. The library of American history, literature and biography .. . ance had was available. What next ? was the question on thousands of lips, as men stood gaz-ing on the smoking ruins of Chicago. With Marshall Field it was a questionof^the best thino- available. Few buildings of any kind were left standing ; but 728 AFTER THE GREAT FIRE. at the corner of State and Twentieth streets were some horse-car sheds whichhad been spared by the fire. While the smoke was still rising from the ruinsof the great city, Mr. Field hired these sheds, and began to fit them up for theaccommodation of the dry-trood
. The library of American history, literature and biography .. . ance had was available. What next ? was the question on thousands of lips, as men stood gaz-ing on the smoking ruins of Chicago. With Marshall Field it was a questionof^the best thino- available. Few buildings of any kind were left standing ; but 728 AFTER THE GREAT FIRE. at the corner of State and Twentieth streets were some horse-car sheds whichhad been spared by the fire. While the smoke was still rising from the ruinsof the great city, Mr. Field hired these sheds, and began to fit them up for theaccommodation of the dry-troods business. At the same time francos of menwere set to work clearing away the ruins of the burned stores of the firm, anderecting on them new buildings for use. In the next year the newstores were ready for occupancy. In rebuilding a great improvement had beenmade by separating the retail from the wholesale department, giving to each abuilding adapted to its own especial needs. On the heels of the fire came the great panic of 1873 ; but the house of. WHOLESALE STOKE OF MARSHALL FIELD & CO. Marshall Field & Company passed through it unscathed. It was hard to ruin ahouse which owed nothing, and whose customers had paid all bills up to withintwo months. The long credit concerns almost without exception, went down inthe crash, but Mr. Fields house stood more firm than ever. In the years that followed, the business grew steadily. The wholesaledepartment especially expanded, until in 1885 it was necessary to build oncemore. In that vear was begun a buildingf of orranite and sandstone which isto-day one of the finest wholesale dry-goods establishments in the world. Tothe retail store, buildino- after building has been added on the State street side,and later a magnificent annex at Wabash avenue and Washington street. In MARSHALL FIELD. 729 1865 Mr. Fields firm did a business aggregating $8,000,000 ; in 1892 the figureshad risen to $70,000,000. In 1881 INIr. Leiter witlidrew
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