Chicago’s instrument industry helps the world make music

Like a giant urban phoenix, Chicago rose from the ashes of the Great Fire of 1871 to become a behemoth in architecture, the arts, and business. Thanks to its waterways and its train system, the city had been known as a transit hub since the 1840s, but the shipping industry got priority during the Great Rebuilding as the city strove to emerge bigger and better than before. By the early 20th century Chicago had become the most important transportation center in the United States. In his 1914 poem