History of Chicago and south branches of the Chicago River, which flows through the city's downtown. The three white stripes represent the North, West and South sides of the city, Lake Michigan being the east side. The most famous and serious disaster was the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. On December 30, 1903 the "absolutely fireproof", five-week-old Iroquois Theater was engulfed by fire. The fire lasted less than thirty minutes; 602 people died as a result of being burned, asphyxiated, or trampled. The S.S. "Eastland" was a cruise ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915—a calm, sunny day—the
Cable cars in Chicago only place where single combination cars were used. The end of that route at had a turntable, rather than the loops that the other lines used. The NCSR had up to 177 grip cars and many more trailers. Three powerhouses pulled 9 cables. On May 24, 1899, the NCSR and WCSR were combined into the Chicago Union Traction Co., which would go into receivership on April 22, 1903 and was bought by the Chicago Railway Co. (CR) on January 25, 1908. On February 1, 1914, the Chicago Railway Co. began operating as part of the Chicago Surface Lines. The West