A serving bowl of an early view of Wolf Point where the North, South, and main branches of the Chicago River meet and the site of many of Chicago’s first taverns and places of community gatherings. Commissioned by Marshall Field and Company to commemorate the 1933 Century of Progress, this bowl depicts an early view of Wolf Point. The building on the left side of the image is Wolf Point Tavern, built in 1828 by John H. Kinzie (1803 – 1865). On the right is the Miller Tavern, built by Samuel Miller and his brother John Miller around 1829 as a store. By 1830, they enlarged the store and began operation as a tavern.

On the south bank of the river, Mark Beaubien (1794 – 1881) opened the Eagle Exchange Tavern in 1829 and in 1831, he added an addition and opened Chicago’s first hotel, the Sauganash Hotel. The hotel was in operation until it was destroyed by fire in 1851. Afterwards, the site was redeveloped as the Wigwam building and used for the 1860 Republican National Convention where Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) was nominated as the Republican candidate for president.