ABSTRACT
The history of building foundations in Chicago between 1871,the year of the great fire,and 1915 epitomizes the developmentof foundation engineering throughout the world. Within less than half a century, and within the confines of the small area known as the Loop,the art of constructing building foundations grew to maturity by a process of trial,error,and correction.Seldom in any field of engineering has so much experience been concentrated in so little time and space.
