The Krupp Gun Pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition: The world's largest gun.

Friedrich "Fritz" Alfred Krupp

Friedrich Alfred Krupp (1854–1902) was known as the richest man in Germany at the time of the World’s Columbian Exposition and his estimated worth was over 125 million dollars ($3.6 Trillion dollars today) with a personal annual income of 10 million ($288 Million dollars today). The Friedrich Krupp cast steel company was started by his grandfather in 1811 in Essen Germany, passed to his father Alfred Krupp “The Canon King” and became his upon his father’s death in 1887. During this time the Krupp family was also the largest employer in Germany with an estimated 45,000 employees.

Friedrich Alfred Krupp was known as “Fritz” since the age of 14 and was nothing like his father and grandfather, at least not at first glance. While his father Alfred was known as a stern industrialist and actively involved in the political activities of Germany, Fritz was more interested in natural science, generosity, and suffered from asthma which was more than likely the result of growing up around the poor air quality which surrounded the steel making factories. At one point, his father had thought of disowning him and naming one of his nephews as heir but eventually, Fritz reluctantly gave in to the wishes of his father and took over when his father passed in 1887. While the Krupp empire was involved in many different aspects of metal manufacturing it was the tools of war, specifically the Krupp canons that made the Krupp name world-renowned.

NOTE: Two different companies. The "KRUPP Cast Steel Company" was founded in 1811. The "KRUPS Household Appliances Manufacturers" (today's coffee brewing machines) was started in 1846.

The 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition was the perfect venue to show off the metalworking prowess bearing the Krupp name and Krupp spent a good amount of his own money to do so.

The Krupp Gun Pavilion (also known as the Krupp Gun Exhibit) was impressive on its own. It was created to be somewhat of a cross between a fortress and the “Villa Hugel” which had been the Krupp family home since 1873. 

German architects decided to use timber and steel rather than the white plaster used for the majority of buildings in the White City. The style of the building was also unique; historical and regional forms were mixed so that the building as a whole embodied the entire German aesthetic.

The entrance hall was 138 feet long by 25 feet wide by 30 feet high while the main exhibit hall was 197 feet long by 82 feet wide by 43 feet high. It was located between the replica of the Convent La Rabida and the Leather Exhibit just south of the moving sidewalk and Casino Building. This area is currently occupied by the La Rabida Children’s Hospital. The structure cost Krupp upwards of 1.5 million dollars to erect and about the same amount to transport it to and from the fair. The pavilion housed both tools of war and peace but honestly, it was the big gun that drew the crowds.

The $1.5 million dollars Krupp Pavilion at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

Known as the largest canon in the world, the canon barrel weighed just over 240,000 pounds, was 46 feet long, 6.5 feet in diameter at the breech and the muzzle opening (the caliber of the gun was 16.54 inches). It was capable, according to a Krupp representative, of firing a 2,000-pound projectile over a distance of 13 miles (Krupp literature claimed only 5.5 miles). When using the shrapnel version of the 1-ton shell would explode 3400 steel balls weighing about a quarter-pound each. You definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of this piece of artillery. The gun cost Krupp about $200,000 to produce and $80,000 to transport to the U.S. At the end of the fair,  Krupp offered the gun to the U.S. military for a price of $223,000 including the turret and all mountings. The U.S. quickly rejected the offer due to the fact that they believed the gun too dangerous and too expensive to operate at $1,500 per shot.

Inside the main exhibit hall of the Krupp Pavilion showcasing both of the world's largest steel canons. It had been said that neither one worked well. 

There was also a rumor that Krupp was going to donate the gun to the City of Chicago and the city, in turn, was going to use it in a fort which was going to be placed opposite Hyde Park on five acres of “made” land which would have had a clear view of the lakefront from the Evanston lighthouse to Calumet Lake. That rumor was quickly proven to be false.

Aside from the spectacular guns, Krupp introduced the Expo crowds so something that they had not experienced before, indoor air-conditioning. People had often entertained the idea of cooling a building in warm temperatures much like heating a building in cool temperatures but up to this point had not seen such a device in actual service.

Krupp Gun Exhibit Building from across the water.

Krupp had two “Glacier Fountains,” as they were called, in the main exhibit hall on the northeast and southwest corners. He had used these types of cooling devices at his cast steelworks at Essen, Germany since 1890 and were designed and engineered there between 1884 and 1886 by Dr. William Raydt of Hanover. The fountains sprayed freshwater upward and over a series of copper “worms” or coils that contained salt water cooled to a point below freezing. As the water froze to the coils it created a block of ice that cooled more of the freshwater and subsequently the air surrounding the water which then dropped to the ground making more room for warm air and creating a circulating cooling effect. The refrigeration machine used to cool the water used carbonic acid and was designed and patented by Dr. Raydt. During the warm months of the fair, you could see people placing their hands close to the fountain to cool themselves in much the same way that you would see people trying to warm themselves next to a stove. One Columbian Guard who was stationed inside the exhibit near the fountains stated that because of the cold air he felt as if he was “going into consumption.”

Krupp was ahead of his time in how he treated his employees. Around the world, there was a growing distrust between employees and employers but Krupp was a leader in employee relations. He built entire colonies or towns for his employees. He provided them with family housing, bachelor housing, schools, libraries, parks, hospitals, and gymnasiums. He also created a pension fund for those who achieved 20 years of service, a disability pension fund for those hurt in the performance as “Kruppianers” as well as a fund for the widows and children of workers who had died. He also set up the predecessor of our 401(k) by having workers opt to invest 3% of their income and the company would match 100% of their contributions. Additionally, he paid for a retirement home for the elderly among the veteran “Kruppianers.” He did all this in order to create a sense of loyalty and family among his workforce. Oddly enough all of this benevolence toward his employees created contention between the Krupps and the Socialist Democratic Party which thrived and gained support based on vilifying big business which generally did not treat their employees well at all. This could have ultimately led to his undoing.

After the Expo ended,  Krupp dismantled his pavilion, and by the third week of March 1894, his “big gun” was on its way back to Germany by Steamer.

NOTE: I doubt the Krupp Pavilion was reconstructed in Germany. Most likely, the steel and other building materials that were saved were used for other purposes.

Krupp merged with Thyssen AG in 1999, creating ThyssenKrupp AG, a leading global manufacturer of steel, construction materials, automotive parts and assemblies, and industrial and mechanical services. ThyssenKrupp AG is also known to produce amusement and sports items such as sparklers (fireworks), bobsleds, and protective glass (polycarbonate) panels for ice hockey rinks, the firm’s main business sectors involve metal fabrication, mechanical engineering, and the production of elevator systems.

By Ray Johnson
Edited by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Lost Towns of Illinois - Bradley, later renamed Dunton.

History of Dunton began in March 1836 when Asa Dunton, a Yankee stone cutter from Oswego, New York, with his wife, Lois Hawkes Dunton, and six children, the youngest of whom was only two years of age, came to this locality looking for desirable farming land on which to stake a claim. Previous homesteaders had settled in the wooded areas of Wheeling and Elk Grove, but Asa, recognizing the excellence of the soil and the advantage of well-drained higher ground, decided to file his claim on open prairie. He filed his claim for the 160 acres allowed and a like amount for each of his minor sons, William H., 17 years old, and James, 14 years old.

He established his pre-emption rights to these public lands by declaring his intention of settlement, proving his residence within six months, cultivating the tract within one year, and paying the established purchase price of $1.25 an acre. Final title of the homestead was not secured until he had proved his residence for five years. During that first winter Asa and his family were forced to stay in temporary shelter from the winter's icy blasts in Deer Grove. Final proof of compliance with the law enabled Asa to obtain full title to the three homesteads in 1841. The family moved to Lemont, Illinois, where the men found employment in the quarries where stone was being cut for buildings in the town of Chicago, then numbering 4,000 people.

By then the area had largely changed its ethnic composition, as many German farmers from Saxony had arrived during the 1840s. John Klehm might serve as an example; he was at first a potato farmer, supplying the Chicago market, and in 1856 began a nursery for cherry, apple, and pear trees, later moving into spruce, maple, and elm, and then flowers. By the late 1850s the area had become noted for its truck farms, sending dairy products as well as vegetables to Chicago on the railroad.

First Map (1854) of the Town of Bradley (Arlington Heights), Illinois.

In 1854 he laid out half of his farm into lots, creating the town of "Bradley," named in honor of Peter Bradley, a great friend of Asa's son, William Dunton. When the village was first platted, it was only four blocks wide by eight blocks long. The first boundaries matched Euclid Street on the north, Arlington Heights Road on the east, Sigwalt Street on the south, and Highland Avenue on the west.

The name was changed to Dunton when it was learned that there was already a Bradley in Illinois near Kankakee. (note the word Dunton was later written in by hand just above Bradley on the plat map).

In 1855, Asa became the Postmaster of Arlington Heights operating out of his house.

Asa Dunton left Lemont in 1847 to return his family to his original claim. The small frame home that Asa erected for his family home stood on open prairie, beside an old Indian trail (Arlington Heights Road), with no neighbors and no roads. It still stands today (2019) at 612 North Arlington Heights Road. Built of hand hewn beams it has withstood the ravages of wind and weather and is today the proud possession of its present owner. Old timers well remember when it was the home of Asa's granddaughter, Mrs. Farwell.

Some of the old pine and spruce trees, a number of which are still standing north of Euclid and east of Arlington Heights Road, were set out by the Dunton Family. The name "Pine Street" was chosen in later years because of that stand of pines, now more than 170 years old, truly a bequest of beauty.

James Dunton resided in his father's home until his marriage in 1849. He built his first home at 623 North Arlington Heights Road, which stood until 1916 when new construction raized the house. There the family lived until James erected the stately three-story home at 619 North Arlington Heights Road in 1869, just before the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The story is told that many local people stood on the flat part of the roof at the rear and watched the conflagration from that vantage point, twenty-two miles from the scene of the blazing city.

Recent picture of 619 North Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL.

Recent picture of 619 North Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL.

Recent picture of 619 North Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL.

The little town at the depot slowly grew, acquiring a blacksmith, a cheese factory, a hardware store, and a hotel. In 1874, the name was changed to Arlington Heights and was incorporated in 1887, when its population numbered about 1,000. Most were farmers, but they were joined by others who worked in Chicago, for Arlington Heights was an early commuter suburb.

The town developed religious institutions that reflected the origins of its citizens; the first churches were Presbyterian (1856) and Methodist (1858), with a German Lutheran church following in 1860; Catholics had no church here until 1905.

By the turn of the century Arlington Heights had about 1,400 inhabitants, and it continued to grow slowly with a good many farms and greenhouses after World War II. By then Arlington Heights was also known for its racetrack, founded in 1927 by the California millionaire H. D. "Curly" Brown on land formerly consisting of 12 farms. Camp McDonald and two country clubs were founded in the 1930s.

The great population explosion took place in the 1950s and 1960s, when the spread of automobile ownership, together with the expansion of the Chicago-area economy, drove the number of people in Arlington Heights—expanded by a series of annexations —up to 64,884 by 1970. By then virtually all the available land had been taken up, and the formerly isolated depot stop found itself part of a continuous built-up area stretching from Lake Michigan to the Fox River.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Dick's [Richard Bell] Amusement Park, Bloomington, Illinois. (1955-1965)

Richard Bell, a young Black man, was a self-taught business man and entrepreneur. He bought a farm in Bloomington, Illinois where he raised hogs, popcorn, and soybeans for many years. Next he bought and operated an auto body repair shop. He employed a number of young men, black and white, to who he taught important job skills.

In 1955 Dick opened "Dick's Amusement Park" in Forest Park in Bloomington. The amusement park had a merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, a coal-fueled miniture train, pony rides in an enclosed track, a playground and a concession stand. He closed the park in 1965 and sold off all the rides.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Ike Sanders hospitality and foodservice success, as a person of color, in Bloomington, Illinois.

Isaac "Ike" Joshua Beasley Sanders (1878-1929), a negro, opened a restaurant and rooming house located at 306 South Main Street in Bloomington, Illinois in 1903. It was known as “Ike Sander’s Restaurant Short Order House.” The restaurant not only provided good meals and courteous service but provided people with boarding and lodging by the day of the week with clean and well-ventilated rooms for reasonable prices.

The interior of Ike Sander's first restaurant in Bloomington, Illinois. Ike's first wife, Allie Headley is behind the bar; Ike's sister, Lillian is on the right and Ike is in the rear.

Lue Anna Brown Sanders Clark recalled that his restaurant served both blacks and whites and that Ike was well-liked by all people in Bloomington which was likely why his business was so successful. Ike and Allie continued to run the restaurant until 1911 when Allie passed away. Shortly after Allie’s death Ike sold the restaurant and moved back to Boston, Massachusetts.

Ike returned to Bloomington around 1915 and opened another restaurant. This lunchroom, the "Cafe and Pool Hall," was located at 410 South Main Street. In February of 1916, an advertisement appears in The Weekly Advertiser (a local black publication) that lists Ike’s pool hall and café at 107 South Main Street in Bloomington, in the central business district. 

Ike Sanders (left) and another man in front of Cafe and Pool Hall at 103 S. Main St., Bloomington, Illinois. Note the Ringling Brothers circus posters in the windows.

A few months later during the summer of 1916, Ike opened the last restaurant he would operate, "The Workingman’s Club" (also known as the Colored Men’s Club) of the City of Bloomington. The restaurant was first located at 408 South Main Street. In order to open his restaurant at that location, Ike (because he was a Negro) had to get permission from the citizens and businessmen in the 400 block of South Main Street. In the statement, the people who lived and worked on that block stated that they were willing to allow Ike’s Workingman’s Club to open.

The club was at this location for a short time until Ike moved the club to 1101 West Washington Street around 1917 where it remained until he was forced to close in late 1919.  His second wife, Lue Anna Brown, and Ike worked as equal partners at the Workingman’s Club.

Owners Ike and Lue Anna Brown Sanders and the interior of the Working Men's Club located at 1101 W. Washington Street, Bloomington, Illinois at 11:25 am. Circa 1917

The Workingman’s Club was open 7 days a week from 7:00 am to midnight. The Club “provided rooms, recreation, and food for the working man.” At first, the Club was a “private affair.” Men who wished to come in would sign their names in the book and give a $1.00 per year membership fee. However, Lue Anna recalled that after a while everybody came in. She said “you know how people are. They just rush in whether it’s private or not.” Not only did the Workingman’s Club have a restaurant, but it also had a pool hall, barbershop, and rooms for working men to stay overnight. While Ike was the President of the Workingman’s Club (managing the pool hall, the barbershop, the drinks, and all of the finances) he gave Lue Anna control over the restaurant.

Lue Anna recalled that meals were served whenever anyone came in, including breakfast. She said there were three small tables in the restaurant and she helped cook and serve customers. Lue Anna remembered that they did not serve “fancy foods” such as greens, chitlins, barbeque ribs, or potato pie. Pig feet and pig ears were favorite menu items, but they “served most anything customers wanted including beef stew, hamburgers, neckbones,” and fish every Friday. They also served Bohemian, Crown, and Budweiser beers.

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The Cicero, Illinois Race Riot of 1951.

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In historical writing and analysis, PRESENTISM introduces present-day ideas and perspectives into depictions or interpretations of the past. Presentism is a form of cultural bias that creates a distorted understanding of the subject matter. Reading modern notions of morality into the past is committing the error of presentism. Historical accounts are written by people and can be slanted, so I try my hardest to present fact-based and well-researched articles.

Facts don't require one's approval or acceptance.

I present [PG-13] articles without regard to race, color, political party, or religious beliefs, including Atheism, national origin, citizenship status, gender, LGBTQ+ status, disability, military status, or educational level. What I present are facts — NOT Alternative Facts — about the subject. You won't find articles or readers' comments that spread rumors, lies, hateful statements, and people instigating arguments or fights.

FOR HISTORICAL CLARITY

When I write about the INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, I follow this historical terminology:

• The use of old commonly used terms, disrespectful today, i.e., REDMAN or REDMEN, SAVAGES, and HALF-BREED are explained in this article.

Writing about AFRICAN-AMERICAN history, I follow these race terms:

• "NEGRO" was the term used until the mid-1960s.
• "BLACK" started being used in the mid-1960s.
• "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" [Afro-American] began usage in the late 1980s.

— PLEASE PRACTICE HISTORICISM —

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PAST IN ITS OWN CONTEXT.

 

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The Cicero, Illinois, race riot of 1951 occurred July 11th & 12th of 1951, when a mob of about 4,000 whites attacked an apartment building that rented an apartment to a single black family.

In early June of 1951, Mrs. Camille DeRose, who owned an apartment building at 6139–43 West 19th Street in Cicero, Illinois, got into a controversy with her tenants and was ordered to refund a portion of the rent. Afterward, out of anger and/or profit, she rented an apartment to Harvey E. Clark Jr., a Black World War II veteran and graduate of Fisk University, his wife, Johnetta and their two children, Michele and Harvey III, in the all-white neighborhood.

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey E. Clark Jr.

A high Cicero official learned that a Black family was moving into a Cicero apartment and warned Mrs. DeRose that there would be "trouble" if he moved in.

At 2:30 PM on June 8, a moving van containing $2,000 worth of Clark's furniture was stopped by the police. The rental agent was ushered out with a drawn revolver at his back. A jeering crowd gathered, and Clark was told by the police to get out, or he would be arrested "for protective custody." A detective warned Clark, "I'll bust your damned head if you don't move." At 6:00 PM, Clark was grabbed by 20 police officers. The chief of police told him, "Get out of here fast. There will be no moving into this building." Clark was hit eight times as he was pushed toward a car parked across the street and shoved inside the vehicle. The police told him, "Get out of Cicero and don't come back in town, or you'll get a bullet through you."

A suit was filed by the NAACP against the Cicero Police Department on June 26, and the Clark family moved in.

With the Clarks now living in the apartment, the word was passed along that there would be "fun" at the apartment. Twenty-one family members fled before the rioting. On July 11, 1951, at dusk, a crowd of 4,000 whites attacked the apartment building that housed Clark's family and possessions. Only 60 police officers were assigned to the scene and did little to control the rioting. Women carried stones from a nearby rock pile to bombard Clark's windows. Another tossed firebrands (a piece of burning wood) into windows and onto the rooftop of the building. The mob also destroyed a bathtub, woodwork, plaster, doors, and windows and set fires to the place. Most of the whites who joined in the rioting were teenagers.

Firemen who rushed to the building were met with showers of bricks and stones from the mob. Sheriff's deputies asked the firemen to turn their hoses on the rioters, who refused to do so without their lieutenant, who was unavailable.

The situation appeared out of control, and County Sheriff John E. Babbs asked Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson to send in the Illinois National Guard. As troops arrived at the scene, the rioters fought with them. Armed with bayonets, rifle butts, and tear gas, the troops ended the riot by setting a 300-yard perimeter around the apartment block where the rioting was in progress.

By July 14, most of the violence had ended. When the riot was over, $20,000 in damage had been done to the building.

The Cook County grand jury failed to indict any of the accused rioters, instead indicting Clark's attorney from the NAACP, the owner of the apartment building, and the owner's rental agent and lawyer on charges of inciting a riot and conspiracy to damage property. The charges were dropped after widespread criticism.

A federal grand jury then indicted four Cicero officials and three police officers on charges of violating Clark's rights in connection with the race riots after the United States Attorney General launched an investigation of the incident. Charges were dropped against the fire chief, whose firefighters refused to direct their water hoses at the rioters when requested by the police and the town's President. The police chief and two police officers were fined $2,500 for violating Clark's civil rights. Two of the 120 mobsters arrested were convicted and fined $10 each. The federal prosecution was hailed as a courageous achievement since it was rare that civil rights in housing had stirred action by federal officials.

The Cicero Race Riot of 1951 lasted several nights, involved 2,000 to 5,000 white rioters, and received worldwide condemnation. It was the first race riot to be broadcast on local television. Most viewed the rioting in Cicero from the comfort of their living rooms on television sets before they read it in the papers. The press in the 1940s Chicago housing attacks was largely ignored. The eruption occurred in Cicero in 1951. It brought worldwide condemnation for the first time and a dramatic climax to an era of large-scale residential change.

6139–43 West 19th Street, Cicero, Illinois.

The black population continued to increase in Chicago despite the incident, and the Chicago Housing Authority reported a decrease in the number of black families requesting police protection. Although the housing assaults did not end, they became less frequent than in the immediate aftermath of World War II. 

sidebar

On August 5, 1966, in Chicago's Marquette Park, Martin Luther King Jr. was physically assaulted by white counter-protestors.

The Camille DeRose Story (PDF) was written by Camille DeRose and published in 1953.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.