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Rare Vintage Photos of Chicago’s Streets and Landscapes From The 1910s

At the turn of the 20th century, the population of Chicago was over 1.7 million and the city was thriving with rapid economic growth. The manufacturing and retail sectors, fostered by the expansion of railroads throughout the upper Midwest and East. Chicago became the world’s largest rail hub and one of its busiest ports by shipping traffic on the Great Lakes.

Chicago’s population surged past two million in 1907 and three million in 1923. Chicago became notorious during the Prohibition years, the crime rates increased and the domestic homicides tripled. In 1916 the city completed the 2.4-kilometer-long Municipal (later Navy) Pier as a combination shipping warehouse and public recreation retreat.

Here below are some stunning historical photos of Chicago’s streets and landmarks from the early-20th century Also check, What Chicago looked like in the 1900s.

#1 Grant Park, south from Art Institute. Chicago circa 1911.

#2 Evans house east facade with porch to left and porte cochere to right, Chicago, 1912.

#5 Sailors at Great Lakes US Naval Training Station in Illinois, ca. 1915.

Sailors at Great Lakes US Naval Training Station in Illinois, ca. 1915.

#8 The Santa Fe grain elevator, head of the canal. Chicago circa 1915.

#9 The Santa Fe grain elevator, head of the canal. Chicago circa 1915.

#10 Grant Park and Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue. Chicago circa 1910.

Grant Park and Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue. Chicago circa 1910.

#11 In the heart of the shopping district on State Street, Chicago, 1914.

#12 Looking North On Clark Street. Chicago circa 1910s.

#13 The Hull House complex at 800 South Halsted Street included a kindergarten, daycare facility, classrooms, libraries, and meeting spaces for neighborhood residents, Chicago, ca.1910.

#14 View of the merchants and passersby at the South Water Street Market in Chicago, 1910s.

#15 View of livestock pens and workers herding sheep at the Union Stock Yard. Chicago circa 1910s.

View of livestock pens and workers herding sheep at the Union Stock Yard. Chicago circa 1910s.

#16 Looking up busy State Street, north from Madison. Chicago circa 1915.

#17 Agents Destroying Slot Machines in Chicago, 1910s.

#20 A group portrait of three women and two men outdoors on the steps of the Yerkes Observatory, a facility of the University of Chicago, 1910s.

A group portrait of three women and two men outdoors on the steps of the Yerkes Observatory, a facility of the University of Chicago, 1910s.

#21 Children splashing in a pond in Lunapark in Chicago, 1910s.

Children splashing in a pond in Lunapark in Chicago, 1910s.

#22 Fine Arts Building at 410 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop community area, Chicago, 1910s.

#23 A view of the floor at the Chicago Automobile Show, 1910s.

#24 Madison Avenue & Brevoort Hotel. Chicago circa 1913.

#25 Railway Exchange and Gas Buildings. Chicago circa 1913.

Railway Exchange and Gas Buildings. Chicago circa 1913.

#26 Exterior view of a building at 6657 S. State Street which operated a counterfeit coin operating racket, Chicago, 1911.

#27 View of Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 1911.

#29 Madison Street, Hotel Brevoort & La Salle Opera House. Chicago ca. 1910.

#30 Elizabeth McCormick Open Air School No. 2, on roof of Hull House boys club, 1917.

Elizabeth McCormick Open Air School No. 2, on roof of Hull House boys club, 1917.

#31 Train sheds, Chicago & North Western Railway station. Chicago circa 1911.

#32 Van Buren Street Station. View north along Michigan Avenue. Chicago circa 1915.

#33 Grandstands at the Chicago Coliseum awaiting delegates to the Republican National Convention in June 1916.

#34 Chicago train sheds, Chicago & North Western Railway. Circa 1911-1915.

#35 Lexington Hotel, located at the corner of Michigan Avenue and 22nd Street in Chicago, 1910s.

Lexington Hotel, located at the corner of Michigan Avenue and 22nd Street in Chicago, 1910s.

#36 View of Jefferson Street north from Ewing Street. Chicago circa 1910s.

#37 State Street, south from Madison. Chicago circa 1913.

#38 Cerf Meyer’s saloon at 848 Blue Island Avenue in Chicago, 1911.

#39 Zion Temple located at North Ogden Avenue and West Washington Street in the Near West Side community. Chicago، 1911.

#40 Peoples Gas Building. Chicago circa 1911.

Peoples Gas Building. Chicago circa 1911.

#42 Botany Herbarium Specimens. Chicago, January 29, 1912.

#43 Crowd Standing at Entrance to Coliseum during Republican National Convention. Chicago, June 1912.

#44 Lobby Stairs to Waiting Room and Concourses, Chicago, 1912.

#45 Casting desk at Modelling Shop. Chicago, 1913.

Casting desk at Modelling Shop. Chicago, 1913.

#46 Interior of a Pullman Car. Chicago, September 12, 1913.

#47 Women’S Suffrage Parade Marching on South Michigan Avenue. Chicago circa 1914.

#48 Edward Hines Lumber Company yard. Chicago circa 1914.

#49 Blue Island Savings Bank at 1147 Blue Island Avenue, Chicago, 1915.

#50 Survivors of the Eastland being lead ashore by the tugboat Kenosha. Chicago, 1915.

Survivors of the Eastland being lead ashore by the tugboat Kenosha. Chicago, 1915.

#52 Titanic exhibition at Riverview Park, Chicago, 1916.

#53 Field Museum construction site of men hauling materials up to outer wall, Chicago, 1916.

#55 Crowd in front of a storefront with the sign Bank Real Estate during the 1919 Chicago Race Riots.

Crowd in front of a storefront with the sign Bank Real Estate during the 1919 Chicago Race Riots.

#56 U.S. Mail Dept., Chicago & North Western Railway station. Chicago circa 1912.

#58 People standing in front of a Giant Redwood plank, now used as a table in the Field Museum Botany department. Chicago, August 1911.

#59 Civil War veterans marching in a Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Day parade in South Michigan Avenue. Chicago, May 27, 1912.

#60 Civil War veterans marching in a Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Day parade in South Michigan Avenue. Chicago, May 27, 1912.

Civil War veterans marching in a Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Day parade in South Michigan Avenue. Chicago, May 27, 1912.

#61 Passenger Terminal, Madison Street Entrance. Chicago circa 1912.

#62 Houses on Federal Street, in the Levee District, Chicago, 1914.

#63 Children playing in water from hydant. Chicago 1914.

#64 Edward Hines Lumber Company yard. Chicago circa 1914.

#65 Fishing Pier, Chicago, 1915.

Fishing Pier, Chicago, 1915.

#67 Boys boxing in front of Chicago Hebrew Institute gymnasium and natatorium at Taylor and Lytle Streets in Chicago, 1915.

#68 A rescue worker, dressed in a diving suit, leaps into the Chicago River at the site of the Eastland disaster, July 24, 1915.

#69 3rd Division soldiers marching in lines on North State Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, 1919.

#70 Chicago White Sox baseball players. Chicago, 1913.

Chicago White Sox baseball players. Chicago, 1913.

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#71 Motorbikes racing at Speedway Park, Maywood, Chicago, 1915.

Motorbikes racing at Speedway Park, Maywood, Chicago, 1915.

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Written by Aung Budhh

Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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