The curator of the exhibit and author of its text is Carl Smith, Professor of English and American Studies and Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence at Northwestern. Paul Hertz, Coordinator of Northwestern's Learning Technologies Center, is Art Director. Joe Germuska, Learning Technologies Specialist, supervised production, with major assistance from Eric Whitley and additional help from Lou Skriba and Gia Sadhwani.

Several CHS staff members have also been instrumental in the preparation and implementation of the web site. John Alderson, Photographer, and Jay Crawford, Assistant Photographer, digitized the images and sheet music. Linda Ziemer, Associate Curator, Prints and Photographs, catalogued the digitized materials. Lynne Nugent, Assistant Editor, reviewed the text. John Pawlikowski, Systems Administrator, participated in the planning of the site, the electronic transfer of data between the two collaborating institutions, and the management of software and hardware. Lawrence E. Schmitt, Director of Properties, has been involved in all the planning and is chiefly responsible for designing, building, and installing the computer kiosks in the museum and for making the gateway on the CHS home page to the exhibition. Rosemary K. Adams, Director of Publications, and Chair of the New Media Initiatives Staff Task Force, also participated in all planning and facilitated staff discussions and decisions regarding the web site. Douglas Greenberg, President and Director, provided support and encouragement throughout the entire process.

The contents were selected with the help and advice of Emily Clark, Associate Librarian; Linda Evans, Associate Curator, Archives and Manuscripts; Olivia Mahoney, Curator, Decorative and Industrial Arts; Russell Lewis, Deputy Director for Research; and Linda Ziemer, Associate Curator, Prints and Photographs. Participating CHS staff also include Louise Brownell, Registrar; Lisa Kahn, Curatorial Assistant, Decorative and Industrial Arts; Lesley A. Martin, Assistant Editor; Archie Motley, Curator, Archives and Manuscripts; Patricia Sordoni, Curatorial Affairs Intern, Lake Forest College; and Kathleen Zygmun, Assistant Curator, Decorative and Industrial Arts.

Exhibition planning and production, and the coordination of efforts between the two collaborating institutions, have been overseen for the Chicago Historical Society by Russell Lewis, Deputy Director for Research, and for Northwestern by Bob Taylor, Director of Academic Technologies, and Brian Nielsen, Manager of the Learning Technologies Group.

The curator is grateful to Richard Bales, Perry Duis, Jerry Goldman, Jeffrey Hornstein, Mary Janzen, Teresa Krutz, Tim Samuelson, Phyllis Siegel, Jane Smith, and Joseph Zywicki for their generous help.

Portions of the text are adapted from Carl Smith, Urban Disorder and the Shape of Belief: The Great Chicago Fire, The Haymarket Bomb, and the Model Town of Pullman (University of Chicago Press, 1995).

Support for development of the on-line exhibit comes in part from H-Net: Humanities OnLine, an international network of scholars and teachers working together to pioneer the use of the Internet for teaching and research. With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a multi-year project entitled "Creating the History Classroom of the 21st Century," H-Net has established a National Center for Multimedia in Teaching for the Humanities at Michigan State Universities and is partnering with the Chicago Historical Society and other regional centers throughout the country to develop and evaluate new teaching resources and pedogogical tools. For more information about H-Net, write to H-Net@H-Net.msu.edu or visit the H-Net Website.

From the left: John Alderson, Larry Schmitt, Jay Crawford, Rosemary Adams, Joe Germuska, Eric Whitley, Carl Smith, Emily Clark, Paul Hertz, John Pawlikowski, Bob Taylor, Linda Ziemer, Lynne Nugent, Russell Lewis.

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All text and images published in The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory are for personal use only. Neither text nor images are published here for use in the public domain. Any commercial use or publication is strictly prohibited. Copying, redistribution, or exploitation for personal or corporate gain is not permitted.