We arrived at the Grand Central Station on Harrison Street and Fifth Avenue and took a Cabriolet to the 250-room, six-story Tremont House Hotel at Lake and Dearborn Streets. I had never experienced such luxury, and it was apparent to both of us that Chicago was decades ahead of Denver when it came to modern conveniences. The city had a population of about 1.1 million, contrasted with Denver's 100,000 or so, and was the epitome of vitality and growth.
It was also a city of immigrants. While about 20 percent of the nation's population were immigrants in 1893, in Chicago that number was 41 percent, mostly German and Irish.
After checking into our hotel, we took a walk to Michigan Avenue and were shocked to see a logjam of trolleys, wagons, carriages and other vehicles. The street was choked
