March 30, 1853 – The Chicago Daily Tribune reports on a court case that will impact the
city for well over a century. The case
involves a suit which James H. Collins files against the Illinois Central
Railroad Company, in which Collins attempts to enjoin the railroad from running
its tracks “in the lake at some distance from the shore.” [Chicago Daily Tribune, March 30, 1853] The nut of the case is
that the railroad, by constructing tracks off shore, will impact the value of
privately held property along the lake. The
attorney for Collins, John M. Wilson, argues that “the State has the right to
use the waters of the Lake for all public purposes,” but that “the State cannot
give the company this power.” The
attorney for the railroad argues that “the Legislature of the State of Illinois
has passed a law giving to the Illinois Central Railroad Company so much of the
lands belonging to the State as they may pass through and as may be necessary
for the laying of the track and the construction of depots.” As the day drags on, a lawyer for Collins
says, “It is a conceded point, that if the complainants are the owners of
property where the Company proposes to locate their road, that property cannot
be taken, except by legal measures, and not then unless due compensation is
made … This Company seeks with the strong arm of power to take this property
and these advantages, without compensating the owners … There is no authority
to sustain the position that one owning land upon a body of water can be cut
off from the water and its attendant advantages, without compensation.” In a
January, 1951 article the Chicago Tribune
made an interesting point about the transaction that came following the
Collins vs. I.C. case, “The Illinois Central did not ask for its lake front
tracksite. That was assigned to it by
the city. The lake at that time came right
up to Michigan av. I. C. historians
assert the city decided it would be a nice thing to have a railroad between
itself and the open lake, and stuck the Illinois Central out there for
protection.” In any event, the railroad
got the land, built a trestle, and occupied prime lakefront real estate for a
century or more, sparring with the city over its position on lakefront land for
most of that time. The above photo shows the train that carried the body of Abraham Lincoln to the city as it moves along the lakefront trestle in 18
March 30, 1945 -- Frank Lloyd Wright addresses the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects at the Casino Club. He talks at length about "the philosophy of organic architecture" [Chicago Daily Tribune, March 31, 1945] and makes this observation when asked about the future of cities, "Cities are just as dated as static and the radio. Americans just want to live. Cities are not important. The reality of buildings consists of space within -- to live in. The old period of putting the outside in -- is gone." The photo above was taken in 1945, the year of the Casino Club address.
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