Step back to 1895 — this Lake Front from Illinois Central Station Chicago photo reveals a lakefront of rail yards, early Grant Park, and Lake Michigan hiding a dirty secret.
But what about Streeterville, Grant Park, and downtown?
They’re built on a swamp turned landfill after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.
Fire debris and 19th-century trash — up to 12 feet deep — were dumped into the marshy lakefront, extending the shoreline by over 1,000 feet.
Lake Michigan saved lives during the fire as people fled to its shores — some even camping out in what’s now Grant Park.
Streeterville’s George Streeter grounded his boat there in 1886, claiming the filled land as his own, while the fire’s destruction reshaped the city — inspiring fireproof architecture, the Chicago School, and streets like Ashland built on ash.
So next time someone rants about “saving nature” here, remind them this swanky spot is built on trashy history — and the fire’s legacy still burns bright.
Photo Credit 1895 Lake Front from Illinois Central Station https://www.facebook.com/groups/120452714691417/permalink/29505583972418235/?rdid=IwucVKJ0uvt8fdU0#
References
Ashland the Great Fire and the Ruins of Chicago (04 Dec 2003) Gapers Block https://gapersblock.com/airbags/archives/ashland_the_great_fire_and_the_ruins_of_chicago/
Ask Geoffrey A Brief History of Chicago Trash (28 May 2020) WTTW News https://news.wttw.com/2020/05/28/ask-geoffrey-brief-history-chicago-trash
Checagou From Indian Wigwam to Modern City (1933) Milo M Quaife at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/checagoufromindi001651mbp
Chicago Fire 150th Anniversary (8 Oct 2021) Chicago Sun-Times https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10/8/22673310/chicago-fire-150-anniversary-oleary-mary-todd-lincoln-sheridan-grant-park-steinberg
Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Great Rebuilding (19 Oct 2023) National Geographic Education https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/chicago-fire-1871-and-great-rebuilding/
Chicago Stories The Chicago Fire (9 Oct 2020) WTTW https://wttw.com/chicago-stories/chicago-fire
Grant Park Chicagos Front Yard Rose From Trash After Great Fire (8 Oct 2021) WTTW News https://news.wttw.com/2021/10/08/grant-park-chicago-s-front-yard-rose-trash-great-fire
How the Great Fire Changed Chicago Architecture (30 Sep 2021) Preservation Chicago https://preservationchicago.org/chicago-sun-times-how-the-great-fire-changed-chicago-architecture/
Made Land (2005) The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3713.html
Salvation on the Shoreline How Lake Michigan Weathered Chicago Through the Great Fire of 1871 (May 2023) Cedarville University https://cedars.cedarville.edu/2023/05/salvation-on-the-shoreline-how-lake-michigan-weathered-chicago-through-the-great-fire-of-1871/
Streeterville (2005) The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1205.html
Time Machine Grant Park South End (23 Nov 2013) WTTW https://wttw.com/timemachine/grant-park-south-end
Was Chicago built on a landfill (2022) Quora https://quora.com/Was-Chicago-built-on-a-landfill
