Twice each year—within a few days of the spring and fall equinoxes—the setting sun aligns with Chicago’s grid street system, providing a simple, but remarkable visual phenomenon. The setting sun can be seen between skyscrapers from any east-west street downtown for about ten days each spring and fall, but near-perfect alignment occurs on just two evenings each year. The exact dates and peak viewing times vary slightly from year to year.
Category: Chicago
Great Chicago Fire Map
The legendary Great Chicago Fire of 1871 raged from Sunday, October 8 until the early morning hours on Tuesday, October 10. The fire destroyed about 3 1/3 square miles of downtown Chicago, killing about 300 people. More than 100,000 residents lost their homes in the fire.
Chicago in Flames
An artist’s rendering of the fire by Currier and Ives (1871); looking northeast from the west side of the Randolph Street Bridge across the Chicago River.