Carl Smith on Chicago’s Great Fire
About the Event:
Reaching much deeper than the myths that still surround this justifiably legendary urban disaster, historian Carl Smith’s new book, Chicago’s Great Fire, recounts both the harrowing destruction of the dynamic young city on October 8-10, 1871, and the extraordinary recovery that immediately followed. Join Smith for a richly illustrated lecture in which he will consider how this catastrophe irreversibly altered the physical cityscape and reflect on how Chicago’s destruction and resurrection, impressive as they were, revealed and deepened troubling social divisions. Smith will also discuss how the maps created for his book attempt both to enrich the narrative and tell their own story.
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- All events include captioning.
This program is generously underwritten by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.
This week's programs presented with the support of Southwest Airlines.
About the Book:
- The Chicago Humanities Festival is pleased to partner with the Seminary Co-op Bookstores, a not-for-profit bookstore whose mission is bookselling.
- When you purchase your copy of Chicago's Great Fire from Seminary Co-op you are directly supporting independent bookselling in Chicago and a vital space for book browsing, discovery, and community.
Carl Smith
Carl Smith is Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English and American Studies and Professor of History, Emeritus, at ...
Event Details
Carl Smith on Chicago’s Great Fire
This week's programs presented with the support of Southwest Airlines.
[Event tile image description: The event image at the top left of the event page is a vintage black and white photograph of a building that was burnt down in the Great Chicago Fire. All that remains of the building is the facade. In front of the building street cars pass by and a handful of people stand in the street. In the background is more wreckage.]