Overview: The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed thousands of buildings and left the city in ruins. Instead of collapsing, Chicago used the disaster as a chance to rebuild smarter — inventing the skyscraper, modern fire codes, green spaces, and organized city planning. The 1909 Burnham Plan then turned Chicago into a model for the … Continue reading Chicago’s Great Rebuild: How a City Rose From the Ashes to Shape Modern America