These two buildings are the only main structures that remained in the area after the great fire of 1871. On the left is the base of the Chicago Water Tower (it's a gorgeous white stone tower - and across the street, the Pumping Station. The fire destroyed, literally, a 3.3 square mile area, claimed about 300 lives and left about 100,000 homeless (1/3 of the city's population). After the fire, Chicago drew leading architects, rebuilding the city to become one of the leading architectural cities in the world (she wrote, without a hint of bias). There's an interesting and relatively brief account of the fire on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chicago_Fire and a photo of the full water tower: full tower: http://www.cityprofile.com/illinois/photos/10208-chicago-3441381389_efba7b9fe0.html)
Thank you so much for stopping to view this and commenting. These are really important and iconic buildings in Chicago and how many of us were introduced to the wide spread Great Chicago Fire.