Blog

By Karen Bohr and Susan Mann, Education Guides and Exhibit Hosts

Fire brands, tunnels snaking beneath the Chicago River, acts of kindness and heroism, a wrongly accused immigrant, re-building on still-hot ground, a city boldly rising from the ashes — all are a part of the story of Chicago becoming the City of Architecture.  CAC Education Guides tell these and other compelling stories to engage, excite, and educate adults and children during the new Great Fire Family & Friends Walking Tour.

This 90-minute tour through the Chicago Loop takes family groups of up to six people to locations that begin conversations about the conditions in the city before the Fire, the Fire itself, the immediate aftermath of the Fire, the lessons learned, and the technology that created the Chicago we see today.

The most important aspect of this tour are the stories told about the people and incidents that bring visual context and new discoveries to this well-known, yet often misunderstood event.

We begin the tour at the Regeneration Bridge House and proceed along the river while Education Guides describe how the fire spread and how people fled.  The rebuilding story begins with a visit to the Page Brothers and Delaware buildings, both erected shortly after the Fire using pre-Fire designs and technology. Building materials, terra cotta, and fire codes are discussed in relationship to the Fire and rebuilding.  When we get to the corner of Dearborn and Washington – where William Kerfoot built the first structure in the Burnt District just three days after the Fire – we encourage guests to imagine what the total destruction of the city and its initial rebuilding looked like.

Telling the story of Chicago’s rebirth and growth after the Fire include the Reliance Building for its engineering/technological innovations; Marshall Fields as representative of economic growth; the Cultural Center as a symbol of learning, knowledge, and the generosity of people around the world who donated to make Chicago’s public library possible.  Concluding the tour is the story of the evolution of Millennium Park from lagoon, to lackluster landfill and railyard, to world-renown public space, and Millennium Station, all of which highlight the pivotal role the railroads played in Chicago’s history and the Fire recovery.

The Great Fire Family & Friends Walking Tour was researched, written, and developed by a team of Education Guides (Carol Muskin, Chuck Pierret, Karen Bohr, Lisa Ciota and Susan Mann) who collaborated over Zoom from February through May of 2021 to produce the tour. Fifteen Education Guides were trained to lead the tour in May and are now excited and prepared to take groups of family and friends back 150 years to explore this pivotal event in the history and life of Chicago.

In addition to the Family & Friends Walking Tour, the Great Fire Team is designing a Virtual Field Trip for students from elementary through high school.  A video of locations with information and photos related to the Fire is close to completion.  Education Guides will be trained to present the Virtual Great Fire Field Trip online and to engage students with activities. Deep-dive discussion points have also been developed by the team for the Education Guides to enhance student engagement during the field trips.

Education Guides are excited about adding these new Great Fire offerings to the other Family Walking Tours and Virtual Field Trips being presented by CAC.  The Education Department is looking forward to an eventual return of in-person student field trips.  In the meantime, this 150^th Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire is an important time to enthusiastically share the stories of our history, our city, and our architecture.

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