Chicago Fire of 1874
Chicago was still rebuilding in many areas from the Great Chicago Fire when it was struck again by the much less well-known fire of 1874. In the aftermath of the Great Fire, regulations stipulated that wooden structures in areas affected by the fire were allowed to remain in place. New wooden structures were allowed temporarily, with scheduled replacement within one year. In many cases, these regulations were ignored, particularly south of the Loop.
The area south of the Loop was considered to be undesirable, and landlords used their influence with local government to skirt the rules. South of the Loop was densely populated with immigrants, largely Jews from Poland and Russia. There were several African American communities as well.
Some accounts blame the start of the fire on arson in a rag shop, others in a saloon, and still others in a barn under circumstances similar to the Great Fire three years earlier. However it began, it soon spread from its point of origin around Twelfth and Clark Streets and was being driven to the east by the winds and the firemen fighting it, hoping to press the fire against Lake Michigan.
Beginning around 5.00 PM the fire burned until around midnight, finally burning itself out after destroying the Michigan Avenue Hotel. The central business district was saved by a firewall built following the Great Fire along Van Buren Street. The fire destroyed 47 acres of the city, including several churches and synagogues, the Great Adelphi Theater, the Saint James Hotel, and Congress Hall. Over 800 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including 619 made primarily of wood.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire a large portion of the blame was placed on the residents of the area, most of them renters, and particularly on the Jewish population. The Chicago Times described the fire as a form of retribution for the area’s perceived squalidness, with its known red-light districts and other forms of vice. The article suggested that the fire should have consumed “…three or four blocks south and east and west…” for the “…common fate for the city’s good.”