Chicago Daily Tribune, September 11, 1906
Excerpt from newspaper article, above:
Dr. W. Wever, the imperial German consul stirred up a brand new crusade in no time at all. Single handed he got the administration to cease dumping street refuse into the vacant land at “Streeterville,” and to move against the wealthy north side property owners who have neglected to fill in the disease breeding clayholes in that long contested and long neglected area. Dr. Wever’s letter to Commissioner of Health Whalen follows:
“I have just moved into a house at 444 Chestnut street, near Lincoln Park boulevard, and I have there to suffer a most odious smell coming from the dumps northeast of Chestnut street. Physicians who visited me were astounded and declare the conditions so unhealthy that they believed your attention ought to be called to this.
“Naturally my house is visited by foreigners of all nations and in a few weeks representatives of some German newspapers will visit me here. I would regret if such a small thing would excite the well known generalization, but it is, even for me, who have lived in Chicago many years, hard to understand that the attention of the health department has not been called before and that this calamity, which would cause such a small expense to be removed, has not been abolished.”
Inspector William J. Doherty made an investigation of the conditions and reported them insanitary and “foul.” Garbage from the Twenty-first, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third wards is dumped within a short distance from the homes of some of Chicago’s wealthiest citizens. Former Ald. John M. Gilder is said to have charge of the dumping of the garbage.
Owners of the property in “Streeterville” were notified Aug. 31 to cut down the weeds and fill in the low places within five days, but this has not been done. Sanitary Inspector Hedrick declares he will bring suits against the agents of the estates at once. Agents for the property owners whom the sanitary bureau notified are:
Adrian Honore, 204 Dearborn street; clay holes at Oak and Pearson streets.
H.H. Cooper, 100 Washington street; agent for property owner at Walton and Delaware place, where there are two clay holes, and Chestnut street from the end of the Palmer estate to the lake.
Hills Brothers, 100 Washington street, Delaware place and Lafayette cort.
Minnie Allmendinger, Addison street and Wilton avenue, three clay holes at Walton place and Delaware place.
Newberry library, property between Huron, and Erie streets, and at the end of Superior street.
Mrs. DeWitt C. Cregier, property at Chicago avenue and Lafayette court.
Ogden-Sheldon company, property between Ontario and Ohio streets, Illinois street and the lake.
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More than ten years before the German Consul took action in the topmost Tribune article on this page, people were complaining about the smell of garbage being dumped in Streeterville along the lakeshore.
Chicago Daily Tribune, June 14, 1893
The article, below, addresses the ground filling within Block 21. A subinspector was charged with taking a toll of 25¢ per load of garbage at this area between Chicago Avenue and Pearson Street. The article notes that the Lincoln Park Commissioners had been "trying for months to get owners of down-town buildings and big stores to send ashes and other refuse to the filled in land and dump it gratis." Also, "The queer state of affairs wouldn't have been discovered if the driver of a wagon loaded with old straw hats and broken pottery hadn't been turned away, because he failed to have the needful "quarter."
Chicago Daily Tribune, January 19, 1898
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