Beginnings 1812-1871

Beginnings 1812-1871. . The Prairie Avenue area has witnessed every significant period in the growth of Chicago from the establishment of Fort Dearborn through the residential rebirth of the central area in the 1990s. The years following the close of the Civil War were marked by a significant increase in building activity, resulting in a well-established neighborhood by the time of the Chicago Fire in 1871. , , 1812 Ft. Dearborn massacre occurs near present intersection of Prairie Avenue and 18th St.; a large cottonwood tree at the spot survives into the 1890s, 1834 Elijah D. Harmon purchases 138-acre tract bounded by present day 16th Street, Cermak Road, State Street, and Lake Michigan, 1836 Henry B. Clarke builds house near what is now 1625 S. Michigan on 20-acre parcel purchased from Harmon, 1837 City of Chicago incorporated; southern boundary established at what is now Cermak Road, 1853 First house on Prairie Avenue completed for brick manufacturer John Staples at 1702 Prairie, 1865 End of Civil War; building activity in area increases dramatically, 1870 Daniel Thompson builds the first $100,000 house on the South Side at 1936 Prairie, 1870 Details of residence for George M. Pullman at 1729 Prairie announced; designed by Henry S. Jaffray and completed in 1876, 1871 Construction begins on residence for Marshall Field; Richard Morris Hunt architect, 1871 Prairie Avenue is spared in the Chicago Fire and many residences are converted to temporary headquarters for owner's business operations