Timeline

This is a Timeline of Events.

15

 * American soldiers at Fort Dearborn, led by Captain Heald, offered to pay members of the Potawatomi tribe in weapons, liquor, and money to escort them to Fort Wayne. At the last minute, Heald ordered their surplus goods to be destroyed, going back on their deal. The Potawatomi retaliated by attacking the Americans as they left Fort Dearborn. On this site, 26 Americans, including 12 children, were killed, while another 28 were taken prisoner.

1833

 * The Tremont House Hotel is built.

1840

 * John Stone is arrested and convicted for rape.

1871

 * The Great Fire of 1871 consumed most of Dockland, including City Hall. The Raven Building became the temporary home of the municipal government while Dockland was rebuilt.

1882

 * The Downtown Loop is founded.

1886

 * A protest by workers demanding better wages erupted into a tragedy when an unknown person threw a bomb at the police. This sparked a shootout, resulting in the deaths of 8 police officers and an unknown number of protesters. Four men were convicted of murdering the officers and were executed. However, it was never proven any of them had thrown the bomb.

1897

 * The Dockland Arts & Sciences Center is made.

1901

 * May Stadium is built.

26

 * The Ambrose Theatre opens.

7

 * Thirty-six year old Antonio Lombardo and his bodyguards were confronted by two well dressed men carrying guns. Lombado started running across Madison but didn't make it far. Gunned down in broad daylight. He hit the pavement face down in front of the office crowd. Lombardo was a trusted advisor, and third man, to Al Capone. It's believed that Bugs Moran leader of the North Side Gang had issued the hit on Lombardo knowing this would be a blow to Capone. As with so many of these mob its, the real gunmen were never apprehended.

1930

 * The Secret Six is founded.

1932

 * The Saint Jude Police League is founded by the Dockland Police Department.

September

 * One day in September 1933, bank robber Alvin Karpis used machine-guns and smoke bombs to rob the bank. With five sacks loaded in the car, Karpis made his getaway right into a head-on collision. When an officer stopped to investigate the accident, Karpis gunned the officer down and stole a car. The escape took Karpis to a south side hideout where he discovered the sacks were full of mail.

1936

 * The Pawnee Dam was built in 1936 in an effort to push back the Pawnee River and facilitate development in this outskirt of Dockland.

1958

 * Young Commissioner J. Sallik was closing in on a union scam with the Dockland South Club when he was gunned down just outside the Raven Building. No one has ever been charged with the crime.

10

 * Midtown School of Science & Technology is established.

1967

 * An informant crucial to the conviction of Sam "Teets" Battaglia was kept under wraps in room 205 of the Owl Motel. For the time of Battaglia's trial, the informant, Joseph Joyce, had to be moved repeatedly to escape being murdered by Battaglia's men. The Owl Motel was Joyce's last relocation before he took the stand, putting away Battaglia for good.
 * A radio tower on the roof of the WKZ-TV Center picked up a unique coded transmission thought to be a message from the Russians. It was later revealed to be a hoax created by a group of college students.

1974

 * The Aon Center is completed.

1981

 * The Pawnee Dam was a success until the Illinois drought of 1981 caused the Pawnee River to dry

7

 * Xander Mercury is born to Adrianne and Simon Mercury in Empire City.

August

 * Pawnee police arrested homeowner Candy Amos for the murder of her husband, then-mayor Sandford Amos. Mayor Amos, who was openly abusive towards his wife and had recently been indicted on charges of corruption, was not mourned upon his death. Although Candy Amos would die in prison one year later, she quickly became a local legend, a symbol of female empowerment and revolution.

1989

 * Legendary funnyman Domingo Mendez performed for eight straight hours in the Phoebus Theater, using only a toothbrush as a prop for over 200 sketches and bits. The audience was both impressed and tired.