In the great Chicago fire of 1871, some 18,000 buildings and houses were destroyed, forcing Chicagoans to rebuild their city on new, more modern lines. Since then the "new" buildings have deteriorated, and large areas surrounding the downtown Loop district have long since turned into slums. Last week a group of Chicago business men announced a bold plan to cure this costly civic sore. The plan: spend $400 million in the next seven years to demolish the cheap hotels, rooming houses and honky-tonks that greet visitors approaching Chicago's thriving Loop, replace them with a cluster of new buildings and...
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