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One of the most vivid illustrations of the fire, made on the scene by Chapin and soon
reproduced and colored by Currier & Ives. The Randolph Street Bridge (constructed in
1865) and Lake Street Bridge (constructed in 1868, seen to the left) were two of the major
means of escape to the West Division. Chapin captures the crush of the crowd and wagons
in a terrifying scene. The large building in the center of the illustration is the Lind
Block. While it was the lone finished structure in the path of the fire in the South Division
to survive (the Nixon building, under construction, also escaped destruction), it appears
here to be caught up in the flames.
In his account of the fire, Chicago Evening Post reporter Joseph Edgar Chamberlin told of
his experience at this bridge: "Meanwhile a strange scene was being enacted in the street
before us. A torrent of humanity was pouring over the bridge. The Madison Street bridge
had long before become impassable, and Randolph was the only outlet for the entire region
south of it. Drays, express wagons, trucks, and conveyances of every conceivable species
and size crowded across in indiscriminate haste. Collisions happened almost every
moment, and when one overloaded wagon broke down, there were enough men on hand to
drag it and its contents over the bridge by main force."
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Inside the Burning City 