The Loop District in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Couch Place
Photographed By Sean Flynn, April 16, 2024
1. Couch Place Marker
Erected 2007 by City of Chicago.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #16 Abraham Lincoln series list.
Location. 41° 53.109′ N, 87° 37.753′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in The Loop District. Marker can be reached from Couch Place east of Dearborn Street. The marker is a short walk from the Dearborn Street entrance to the alley. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60601, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Oliver Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Harris and Selwyn Theaters (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Couch Place (within shouting distance of this marker); Page Brothers Building (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Chicago Theater
this page online
More about this marker. An identical marker can be found on the other entrance to the alley, near State Street. The marker promotes improvements made to the alley in a 2007 renovation.
Regarding Couch Place. What goes unsaid on the marker is Couch Place's status as, to borrow one newspaper's phrase, "The Alley of Death and Mutilation." In 1903, the Iroquois Theater opened on the south end of the alley, along Randolph between Dearborn and State. On December 30, 1903, about 5 weeks after it opened, the Iroquois was hosting a matinee of Mr. Blue Beard before an estimated 2000+ patrons when sparks from an arc light ignited a highly flammable curtain. As the fire spread rapidly and mass panic began among a crowd with many children, the building's faulty design proved deadly, as there was only one stairway connecting all of the tiers of the theater. Many were trapped inside behind piles of bodies, with bodies stacked around some
Photographed By Sean Flynn, April 16, 2024
2. Couch Place Marker
The Goodman Theater marquee can be seen across Dearborn Street; the marker is on the right side of the photo.
The Tremont Hotel referenced on the sign and making up the north side of Couch Place would become Lincoln's lodgings of choice while in Chicago. It was actually the third hotel on the site, after the 1837 original building burned down in 1839 and its 1840 replacement burned down in 1841. The third building, five stories tall and brick, opened in 1850 and became perhaps Chicago's most famous hotel. In addition to Lincoln, the hotel was also a residence for many notable Chicagoans, including Lincoln's famous rival Stephen A. Douglas, who died in the hotel in 1861. In 1858, Lincoln gave a speech at the hotel, a rebuttal to a speech that Douglas had given in opposition to Lincoln's "House Divided" speech and something of an opening to their famed 1858 campaign for a seat in the U.S. Senate. The hotel was also the Republican Party headquarters for its presidential convention of 1860, which was held in the Wigwam a short distance west of here and led to Abraham Lincoln's nomination for president.
Also see . . .
1. Tremont House. From the website "The
Photographed By Sean Flynn, April 16, 2024
3. Couch Place Marker
An east-facing view of the alley, with the marker on the left and State Street in the far distance.
Excerpt: "The Tremont House figured importantly in the famed senatorial election of 1858. In Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate, David Zarefsky describes the evening of July 9, when Douglas launched his campaign with a speech from the hotel’s balcony. Lincoln, in Chicago for the opening session of the United States District Court, was in attendance. When he heard Douglas attack his 'House Divided' speech as endorsing radical abolitionism, Lincoln announced that he would appear at the hotel the following evening, as he did, to respond."(Submitted on April 16, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Couch Place: The Alley of Death. From the Chicago Loop Alliance (Submitted on April 16, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Chicago Daily News Collection, Chicago History Museum, December 30, 1903
4. Couch Place
Caption: "View of a crowd standing on South Dearborn Street in front of a smoke-filled alley during the Iroquois Theater fire, December 30, 1903, Chicago, Illinois."
Credits. This page was last revised on April 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 16, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 54 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 16, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
