Col. Wood’s Museum

Come see ‘The Largest Woman in the World Weighing Near 900’ at Col. Wood’s Museum in Chicago.

Established in the early 1860s at the corner of Clark and Randolph streets, Colonel Wood’s Museum was Chicago’s answer to P.T. Barnum’s immensely popular American Museum of New York. Part educational institution, part freak show, and part amusement park; the five-story building included retail stores, a lecture hall, numerous exhibits, and “150,000 curiosities of every kind” (according to a contemporary news article).

The scene presents a typical snapshot of Chicago’s bustling commercial activity in the years before the fire, which would destroy all the buildings within the image. Streetcars, elevated sidewalks filled with pedestrians, and storefronts are seen jostling for position on both sides of the street.

The print was published in Chicago in either 1866 or 1867 by Jevne & Almini for their portfolio “Chicago Illustrated”, printed by Louis Kurz.

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