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
Harris Theater (Chicago) year. The theater also hosts Grant Park Music Festival events that include a few free seats. According to the 2005 "Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Chicago", by providing a regular performing venue, the Harris Theater has also "raised the profile of local dance groups" in Chicago. The attempt to facilitate modest-sized performance groups has been recognized by philanthropists; both the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the New York-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have provided grants to the theater. For example, in 2009 the MacArthur Foundation gave the theater $150,000 over three years "in support of a subsidized