User:Curtaintoad

The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago in October 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km²) of the city (including more than 17,000 structures), and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. It began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center and spread rapidly, amid a long period of hot, dry, windy weather. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago before crossing the main stem of the river and consuming the Near North Side. This Currier and Ives lithograph, titled Chicago in Flames, shows an artist's rendering of the Great Chicago Fire, facing northeast across the Randolph Street Bridge, with thousands of people fleeing on foot and by carriage.