The Great Chicago Fire burned for three days in October 1871 and killed hundreds, destroying about 3.3 square miles. It had an enormous impact on the city; both as a disaster of epic proportions and in the rebuilding that followed. You can tour landmarks of the event today and get a sense of the historic conflagration. First, check cheaprooms.com to find a central hotel in Chicago so you can enjoy the walking tour, the shopping and the nightlife of Chicago.
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If you're interested in the history of the Great Fire, start your journey at the old Court House. It was located where the Chicago City Hall and Cook County Building currently occupy the entire downtown block formed by Randolph, Clark, Washington, and LaSalle streets.
LaSalle Street between Washington and Randolph was home to substantial commercial buildings and rather flimsy wooden structures. Many were crowded into the space and these fanned the intensity of the fire in an area close to the local center of government.
One of many buildings to go up was the Italianate Briggs House, a grand building solidly built and yet one of many on W Randolph to go very quickly. It was rebuilt and ultimate torn down in the 1920s to make way for further development.
Further south was the original Sherman House noted as one of the most impressive buildings erected in the city of Chicago's early years. It was originally built in 1836-37 and was called the City Hotel until a mayor of the city bought it, added two floors and renamed it Sherman House.
Again, still heading south, one of the more interesting losses was the building that housed Colonel Wood's museum, 'the Chicago equivalent to P. T. Barnum's New York museum', and its collection of some 150,000 items.