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59-586: Peter Hand, a Prussian-born Civil War veteran, who had previously worked for the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company , established his brewery in 1891 in Chicago. By the time Hand died in 1899, he had found success with a lager named Meister Brau. The brewery continued to grow and though it was "officially" closed between 1920 and 1933 (as a result of prohibition), the company survived and expanded several times. In 1965, an investor group purchased

118-597: A Bock beer the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company specially brewed for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair . Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km ) of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. The fire began in

177-415: A claim by Cohn to have been present at the start of the fire. According to Cohn, on the night of the fire, he was gambling in the O'Learys' barn with one of their sons and some other neighborhood boys. When Mrs. O'Leary came out to the barn to chase the gamblers away at around 9:00, they knocked over a lantern in their flight, although Cohn states that he paused long enough to scoop up the money. The argument

236-418: A cow owned by Sullivan's mother. Bales's account does not have consensus. The Chicago Public Library staff criticized his account in their web page on the fire. Despite this, the Chicago city council was convinced of Bales's argument and stated that the actions of Sullivan on that day should be scrutinized after the O'Leary family was exonerated in 1997. Anthony DeBartolo reported evidence in two articles of

295-551: A dry summer, so that winds from the front that moved in that evening were capable of generating rapidly expanding blazes from available ignition sources, which were plentiful in the region. On that hot, dry, and windy autumn day, three other major fires occurred along the shores of Lake Michigan at the same time as the Great Chicago Fire. Some 250 miles (400 km) to the north, the Peshtigo Fire consumed

354-409: A fire swept through the city of Urbana, Illinois , 140 miles (230 km) south of Chicago, destroying portions of its downtown area. Windsor, Ontario , likewise burned on October 12. The city of Singapore, Michigan , provided a large portion of the lumber to rebuild Chicago. As a result, the area was so heavily deforested that the land deteriorated into barren sand dunes that buried the town, and

413-500: A mediocre product. In late 1966, New York's Rheingold Brewery introduced a 4.2% pale lager, Gablinger's Diet Beer . Using a process developed by Swiss chemist Dr. Hersch Gablinger, and a recipe developed by company biochemist Joseph Owades , it was marketed as a "diet beer", but failed to gain consumer acceptance. Gablinger's process involved adding the enzyme amyloglucosidase during fermentation that converted otherwise-nonfermentable starch into fermentable sugar, which eliminated

472-401: A more old-fashioned way of life, and that the fire was caused by people ignoring traditional morality. On the other hand, others believed that a lesson to be learned from the fire was that cities needed to improve their building techniques. Frederick Law Olmsted observed that poor building practices in Chicago were a problem: Chicago had a weakness for "big things", and liked to think that it

531-539: A neighborhood southwest of the city center . A long period of hot, dry, windy conditions, and the wooden construction prevalent in the city, led to the conflagration spreading quickly. The fire leapt the south branch of the Chicago River and destroyed much of central Chicago and then crossed the main stem of the river, consuming the Near North Side . Help flowed to the city from near and far after

590-677: A new group headed by Fred Huber, who had been associated with the Joseph Huber Brewing Company . However, in 1978 the brewery closed permanently. Peter Hand developed and marketed a large number of brands. In addition to their flagships Meister Brau and Meister Brau Lite, they also produced beers under the brands Old Chicago Lager, Peter Hand Reserve, Old Crown Ale, Old German, Alps Brau, Peter Hand Extra Light, Van Merritt, Braumeister, Burgemeister, Peter Hand Export, and Holiday Beer. Early light beers were typically created by adding more water to existing lagers, resulting in

649-530: A portion of carbohydrates from the finished beer and, along with a slight reduction in alcohol content, reduced its calories by approximately one-third. Rheingold purchased the rights to Gablinger's process and Owades used it to develop the recipe for Gablinger Beer, which was introduced by Rheingold. After it was discontinued the recipe was given to Peter Hand Brewing, which made minor adjustments and successfully relaunched it as Meister Brau Lite. Conrad Seipp Brewing Company The Conrad Seipp Brewing Company

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708-425: A tornado-like effect. These fire whirls are likely what drove flaming debris so high and so far. Such debris was blown across the main branch of the Chicago River to a railroad car carrying kerosene . The fire had jumped the river a second time and was now raging across the city's north side. Despite the fire spreading and growing rapidly, the city's firefighters continued to battle the blaze. A short time after

767-636: Is not universally accepted. An alternative theory, first suggested in 1882 by Ignatius L. Donnelly in Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel , is that the fire was caused by a meteor shower . This was described as a "fringe theory" concerning Biela's Comet . At a 2004 conference of the Aerospace Corporation and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics , engineer and physicist Robert Wood suggested that

826-605: The Chicago Tribune (October 8, 1997, and March 3, 1998, reprinted in Hyde Park Media ) suggesting that Louis M. Cohn may have started the fire during a craps game. Following his death in 1942, Cohn bequeathed $ 35,000 which was assigned by his executors to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University . The bequest was given to the school on September 28, 1944, and the dedication contained

885-492: The Common Council of London gave 1,000 guineas, as well as £7,000 from private donations. In Greenock , Scotland (pop. 40,000) a town meeting raised £518 on the spot. Cincinnati , Cleveland , and Buffalo , all commercial rivals, donated hundreds and thousands of dollars. Milwaukee , along with other nearby cities, helped by sending fire-fighting equipment. Food, clothing and books were brought by train from all over

944-610: The City Council passed the ordinance to establish the free Chicago Public Library , starting with the donation from the United Kingdom of more than 8,000 volumes. The fire also led to questions about development in the United States. Due to Chicago's rapid expansion at that time, the fire led to Americans reflecting on industrialization. Based on a religious point of view, some said that Americans should return to

1003-452: The City of Chicago Brewing and Malting Company, though each firm continued under its own name. By the turn of the century the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company had grown into one of the largest breweries in the country, with an annual output of 240,000 barrels. During Prohibition , the brewery continued to operate, brewing both soda and near beer , however the brewery closed in 1933, just before

1062-541: The United States had been distrustful of Catholics (or papists , as they were often called) since its beginning, carrying over attitudes in England in the 17th century; as an Irish Catholic, Mrs. O'Leary was a target of both anti-Catholic and anti-Irish sentiment. This story was circulating in Chicago even before the flames had died out, and it was noted in the Chicago Tribune ' s first post-fire issue. In 1893

1121-416: The barn was the first building to be consumed by the fire. City officials never determined the cause of the blaze, but the rapid spread of the fire due to a long drought in that year's summer, strong winds from the southwest, and the rapid destruction of the water pumping system explain the extensive damage of the mainly wooden city structures. There has been much speculation over the years on a single start to

1180-529: The brewery and renamed the company Meister Brau Inc., intending to further expand and begin national distribution. The company spent heavily on marketing, particularly in Chicago, and sponsored the Chicago White Sox , Chicago Blackhawks , and Chicago Bulls sports teams, as well as a popular radio show, in addition to distributing a wide array of bottle openers, posters and other ephemera. Their advertising campaign also included billboards; their number

1239-467: The burned district are still standing: St. Michael's Church and the Pumping Station were both gutted in the fire, but their exteriors survived, and the buildings were rebuilt using the surviving walls. Additionally, though the inhabitable portions of the building were destroyed, the bell tower of St. James Cathedral survived the fire and was incorporated into the rebuilt church. The stones near

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1298-420: The city as well are safe." For two weeks Sheridan's men patrolled the streets, guarded the relief warehouses, and enforced other regulations. On October 24 the troops were relieved of their duties and the volunteers were mustered out of service. Of the approximately 324,000 inhabitants of Chicago in 1871, 90,000 Chicago residents (about 28% of the population) were left homeless. 120 bodies were recovered, but

1357-402: The city began to rewrite its fire standards, spurred by the efforts of leading insurance executives, and fire-prevention reformers such as Arthur C. Ducat . Chicago soon developed one of the country's leading fire-fighting forces. Business owners and land speculators such as Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard quickly set about rebuilding the city. The first load of lumber for rebuilding was delivered

1416-529: The company ran a large deficit and in 1972 most of their existing brands were sold to Miller, who went on to repackage Meister Brau Lite as Miller Lite (and the Meister Brau brand as a cheaper competitor to Anheuser-Busch 's Budweiser ). Despite the infusion of cash and reverting to the Peter Hand Brewing name, the company filed bankruptcy in 1973, at which point it was purchased at auction by

1475-594: The continent. Mayor Mason placed the Chicago Relief and Aid Society in charge of the city's relief efforts. Operating from the First Congregational Church , city officials and aldermen began taking steps to preserve order in Chicago. Price gouging was a key concern, and in one ordinance, the city set the price of bread at 8¢ for a 12-ounce (340 g) loaf. Public buildings were opened as places of refuge, and saloons closed at 9 in

1534-406: The corner of Washington and Wells Streets. In 1854, with the profit from the sale of his hotel, Seipp invested $ 18,000 to purchase a small brewery from Matthias Best on 14th street, which burned down within the year. Seipp immediately built a new brick brewery on 27th Street near Lake Michigan with underground cellars, a malt floor at ground level, and a 2nd floor living quarters for his family. By

1593-493: The day the last burning building was extinguished. By the World's Columbian Exposition 22 years later, Chicago hosted more than 21 million visitors. The Palmer House hotel burned to the ground in the fire 13 days after its grand opening. Its developer, Potter Palmer , secured a loan and rebuilt the hotel to higher standards, across the street from the original, proclaiming it to be "The World's First Fireproof Building". In 1956,

1652-532: The death toll may have been as high as 300. The county coroner speculated that an accurate count was impossible, as some victims may have drowned or had been incinerated, leaving no remains. In the days and weeks following the fire, monetary donations flowed into Chicago from around the country and abroad, along with donations of food, clothing, and other goods. These donations came from individuals, corporations, and cities. New York City gave $ 450,000 along with clothing and provisions, St. Louis gave $ 300,000, and

1711-522: The end of his first year Seipp had 6 employees and was producing more than 1,000 barrels. In 1858 Seipp partnered with Frederick Lehmann, creating the firm Seipp & Lehmann. By the end of the next decade, it was one of Chicago's leading brewers, with about 50 employees producing more than 50,000 barrels of beer per year. The brewery survived the Great Chicago Fire and the partnership continued until Lehmann's death in 1872. Seipp purchased

1770-470: The evening for the week following the fire. Many people who were left homeless after the incident were never able to get their normal lives back since all their personal papers and belongings burned in the conflagration. After the fire, A. H. Burgess of London proposed an "English Book Donation", to spur a free library in Chicago, in their sympathy with Chicago over the damages suffered. Libraries in Chicago had been private with membership fees. In April 1872,

1829-456: The fire began when a fragment of Biela's Comet impacted the Midwest. Biela's Comet had broken apart in 1845 and had not been observed since. Wood argued that four large fires took place, all on the same day, all on the shores of Lake Michigan (see related events ), suggesting a common root cause. Eyewitnesses reported sighting spontaneous ignitions, lack of smoke, "balls of fire" falling from

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1888-682: The fire had already started to burn itself out. The fire had spread to the sparsely populated areas of the north side, having thoroughly consumed the densely populated areas. Once the fire had ended, the smoldering remains were still too hot for a survey of the damage to be completed for many days. Eventually, the city determined that the fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6 km) long and averaging 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1 km) wide, encompassing an area of more than 2,000 acres (809 ha). Destroyed were more than 73 miles (117 km) of roads, 120 miles (190 km) of sidewalk, 2,000 lampposts, 17,500 buildings, and $ 222 million in property, which

1947-399: The fire jumped the river, a burning piece of timber lodged on the roof of the city's waterworks . Within minutes, the interior of the building was engulfed in flames and the building was destroyed. With it, the city's water mains went dry and the city was helpless. The fire burned unchecked from building to building, block to block. Late in the evening of October 9, it started to rain, but

2006-485: The fire started when Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan, who first reported the fire, ignited hay in the barn while trying to steal milk. Part of Bales's evidence includes an account by Sullivan, who claimed in an inquiry before the Fire Department of Chicago on November 25, 1871, that he saw the fire coming through the side of the barn and ran across DeKoven Street to free the animals from the barn, one of which included

2065-403: The fire started, but stories of the cow began to spread across the city. Catherine O'Leary seemed the perfect scapegoat : she was a poor, Irish Catholic immigrant. During the latter half of the 19th century, anti-Irish sentiment was strong in Chicago and throughout the United States. This was intensified as a result of the growing political power of the city's Irish population. Furthermore,

2124-442: The fire to grow unchecked. An alarm sent from the area near the fire also failed to register at the courthouse where the fire watchmen were, while the firefighters were tired from having fought numerous small fires and one large fire in the week before. These factors combined to turn a small barn fire into a conflagration. When firefighters finally arrived at DeKoven Street, the fire had grown and spread to neighboring buildings and

2183-488: The fire, while strong southwest winds helped to carry flying embers toward the heart of the city. In 1871, the Chicago Fire Department had 185 firefighters with just 17 horse-drawn steam pumpers to protect the entire city. The initial response by the fire department was timely, but due to an error by the watchman, Matthias Schaffer, the firefighters were initially sent to the wrong place, allowing

2242-521: The fire. The city government improved building codes to stop the rapid spread of future fires and rebuilt rapidly to those higher standards. A donation from the United Kingdom spurred the establishment of the Chicago Public Library . The fire is said to have started at about 8:30 p.m. on October 8, in or around a small barn belonging to the O'Leary family that bordered the alley behind 137 W. DeKoven Street . The shed next to

2301-447: The fire. The most popular tale blames Mrs. O'Leary's cow, which allegedly knocked over a lantern; others state that a group of men were gambling inside the barn and knocked over a lantern. Still other speculation suggests that the blaze was related to other fires in the Midwest that day . The fire's spread was aided by the city's use of wood as the predominant building material in a style called balloon frame . More than two-thirds of

2360-491: The heat and from burning debris blown by the wind. Around midnight, flaming debris blew across the river and landed on roofs and the South Side Gas Works. With the fire across the river and moving rapidly toward the heart of the city, panic set in. About this time, Mayor Roswell B. Mason sent messages to nearby towns asking for help. When the courthouse caught fire, he ordered the building to be evacuated and

2419-583: The interest of the Lehmann heirs and, in 1876, incorporated the Conrad Seipp Brewing Company. By the end of the 1870s, the brewery was producing more than 100,000 barrels per year, making it the 5th largest brewery in the United States at the time. In 1889, it produced 230,000 barrels. After Conrad Seipp's death in 1890, the Conrad Seipp, West Side, and F. J. Dewes breweries—along with the L. C. Huck and George Bullen malt houses—were amalgamated to form

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2478-566: The lake to the east, the town of Holland, Michigan , and other nearby areas burned to the ground. Some 100 miles (160 km) to the north of Holland, the lumbering community of Manistee also went up in flames in what became known as the Great Michigan Fire . Farther east, along the shore of Lake Huron , the Port Huron Fire swept through Port Huron, Michigan and much of Michigan 's "Thumb" . On October 9, 1871,

2537-459: The mixtures also become explosive, a situation unlikely to occur from meteorites. Methane gas is lighter than air and thus does not accumulate near the ground; any localized pockets of methane in the open air rapidly dissipate. Moreover, if a fragment of an icy comet were to strike the Earth, the most likely outcome, due to the low tensile strength of such bodies, would be for it to disintegrate in

2596-577: The passage of the 21st amendment , which repealed Prohibition. The brewery buildings were demolished 1933, in part to make way for an expansion of Michael Reese Hospital 's campus. In 2020, Seipp's great-great-great-granddaughter, Laurin Mack—in conjunction with Metropolitan Brewing , a firm specializing in German-style lagers, reintroduced Seipp's Extra Pale , a pre-Prohibition style pilsner and Seipp's Columbia Special Release , an interpretation of

2655-475: The prisoners jailed in the basement to be released. At 2:30 a.m. on the 9th, the cupola of the courthouse collapsed, sending the great bell crashing down. Some witnesses reported hearing the sound from a mile (1.6 km) away. As more buildings succumbed to the flames, a major contributing factor to the fire's spread was a meteorological phenomenon known as a fire whirl . As hot air rises, it comes into contact with cooler air and begins to spin, creating

2714-572: The remaining structures on the original O'Leary property at 558 W. DeKoven Street were torn down for construction of the Chicago Fire Academy, a training facility for Chicago firefighters, known as the Quinn Fire Academy or Chicago Fire Department Training Facility. A bronze sculpture of stylized flames, entitled Pillar of Fire by Egon Weiner , was erected on the point of origin in 1961. The following structures from

2773-402: The reporter Michael Ahern retracted the "cow-and-lantern" story, admitting it was fabricated, but even his confession was unable to put the legend to rest. Although the O'Learys were never officially charged with starting the fire, the story became so engrained in local lore that Chicago's city council officially exonerated them—and the cow—in 1997. Amateur historian Richard Bales has suggested

2832-420: The sky, and blue flames. According to Wood, these accounts suggest that the fires were caused by the methane that is commonly found in comets. Meteorites are not known to start or spread fires and are cool to the touch after reaching the ground, so this theory has not found favor in the scientific community. Methane-air mixtures become flammable only when the methane concentration exceeds 5%, at which point

2891-401: The structures in Chicago at the time of the fire were made entirely of wood, with most of the houses and buildings being topped with highly combustible tar or shingle roofs. All of the city's sidewalks and many roads were also made of wood. Compounding this problem, Chicago received only 1 inch (25 mm) of rain from July 4 to October 9, causing severe drought conditions before

2950-452: The top of the tower are still blackened from the soot and smoke. Almost from the moment the fire broke out, various theories about its cause began to circulate. The most popular and enduring legend maintains that the fire began in the O'Leary barn as Mrs. O'Leary was milking her cow. The cow kicked over a lantern (or an oil lamp in some versions), setting fire to the barn. The O'Leary family denied this, stating that they were in bed before

3009-409: The town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin , along with a dozen other villages. It killed 1,200 to 2,500 people and charred approximately 1.5 million acres (6,100 km ). The Peshtigo Fire remains the deadliest in American history but the remoteness of the region meant it was little noticed at the time, due to the fact that one of the first things that burned were the telegraph lines to Green Bay. Across

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3068-461: The upper atmosphere, leading to a meteor air burst like the Tunguska event . The specific choice of Biela's Comet does not match with the dates in question, as the 6-year period of the comet's orbit did not intersect that of the Earth until 1872, one full year after the fire, when a large meteor shower was observed. A common cause for the fires in the Midwest in late 1871 is that the area had had

3127-461: Was about a third of the city's valuation in 1871. On October 11, 1871, General Philip H. Sheridan came quickly to the aid of the city and was placed in charge by a proclamation, given by mayor Roswell B. Mason : "The Preservation of the Good Order and Peace of the city is hereby intrusted to Lieut. General P.H. Sheridan, U.S. Army." To protect the city from looting and violence, the city

3186-778: Was conscripted and served as a bodyguard for the Grand Duchess of Hessen. In 1849, he emigrated to the United States , arriving first in Rochester, NY —a city in the midst of its own extensive brewing history —where he married his first wife, Maria Teutsch. His stay in Rochester was short and the couple soon moved to Chicago, where Seipp first worked as the driver of a beer wagon for the Miller Brothers Brewery and later owned and operated his own hotel on

3245-508: Was established in 1854 by German immigrant Conrad Seipp in Chicago, Illinois . The brewery is notable for its prolific use of advertising, making it one of the most successful breweries of its era. It closed in 1933. Conrad Seipp was born in Langen, Hessen , Germany on 28 September 1825. His early trade was that of a carpenter and joiner. During the failed German revolutions of 1848-9 , Seipp

3304-435: Was outbuilding New York. It did a great deal of commercial advertising in its house-tops. The faults of construction as well as of art in its great showy buildings must have been numerous. Their walls were thin, and were overweighted with gross and coarse misornamentation. Olmsted also believed that with brick walls, and disciplined firemen and police, the deaths and damage caused would have been much less. Almost immediately,

3363-579: Was progressing toward the central business district. Firefighters had hoped that the South Branch of the Chicago River and an area that had previously thoroughly burned would act as a natural firebreak . All along the river, however, were lumber yards, warehouses, and coal yards, as well as barges, and numerous bridges across the river. As the fire grew, the southwest wind intensified and the temperature rose, causing structures to catch fire from

3422-511: Was put under martial law for two weeks under Gen. Sheridan's command structure with a mix of regular troops, militia units, police, and a specially organized civilian group "First Regiment of Chicago Volunteers." Former Lieutenant-Governor William Bross, and part owner of the Tribune , later recollected his response to the arrival of Gen. Sheridan and his soldiers: "Never did deeper emotions of joy overcome me. Thank God, those most dear to me and

3481-431: Was second only to those advertising the re-election campaign of Mayor Richard J. Daley . The company also acquired a previously unsuccessful light beer recipe, which they reformulated and relaunched as "Meister Brau Lite"; this beer became widely popular. By the end of the 1960s, the company was producing a million barrels of beer each year and sales were in excess of $ 50 million. However, due to mismanagement and heavy debt,

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