Ruins of Chicago, Looking East Towards the Lake

A view of Chicago’s ruins about a month after the devastating blaze of 1871.

The Great Chicago Fire swept through the city from October 8-10, 1871, destroying thousands of buildings, killing over 200, and resulting in tens of thousands of homeless. Charitable donations poured in from across the world, due in part to the vast array of published stories, maps, and views of the destroyed city.

This example, issued in the November 11, 1871 edition of The Illustrated London News, shows the ruins looking east, approximately from Clark street. Though the devastation appears complete, much of the rubble had been cleared away by the time of publication, and rebuilding had begun in earnest.