The Great Chicago Fire, Hour by Hour | 3D Timelapse (1871)

The Great Chicago Fire of October 8-10, 1871, hour by hour, as a hand-built 3D model of the whole city under one fixed camera. Watch Chicago grow out of wood from 1830, burn for more than a day, and rebuild in brick and stone. Fire Prevention Week (Oct 4-10) marks this anniversary every year. Use the chapters below to jump to any part. 0:00 1830-1871: a city built of wood 1:12 9 PM: fire at the O'Leary barn 1:48 11:30 PM: the fire jumps the river 2:09 The "fireproof" business district 2:21 1:30 AM: the Court House falls 2:34 Across the main river 2:48 3 AM: the pumping station fails 3:07 Monday: burning north, then rain 3:25 The toll 3:52 Peshtigo: the same night 4:11 Rebuilding in brick and stone 5:16 The Water Tower still stands What's real and what's reconstructed: the street grid, the river, the burned district and the fire's timeline follow period maps and histories. Individual buildings are simplified models, not surveys of each lot. The death toll (about 300 by most estimates) and the fire's cause have never been settled, and the video says so. Sources: Map showing the burnt district in Chicago, 1871. Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/2010592712/ National Weather Service Chicago, 150th Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire (weather and the dry summer): https://www.weather.gov/lot/1871fire Chicago Historical Society and Northwestern University, The Great Chicago Fire & The Web of Memory: https://greatchicagofire.org University of Chicago Library, Chicago fire maps: https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/collections... US Census population figures, 1840-1890 Narration: AI voice (ElevenLabs). Script written and fact-checked by us. Visuals: hand-built 3D animation (Blender). Music: 'Amberlight' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 'Unraveling' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 'Anabasis I' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au #GreatChicagoFire #Chicago #3DTimelapse