Pillar of Fire - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 52.159 W 087° 38.520
16T E 446722 N 4635466
A bronze, 33 foot sculpture of three stylized, intertwined flames entitled Pillar of Fire by sculptor Egon Weiner was erected in 1961 on this point of origin of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Waymark Code: WM7H90
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/26/2009
Views: 7
From the Art Inventory site:
Sculpture: approx. 30 ft. x 4 1/2 ft.; Base: approx. 4 in. x 8 ft. x 8 ft.
Inscription: EGON WEINER/CHICAGO 1961 (Inscribed, around edge of circular granite inlay portion of base:) Here began the Chicago Fire signed
The sculpture was designed for this site, the origin of the Chicago Fire. Inscription on a nearby marker reads: Chicago Landmark/Site of the Origin of/the Chicago Fire of 1871/The great Chicago Fire began October 8, 1871, in the/O'Leary barn on Dekoven Street. Fanned by a strong wind in a city largely built of wood/structures, the/blaze raged for nearly 30 hours. Flames spread as/far north as Fullerton Avenue before finally dying/out in the early morning rain, Tuesday, October 10./Almost everything in the path of the fire had been destroyed./Designated a Chicago Landmark on September 15, 197 (inscription illegible)/by the City Council of Chicago./Richard J. Daley, Mayor/Commissioner of Chicago/Historical and Architectural Landmark
Sculptor Egon Weiner was an instructor at the Art Institute from 1945 to 1971. He died in August 1987.
TITLE: Pillar of Fire
ARTIST(S): Weiner, Egon, 1906-1989 (s/b 1987), sculptor.
DATE: Dedicated 1961.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: bronze; Base: Square stone with circular granite inlay.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 87580081
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
In front of the Chicago Fire Academy training facility at 558 W. DeKoven Street.
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
sculptor's year of death s/b 1987, not 1989
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