The Great Fire at the Chicago World’s Fair: The Destruction of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building

Engraved view of the burning of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Chicago in 1882.

From a contemporary account; Fire brands were carried to the roof of Manufactures Building and the promenade around the crown of that enormous structure was soon on fire. The wind was strong and the flames soon reached the immense wooden ventilators under the eaves and they were soon burning fiercely. The story under tho roof was in a blaze. From this and through the great holes in the glass roof fell a continuous shower of firebrands, and in twenty minutes there were over a dozen small conflagrations in the Belgian, French, German, and English sections. Firemen and Columbian Guards fought these fires so successfully that, although the facades and exhibit structures were destroyed, not more than a dozen cases containing exhibits were burned. The goods jeopardized represented $2,500,000; the loss is not over $100,000, principally by water.

From the original edition of the Illustrated London News.