View of Rush St. Bridge &c. [Reprint]

Commemorative reprint of downtown Chicago.

“The Rush Street Bridge as depicted in the enclosed print…was the first of a passing parade of bridges spanning the Chicago River at Rush Street during the 19th century…The bridge met an unfortunate demise on November3, 1863 when it was swung open accidentally while a herd of cattle was being driven over it. The panicking cattle caused the bridge to fall into the river, taking the cattle with it…

In the background of the print is pictured the McCormick reaper factory which had been built in 1847 and eventually burned to the ground in the Chicago Fire. The Porth and Carter coal and wood shack, located in the foreground of this print, is resting on the site where Fort Dearborn had once stood, a testimonial to the fact that evening in 1861, progress took precedence to tradition.” – Accompanying card

This beautiful view of downtown Chicago in 1861 was originally designed by Edwin Winfield as a series of lithographs capturing the Windy City shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War.

This reprint was issued 100 years later, in 1961, by William Blair & Company, an investment firm with a clear financial interest in the ‘Progress vs. Preservation’ debate. A contemporary print from 1863 showing the aforementioned accident is included with the set.