on Monroe Street. 
 
 In 1827 the U. S. Government granted 284,000 
 acres of land to the State of Illinois, to enable it to 
 build the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The land lay 
 along both sides of the proposed canal, from Chicago to 
 Ottawa. 
 
 Canal commissioners were appointed, who sur- 
 veyed and laid out the original Town of Chicago and 
 proceeded to sell off the granted land, including that 
 located in and about Chicago, known as Canal Lots. 
 
 56 
 
^Tri4. Shortly after the Fire, Edwin Walker, a stone 
 *--^ contractor, erected a four-story, brick building (still 
 standing) at the northwest corner of Monroe and Clark 
 Streets. The lower floor of the building was occupied 
 by a pawnbroker shop and saloon, and the upper floors 
 were used for lodging purposes. 
 
 During the Eighties all of the ground floor, except 
 the corner (a shoe store), was occupied as a saloon by 
 Mike McDonald, the well-known politician and 
 gambler, and the second floor was used for gambling 
 purposes, Mike McDonald's place was known, in 
 those days, as The Store. 
 
 During the later Eighties rooms on the upper 
 floors of this building were used for lodging purposes, 
 and as late as the middle of the Nineties were known 
 as the Hotel Ross, being conducted by a Mrs. Ross, 
 who was probably either the same Madam Ross who 
 is referred to at that location before the Fire as an 
 astrologist (see page 40), or some one of her kin. 
 
 In 1901 this building was sold to the Hamilton 
 Club, and at that time there was a saloon not only on 
 the ground floor, but also in the basement, which was 
 indicative of general conditions in that block on Clark 
 Street at that period. 
 
 The club added two stories to the building and 
 moved into it on April 1, 1902. They used the five 
 upper floors and the basement, subletting the ground 
 floor for stores. On May 1, 1912, the Hamilton Club 
 moved into its new clubhouse on Dearborn Street. 
 
 This building is now named after the Chicago 
 Transportation Association, which occupies the third 
 and fourth floors. 
 
 15. Crilly Building, northeast corner of Dearborn 
 and Monroe Streets (still standing). 
 
 Mike 
 
 McDonald's 
 
 Place 
 
 Hotel 
 Ross 
 
 Home 
 of the 
 Hamilton 
 Club 
 
 57 
 
From an old wood cut 
 
 THE MONTAUK BUILDING 
 
 58 
 
In 1878 Mr. D. F. Crilly, the well-known building 
 contractor, took a lease from the Board of Education 
 for this corner, which had remained vacant since the 
 Chicago Fire, in 1871. 
 
 Mr. Crilly put up a five-story building for the 
 J. M. W. Jones Printing Company. It was of sub- 
 stantial construction on account of the heavy printing 
 presses. ^ The north part of the building was occupied 
 by the Indianapolis Paper Company. 
 
 In 1888 the building was remodeled and two more 
 stories added. 
 
 In May, 1890, the Chicago Stock Exchange, deem- 
 ing new and more convenient quarters necessary, 
 moved from the Chicago Opera House Block, where it 
 had been located since 1885, to this building, re- 
 named, in its honor, the Stock Exchange Building. 
 Here a hall 40 by 60 feet was dedicated to its use, 
 located on the main floor on the east side of the build- 
 ing. 
 
 The north and west front of the ground floor was 
 rented to N. W. Harris & Company. The corner 
 was occupied by Edward L. Brewster, Private Banker; 
 and next to him on Dearborn Street was the office of 
 Charles Henrotin. The upstairs was divided into 
 offices for general purposes. 
 
 On April 30, 1894, the Exchange moved out of this 
 building to the new Stock Exchange Building, on 
 LaSalle and Washington Streets, and in April, 1908, 
 moved to its present quarters in the Rookery Building. 
 
 ^Tri6. The first tall building or so-called skyscraper 
 »-^in the United States, as far as can be learned, was the 
 Montauk Building, on the north side of Monroe Street, 
 just west of the corner of Dearborn Street. The build- 
 ing was ten stories high, and was finished in 1882. 
 
 Crilly 
 Building 
 
 Home of 
 Chicago 
 Stock 
 Exchange 
 
 Montauk 
 Building 
 
 59 
 

 1.1.T 'VXI.T/Ul;! 
 
 9 
 
 RAND, McNALLY BUILDING 
 
 This building occupied the site of the Central Trust Company of Ilhnois 
 before the present bank building was erected 
 
 From an old wood cut 
 
 60 
 
From an interesting letter by Mr. William 
 Holabird on the history of this building, we learn that 
 the erection of so tall a building at that time created 
 great excitement. 
 
 Mr. Holabird goes on to say: "Most people de- 
 clared that they never would go up in such a high 
 building and we [Holabird & Roche] secured offices 
 under very favorable terms. 
 
 "Burnham & Root were the architects of the build- 
 ing, and Mortimer & Tapper the mason contractors. 
 
 "The foundations were made of coursed rubble 
 stone or dimension stone, and alternate layers of rails 
 or beams — I have forgotten which, but I rather think 
 rails. The walls were solid masonry with iron col- 
 umns, girders and floor beams; the columns and girders 
 covered with tile, and the floor arches of tile. This 
 was one of the first buildings where tile was used. . . . 
 
 "I remember there was such fear of the strength 
 of the wall that the flues, each office having a fireplace, 
 were contracted so that they never drew very well. 
 
 "It was certainly the highest building in Chicago 
 used for office purposes, and I think the highest build- 
 ing anywhere in the U. S. It was removed, as the site 
 was used for part of the present First National Bank 
 Building." 
 
 ^JTThe lot upon which the Central Trust Company 
 ^of Illinois' building now stands was cleared by the 
 Great Fire of 1871, and remained vacant until 1880, 
 when the building shown on the opposite page was 
 erected upon it and was occupied by Rand & McNally. 
 
 It was a five-story building in front and six stories 
 in the rear, with a light court about 40 feet wide 
 separating the two buildings. 
 
 Tenants 
 
 Timid 
 
 About 
 
 High 
 
 Building 
 
 Present 
 
 Site 
 
 Central 
 
 Trust 
 
 Company 
 
 of Illinois 
 
 61 
 
Early 
 
 History 
 
 of Art 
 
 in Chicago 
 
 Troublous 
 Times 
 
 Beginning 
 
 of Art 
 
 Institute 
 
 In 1891 Rand & McNally vacated this building, and 
 it was then occupied on the ground floor as a restaurant, 
 while the upper floors were taken by printers. 
 
 ^TTIn 1875 the Academy of Design, which was organ- 
 ^ized about 1867, moved from the Volk Building, on 
 the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Van 
 Buren Street, into the fifth floor of the Pike Building, 
 on the southwest corner of State and Monroe 
 Streets. 
 
 For about a year and a half the affairs of the 
 Academy went along smoothly, but it appears that, 
 owing to dull business and other reasons, the number 
 of pupils fell off and the Academy got into financial 
 difficulties. 
 
 A board of twenty-five managing trustees was then 
 chosen among prominent business men to manage 
 the affairs of the Academy, but dissension crept in 
 again after about a year, and the trustees withdrew. 
 
 The creditors thereupon foreclosed their claims, 
 and the effects of the Academy were sold at sheriff's 
 sale. 
 
 The pictures and other effects of the Academy 
 which had been purchased at sheriff's sale became the 
 nucleus of the present Art Institute, which was incor- 
 porated May 24, 1879, as the Academy of Fine Arts, 
 and continued to occupy the quarters in the Pike 
 Building. Its name was changed December 21, 1882, 
 to the Art Institute of Chicago. 
 
 Under the capable management of W. M. R. 
 French,* who is still Director of the Art Institute, and 
 of N. H. Carpenter, who was then, and is still, its 
 Secretary, the Institute began at once to prosper. Mr. 
 French had also been Secretary of the Academy of 
 Fine Arts for one year. 
 
 *Mr. French died June 3, 1914. 
 
 62 
 
In 1882 the Art Institute purchased the lot on the 
 southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Van Buren 
 Street, where they later erected a building for their 
 purposes, now occupied by the Chicago Club. 
 
 The Academy of Design was considerably dis- 
 couraged but not entirely disheartened by the sheriff's 
 sale of its effects and started up again, in a small way, 
 on the third floor of the American Express Company's 
 building on Monroe Street; but the school was finally 
 discontinued in 1884. 
 
 All of the surviving members of the old Academy 
 of Design have been made life members of the Art 
 Institute. 
 
 fTTAfter the Fire the old Post Office Building on the 
 <-^ northwest corner of Dearborn and Monroe Streets, 
 the walls of which were still intact, was fitted up as a 
 theater by John H. Haverly and called the New 
 Adelphi. It was opened January 11, 1875, and was 
 the largest theater, till then, erected in Chicago. 
 
 The walls of the building showed the ravages of the 
 Great Fire and were one of the interesting sights to the 
 tourist stopping in Chicago in those days. 
 
 The appointments of the theater were rather 
 shabby, but in the summer of 1878 Haverly entirely 
 reconstructed and redecorated the theater, among 
 other things removing the traces of the fire from the 
 outside walls. 
 
 It was in this rehabilitated theater that Colonel 
 Mapleson gave his first seasons of Italian opera in 
 Chicago, in 1879-80-81. 
 
 In 1882 Haverly's lease expired, and the property 
 was leased to the First National Bank, whose building 
 now occupies that corner. 
 
 First Art 
 Institute 
 Building 
 
 Old Post 
 Office 
 Used as 
 Theater 
 
 Col. 
 
 Mapleson 
 
 and 
 
 Grand 
 
 Opera 
 
 63 
 
HAVERLVS THEATER IN 1882 
 
 Site of the Inter-Ocean Building By courtesy of the 
 
 64 Chicago Historical Society 
 
^TTMr. Haverly built a new theater in 1882 almost 
 «-^ across the street from his old location, where the 
 Inter-Ocean Building now stands. This theater was 
 opened by Robson and Crane in Shakespeare's 
 "Twelfth Night." 
 
 In 1885 the name of the theater was changed to 
 the Columbia Theater, this name having been sug- 
 gested by Miss Ellen Terry, who was playing in the 
 house at the time with Henry Irving. 
 
 The theater itself was burned down in 1900. 
 
 ^JTColonel Haverly appears to have been an ambitious, 
 *-^ untiring genius, whose extensive theatrical ventures 
 in some of the largest cities in the country did not seem 
 to suffice to absorb all his energies. He provided the 
 City of Chicago with high-grade entertainment, and 
 deserves great credit for the risks he was willing to 
 take in order to provide the best. 
 
 He was a liberal contributor to the leading charities 
 of the city and was personally very popular. He 
 naturally became over-extended and suffered heavy 
 financial reverses, losing most of his theaters, after 
 which he established Haverly's Mastodon Minstrels. 
 
 "Jack" Haverly, being by nature a good deal of a 
 plunger, quite naturally took to the racetrack and to 
 mines. Cook, in his Bygone Days in Chicago, says of 
 him: "For a long time 'Jack' literally stormed the 
 betting ring. He headed every auction pool (book- 
 making at this time was unknown in Chicago), usually 
 with a cool thousand." 
 
 And further on, speaking of his promotions. Cook 
 says: "The gold mines that he did not own in Colo- 
 rado and Utah about this time were scarcely worth 
 mentioning." 
 
 Haverly's 
 Theater 
 
 "Jack" 
 Haverly 
 
 Race-track 
 and Gold 
 Mines 
 
 65 
 
MONROE STREET IN THE 80's. 
 
 View looking west from Clark 
 Street. From an old engraving 
 
 66 
 
^TTOn Monday evening, November 27, 1876, the 
 ^Apollo Club, which had been established in 1872, 
 threw open for public inspection its new quarters in 
 the American Express Company Building, on Monroe 
 Street. 
 
 The club remained in these quarters until Central 
 Music Hall (southeast corner of State and Randolph 
 Streets) was opened in 1879. 
 
 ^ITIn the Eighties Monroe Street was the center of the 
 *-^paper, printing and kindred trades. While the print- 
 ing trade has drifted south and likewise many of the 
 paper houses, every paper house handling fine writing 
 papers had its business home upon Monroe Street in 
 those days. 
 
 Most of the typefounders, either past or present, 
 of any importance, have been located at one time or 
 another on Monroe Street, between Clark and Franklin 
 Streets; among them: The American Type Founders 
 Company, Barnhart Bros. & Spindler, and the old 
 houses of S. P. Rounds and Marder Luse & Com- 
 pany. 
 
 ^IT Among the printers whose offices were upon Monroe 
 ^Street, the following were located upon the present 
 site of the Central Trust Company of Illinois, 125 
 West Monroe Street (then occupied by the Rand- 
 McNally Building): 
 
 Rand, McNally & Co. Goes Lithographing Co. 
 
 Hollister Bros. Harmegnies & Howell. 
 
 Pettibone, Wells & Co., later P. F. Pettibone & Co. 
 Located next door east in the six-story Taylor 
 Building (the present site of the Harris Trust & Savings 
 Bank), were, among others, the following well-known 
 printing houses: 
 
 The 
 Apollo Club 
 
 Head- 
 quarters 
 for Printing 
 and Paper 
 Business 
 
 Harris Trust 
 
 Building 
 
 Site 
 
 67 
 
rt-. 
 
 
 STURGES LOT WAITING FOR A BUYER 
 
 68 
 
R. R. Donnelley & Sons. Geo. E. Marshall & Co., 
 
 S. D. Childs & Co. later Marshall-Jack- 
 
 Juergens Bros. son Co. 
 
 Other prominent printers, located at that time on 
 Monroe Street, between Clark and Franklin Streets, 
 were: 
 
 Inland Printer Publishing 
 
 Co. 
 H. S. Tiffany & Co. 
 Donohue & Henneberry. 
 Barrett's Bindery. 
 J. J. Hanlon Co. 
 Shattock & McKay. 
 Hale-Crossley Co. 
 Herschman & Cardy. 
 J. B. Ruling. 
 
 Law Bulletin Publishing 
 Co. 
 
 Blomgren Bros. & Co. 
 
 Chicago Legal News Co. 
 
 Jefferson Theater Pro- 
 gram Co. 
 
 Pereira Bros. 
 
 Rayner & Dalheim Co. 
 
 Schulkins & Co. 
 
 H. O. Shepard Co. 
 
 ^TT Among the large paper houses located on Monroe 
 ^Street was the J. W. Butler Paper Company, whose 
 business was started in 1841 at St. Charles, 111. 
 
 The company opened its Chicago house in 1844, 
 and moved on Monroe Street in 1869. They have 
 occupied their present building at 221 West Monroe 
 Street since 1875. 
 
 The 90-foot lot upon which stands their present 
 building was sold on July 2, 1836, by the State of 
 Illinois to Clements Stose for $82, and was sold on 
 March 17, 1868, by Clements Stose to Brown Bros, for 
 $25,000. 
 
 ^TT Another old established paper house is Bradner 
 ^-^'^ Smith & Company, which has been in business in 
 Chicago since 1852. They moved on Monroe Street 
 soon after the Fire, and are now located at 175 West 
 Monroe Street. 
 
 Other 
 Printers 
 
 Well-known 
 
 Paper 
 
 Houses 
 
 Early 
 
 Real Estate 
 Values 
 
 69 
 
Historic 
 Site 
 
 Iroquois 
 Club 
 
 Land that 
 
 Kept on 
 
 Going Up 
 
 This old paper house occupies the west half of the 
 historic site upon which stood North's Circus, that 
 furnished entertainment to so many of Chicago's 
 citizens in the Fifties. 
 
 ^TTThe Iroquois Club, now located at 21 North LaSalle 
 *-*^ Street, was born on Monroe Street. It started origi- 
 nally as the Chicago Democratic Club in the Reading 
 Room of the Palmer House in 1880, and held its busi- 
 ness meetings there for several months. 
 
 In October, 1881, the name of the club was changed 
 to the Iroquois Club; and in December of that year 
 they took permanent quarters on the third floor of 
 Haverly's Theater, on Monroe Street. 
 
 In 1886 the growing membership made it necessary 
 for them to occupy all space in that building above the 
 ground floor, the name of the theater having been 
 changed at that time to Columbia Theater. 
 
 ^JTAn interesting sidelight on the fortunes in real 
 *-^ estate on Monroe Street in the early days is con- 
 tained in the history of the 90-foot lot next east to 
 that now occupied by the Central Trust Company of 
 Illinois. 
 
 As stated on page 44, this lot was occupied before 
 the Fire by Frank Sturges & Company, metals and 
 tinners' stock. After the destruction of this property 
 in the Great Fire in 1871, George Sturges, who was later 
 President of the Northwestern National Bank, had to 
 take the lot from his brother Frank, to whom he had 
 previously made some advances. 
 
 Mr. George Sturges was not partial to real estate 
 as an investment, preferring to have his investments in 
 more liquid form; and he therefore allowed the lot to 
 remain vacant, covered for a long time with the debris 
 of the fire. 
 
 70 
 
BATTERY D ARMORY ON THE LAKE FRONT 
 (See description on pages 72 and 74) 
 
 From a photograph, through the 
 courtesv of Mr. C. R. Clark 
 
 71 
 
Waiting 
 
 for Some 
 
 Fool 
 
 Second 
 Thoughts 
 
 Battery D 
 Armory 
 
 An 
 
 Institute 
 
 Used 
 
 Battery D 
 
 When asked by his friends what he intended to do 
 with the lot, he replied: "Oh, I am waiting until some 
 fool comes along who wants it more than I do." 
 
 However, when a prospective purchaser did come 
 along and inquired whether he could buy the lot for 
 $50,000, Mr. Sturges said: "Oh, no. If you had said 
 $75,000 I might think it over." 
 
 It appears that the purchaser likewise wanted to 
 think it over, and, after about six months, came back, 
 saying that while he considered it a heavy price, he 
 thought he might be able to use it for $75,000. Mr. 
 Sturges then told him that he had changed his mind in 
 the last six months and the price was now $100,000. 
 
 That sale did not go through. However, Mr. 
 Sturges did sell the property, in the latter half of the 
 Seventies, to Mr. John Borden for $100,000. 
 
 Mr. Borden held the property until August, 1909, 
 when he sold it for approximately a million dollars! 
 
 ^]r Battery D Armory was erected on the Lake Front 
 ^in 1880, and fronted on the north line of Monroe 
 Street. 
 
 This battery was started by some Civil War 
 veterans as an independent organization as a result of 
 the great riots of 1877, but was later incorporated into 
 the Illinois National Guard, although the building was 
 never taken over by the state. At that time its 
 armament consisted of four 12-pound Napoleons, two 
 6-pounders and a gatling gun. 
 
 Aside from its military uses, the building was 
 frequently used for public meetings and entertainments. 
 
 The Art Institute classes were held in Battery D 
 for a while, in 1882-3, pending the completion of the 
 Art Institute Building, southwest corner of Michigan 
 Avenue and Van Buren Street. 
 
 72 
 

 TEMPORARY POST OFFICE ON THE LAKE FRONT 
 On the former site of Battery D 
 
 From a photograph, through 
 courtesy oj Mr. C. R. Clark 
 
 73 
 
Art 
 Versus 
 Boxing 
 
 Temporary 
 Post Office 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Literary 
 
 Club 
 
 Many other 
 Landmarks 
 
 It appears that it occasionally required some 
 pretty quick work to put the building into suitable 
 condition for the morning art classes, after it had been 
 used the night before for a boxing match or a ball. The 
 building was finally torn down in 1896, to make room 
 for the temporary brick Post Office Building erected 
 on that site and used as a Post Office from 1896 to 1905. 
 
 ^TTThe Chicago Literary Club was organized in 1881 
 *-^or 1882, and held its first meetings in a room on one 
 of the upper floors of the American Express Company 
 Building, No. 76-8 Monroe Street. 
 
 The Chicago Literary Club is still in existence, and 
 holds its meetings in the rooms of the Caxton Club, in 
 the Fine Arts Building. Mr. W. M. R. French, 
 Director of the Art Institute, was elected the fortieth 
 President of the club in 1912, and is also a charter 
 member. The President of the club at this time is Mr. 
 Walter L. Fisher, formerly Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 ^JT There are a number of old buildings on Monroe 
 »-^ Street, not mentioned in this sketch, dating back to 
 the Seventies and early Eighties, whose history it would 
 be interesting to follow; but the limits set for this little 
 publication have already been considerably exceeded, 
 and it must be left to some future compiler to complete 
 the work that has been begun in these scattered notes. 
 These old five-story buildings of the Seventies, to 
 many of which two stories were added in later years, 
 look somewhat weather-worn and dingy now, but 
 there was a time when they looked as bright and 
 attractive, and inspired the same wonder and admira- 
 tion, as do the bright new skyscrapers beside them 
 today. The wrecker is patiently waiting for these 
 landmarks of Chicago's early progress, and, after the 
 present leases expire, they will soon be only a memory. 
 
 74 
 
From a photograph, through the courtesy of Mr. C. R. Clark 
 
 ^JTThe above picture shows the southeast corner of 
 <-^ Monroe and LaSalle Streets before the erection of 
 the new Borland Block, which occupies the corner at 
 the present time. The picture also shows the nine-story 
 Calumet Block, on the corner of the alley at LaSalle 
 Street, which is being torn down to be replaced by an 
 addition to the Borland Block, making the building 
 uniform from Monroe Street to the alley. 
 
 The ground floor of this new addition to the Borland 
 Block will be occupied by the Central Trust Company 
 of Illinois, and will be connected with their present 
 main banking office fronting on Monroe Street, so that 
 there will be an entrance to the bank both from LaSalle 
 and Monroe Streets. 
 
 75 
 
 Monroe 
 and LaSalle 
 Streets 
 
 Central Trust 
 
 Company 
 
 Addition 
 
CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO 
 
 Capital $4,500,000.00 
 
 Surplus and Undivided Profits 2,100,000.00 
 
 76 
 
CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY 
 OF ILLINOIS — — CHICAGO 
 
 OFFICERS 
 
 Charles G. Dawes 
 Joseph E. Otis 
 Edwin F. Mack 
 William T. Abbott 
 Walter H. Wilson 
 William R. Dawes Vice- 
 
 J. E. LiNDQUIST 
 
 William C. Cook 
 
 T. C. Neal 
 
 Fred B. Woodland 
 
 President 
 Vice-President 
 Vice-President 
 Vice-President 
 Vice-President 
 Pres. & Cashier 
 Vice-President 
 Vice-President 
 Vice-President 
 Vice-President 
 
 L. D. Skinner 
 Wm. W. Gates 
 Jno. W. Thomas 
 Harry R. Moore 
 Addison Corneau 
 Howard S. Camp 
 Albert G. Mang 
 William G. Edens 
 John L. Lehnhard 
 Lloyd R. Steere 
 
 Assistant Cashier 
 
 Assistant Cashier 
 
 Assistant Cashier 
 
 Assistant Cashier 
 
 Assistant Cashier 
 
 Assistant Cashier 
 
 Secretary 
 
 Assistant Secretary 
 
 Asst. Trust Ofificer 
 
 Probate Officer 
 
 DIRECTORS 
 
 A. J. Earling 
 
 President Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R'y 
 Company 
 
 Arthur Dixon 
 
 President Arthur Dixon Transfer Company 
 
 Charles T. Boynton 
 
 Pickands, Brown & Company 
 
 Alexander H. Revell 
 
 President Alexander H. Revell & Company 
 
 S. M. Felton 
 
 President Chicago Great Western Railroad 
 Company 
 
 T W. Robinson 
 
 Vice-President Illinois Steel Company 
 
 Chandler B. Beach 
 
 C. B. Beach & Company 
 
 George F. Steele, Chicago 
 Max Pam 
 
 Pam & Hurd 
 
 Z. G. Simmons 
 
 President Simmons Mfg. Company. Kenosha 
 
 H. A. Langhorst 
 
 President Albert Schwill & Company 
 
 A. Uhrlaub 
 
 Vice-President Colonial Land Company 
 
 A. R. Barnes 
 
 a. R. Barnes & Company 
 
 William T. Abbott 
 
 Vice-President Central Trust Company of 
 Illinois 
 
 Howard G. Hetzler 
 
 President Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad 
 
 Walter H. Wilson 
 
 Vice-President Central Trust Company of 
 Illinois 
 
 Joseph E. Otis 
 
 Vice-President Central Trust Co. of Illinois 
 
 George Woodland 
 
 Chairman Advisory Committee Central Trust 
 Co. of Illinois 
 
 Burton F. Peek 
 
 Vice-President Deere & Company, Moline 
 
 James W. Stevens 
 
 President Illinois Life Insurance Company 
 
 W. O. Johnson 
 
 General Counsel and Director Chicago & 
 Erie R. R. 
 
 R. Floyd Clinch 
 
 Crerar, Clinch & Company 
 
 William C. Boyden 
 
 Matz, Fisher & Boyden, Attorneys 
 
 C. B. SCOVILLE 
 
 Real Estate, Oak Park and Chicago 
 
 Charles G. Dawes 
 
 Ex-Comptroller of Currency 
 
 77 
 
CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY OF ILLINOIS 
 Left side of Main Banking Room (at level of sidewalk) 
 
 78 
 
>w» 
 
 ^. 
 
 CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY OF ILLINOIS 
 Right side of Main Banking Room 
 
 79 
 
CENTRAL TRUST COMPANY 
 
 Interior 
 
 Central 
 
 Trust 
 
 Company 
 
 ^TTUpon entering the banking room of the Central 
 <-^ Trust Company of IlUnois the visitor is at once 
 impressed by the beautiful, commodious interior and 
 the absence of all columns or other supports. Thus 
 an unobstructed view is gained at one glance. 
 
 The white walls of delicately patterned marble, 
 from famous Italian quarries, rise to a height of some 
 fifty feet. On these are shown, at regular intervals 
 sixteen large mural paintings by Lawrence C. Earle, 
 depicting progressive periods in Chicago's history — 
 from the rough winter quarters of Father Marquette, 
 1674, to the magnificent Court of Honor, World's Fair, 
 1893. 
 
 Surmounting all this is the beautiful stained glass 
 ceiling through which the light is diffused, giving a soft, 
 quiet tone to the bank's interior. 
 
 The main banking floor is practically at the level 
 of the sidewalk, making it unnecessary for the patrons 
 
 80 
 
of the bank to climb any steps or stairways, either upon 
 entering or leaving the bank. 
 
 In the rear of the main banking floor is located a 
 massive white marble structure containing ten heavy 
 steel vaults, in which the cash and books of the bank 
 are kept. This structure rises upon its own heavy 
 foundations, and looks as impregnable as it does 
 artistic. 
 
 The General Banking Department, Savings De- 
 partment and Bond Department are all located on the 
 main floor. An elevator takes the customers to the 
 Trust Department, on the second floor, and to the 
 Real Estate Loan Department, on the third floor. As 
 there are no other tenants in the building, the elevator 
 service is restricted entirely to the patrons of the bank. 
 
 Underneath the main banking quarters are located 
 the Safe Deposit Vaults, reached by a broad marble 
 stairway from the main banking room and also by an 
 elevator from the entrance hall. 
 
 Such a building seems to be a fitting climax in the 
 growth of Old Monroe Street — a street which has 
 acquired a leading place in the history of banking 
 in Chicago. 
 
 Massive 
 Vaults 
 
 Various 
 Departments 
 
 81 
 
Banking on Human Interests 
 and Principles 
 
 Tlie Central Trust Comtiany or Illinois Delieves tnat real bank- 
 ing service is more tnan a matter of mere cash principal ana interest — 
 
 1 nat true service is based on human interests ana principles. 
 
 Liet us apply it. 
 
 A wise father starts a savings account here for nis son — 
 
 lo tne Doy tins at first represents only so muck money saved. 
 
 As time goes on he learns tnat this bank means more to him 
 than a place to put his savings. 
 
 lie gets the banking habit, comes in contact with, bank ofncials 
 who take an interest m him, forms a bank relationshi;^ — far more 
 than a mere acquaintanceshi'^. 
 
 He becomes known at the bank. 
 
 Schooldays pass. Business or professional opportunities come. 
 rie seeks this bank s advice, it is cheerfully given and well given. 
 
 rle learns that character, individuality, personality, or what- 
 ever else you may wish to call it, is a real asset — one that he can hank 
 on, one that will be of real help to him m his business. 
 
 in the placing of his investments he consults w^ith our real 
 estate loan department, or our bond department, xdere again this 
 bank s interest and advice are valuable. 
 
 l^ater he makes us executor of his estate, knowing that our 
 charges cannot be higher than those of a private individual, and that 
 everything will be done promptly, correctly, economically, and safely. 
 
 For this IS his bank. The bank knows him~ guides him in all 
 matters financial, just as his family physician advises him on matters 
 of health, based on a like intimate knowledge of him and his needs. 
 
 1 o get the hest out of your bank, choose it now for its strength, 
 safety, and service, stay with it. and grow with it. 
 
 This Bank. 
 
 82 
 
Central Trust Company 
 
 or Illinois - Cnicago 
 
 125 West Monroe Street, tet-ween La Salle and Clark Streets 
 
 Bantling Department. Every facility for handling tlie clieckmg ac- 
 counts of individuals, firms and corf)orations. Interest allowed on sat- 
 isfactory balances. Demand and time certificates of deposit issued. 
 
 Trust Department. Authorized oy law to accefjt trusts of all 
 kinds. It has excefjtional facilities for the work required in all 
 fiduciary relations, such as administrator, guardian, custodian, con- 
 servator, or trustee; also registrar and transler agent of cor|)orations. 
 
 Savings De^artynent. 1 liree Jjer cent allowed on savings de{)OSits. 
 Ot)en Mondays from 10 a. m. continuously until 8 p. m. 
 
 Bona Department. Buys and sells U. S. Government, foreign 
 government, state, municipal, railroad, public service, corporation and 
 Dvulding bonds. List of investments yielding 4/^2% to 6% on ap- 
 plication. 
 
 Real Estate Loan Department. High-grade real estate bonds 
 
 and mortgages, netting 5% to 6%, for sale. Mortgage loans 
 negotiated on well located, improved Cliicago and suburban prop- 
 erty. Building loans a specialty. 
 
 Foreign Exchange Department. Travelers' letters of credit and 
 travelers cnecks issued, available in all parts of tlie world. Com- 
 mercial letters of credit sold. 
 
 Safe Deposit vaults. Difierent sizes and styles of boxes, rent- 
 ing irom $0.00 a year upward. Separate storage rooms lor trunks 
 and bulky packages. Special accommodations for women. 
 
 Banking Hours. Open from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m. Saturdays 
 y a.m. to \2i noon. 1 be safe deposit vault liours are 9 a. m. to 
 D p. m. Saturdays 9 a. m. to 1 p. m. 
 
 83 
 

 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 016 097 308 0»