| Previous | Next |
![]() The Courthouse |
One could also make out certain landmarks, prominent among them the Courthouse
in the heart of the South Division's central business district, on the same site
as the current City Hall and County Building. The Courthouse contained virtually
all muncipal and county offices and records, as well as the jail. Perhaps the
most prominent landmark in the North Division was the limestone Gothic Water
Tower and Water Works, which were dedicated with great fanfare in 1867 and
which were operational two years later.
If you were a little lower down, perhaps in the top of the Courthouse tower, to which photographer Alexander Hesler climbed in 1858 to record an eleven-image urban panorama, you could also observe a good deal more of commercial and domestic architecture. You'd notice the contrast of styles, starting with the homes of the wealthier citizens, whether the rambling North Division homes of Old Settlers like the Gurdon Hubbards, the George Rumseys, the I.N. Arnolds, and the William Ogdens; the eleven elegant townhouses on South Michigan Avenue that together comprised Terrace Row; the splendid mansions of the new elite of Armours, Pullmans, Fields, and Dexters, a mile or so further south and west on Prairie Avenue; and numerous residences further out in the young city and, thanks to the railroad, in its already burgeoning suburbs. |
|
![]() Rumsey House |
Previous |
Next |