remnants of chicago's past unearthed at the former howard johnson inn or "hojo" site

demolition of the downtown chicago howard johnson inn, constructed in the late 1960's, is nearly complete. in preparation high-rise development that will be constructed on the site (located at the corner of la salle and superior), the wrecker has spent the past few weeks systematically "potholing" the site to make way for drilling the caissons that will serve as the foundation system for the high-rise.

i've spent several afternoons documenting what lies beneath the former travel lodge and parking lot as the backhoe operator digs deep into the ground, revealing artifacts from chicago's past. the great majority of material consists of stone and brick rubble from the buildings that were likely constructed there shortly after the great chicago fire swept through the area in 1871. nearly all of the buildings that occupied the lot were of masonry construction. from what i could see, the foundations consisted of both brick and limestone - likely recycled from the great chicago fire.

in one of the more interesting pot holes, i discovered wood flooring with surrounding household debris that dated back to mid-19th century chicago, when the block consisted of wood-framed dwellings. a completely intact 1857-59 cobalt blue "pony style" william h. hutchinson glass soda bottle (whh) was discovered just above the badly deteriorated privy floor boards. the site where the bottle was located was nearly 10 feet below the basement floor of the howard johnson inn.

according to a highly informative polychromatic lithograph of chicago in 1857 by christian inger and based in a drawing by j.t. palmatary (published by brauhold & sonne) multiple dwellings lined the stretch of superior street where the howard johnson was later built. it is likely that the bottle, shards and privy boards belonged to a long-abandoned privy "vault" behind one of those houses that once stood there.

another dig site revealed a largely undisturbed segment of intact "nicolson" creosoted wood pavers belonging to a larger wood block alley that bisected the block. nearby, i found a large pile of 19th century brown or richards and kelly solid glass vault light lenses that likely were used in cast iron sidewalk panels before being replaced with concrete later in the 20th century.

a few large pockets of fused material from the chicago fire and a seemingly unending supply of scattered coal was consistently found within every digsite. with only a few more holes to be dug, last, i found several well-preserved terra cotta balustrade fragments from a building that once stood where howard johnson's parking lot was located. i hope to discover more discarded building material and/or remnants from the chicago fire as work contines. more to follow in future posts.