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The Chamber of Commerce was dedicated on August 30, 1865, on the site at LaSalle and
Washington purchased from the First Baptist Church, and a new one of the same
dimensions was constructed here after the fire. Crosby's Opera House had just been
completely renovated and was scheduled to open Monday evening with a series of
symphony concerts under the baton of maestro Theodore Thomas, who would be the most
important figure in the performance of classical music in Chicago for the balance of the
century.
At the close of a long and serious letter to his sister recounting his
experiences in the fire, William Gallagher inserted a bit of humor. "Theodore
Thomas was at the Sherman House with his orchestra," Gallagher wrote, "and was
to have commenced his concerts on the Monday night after the fire. He was
compelled to run for his life, and leave some of the instruments, and some one
wants to know why he is different from Nero. Ans. One fiddled away while his
Rome was burning, and the other roamed away while his fiddles were burning."
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Inside the Burning City 