The Wigwam was a convention center and meeting hall that served as the site of the 1860 Republican National Convention. It was located in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, at Lake Street and Market (later

Wacker Drive Wacker Drive is a major multilevel street in Chicago, Illinois, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River in the Loop.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Wacker D ...

) near the Chicago River. This site had previously been the site of the Sauganash Hotel, Chicago's first hotel. This is where supporters ushered

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

to the party nomination and the eventual U.S. Presidency. The location at Lake and Wacker was designated a Chicago Landmark on November 6, 2002. The name "Wigwam", although separate structures, was later associated with host locations for both the

1864 Democratic National Convention The 1864 Democratic National Convention was held at The Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. The Convention nominated Major General George B. McClellan from New Jersey for president, and Representative George H. Pendleton of Ohio for vice president ...

and the 1892 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

The building

The two-story Wigwam was built by Chicago business leaders to attract the 1860 Convention. It was a temporary structure, built entirely of wood in little more than a month, and it could accommodate 10–12,000 people. The building was used for political and patriotic meetings during the Convention and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. It also served as a retail space until its demolition, some time between 1867 and 1871. Following the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

of 1871, another "Wigwam" building at Washington (one city block south of Lake) and Market served as the temporary home of the Chicago Board of Trade.

Antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...

custom was to call a political campaign headquarters a Wigwam.

Wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

is also a Native American word for "temporary shelter".

History

Sauganash Hotel

Mark Beaubien built a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

on the site of the later Wigwam in 1829–30. In 1831, he added a frame to the log structure to create Chicago's first hotel, the Sauganash Hotel, on the east bank of the south branch of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

at the point where the north and south branches meet. The newly formed Town of Chicago elected its first town trustees in 1833 in the hotel. The building briefly served as Chicago's first

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, and it hosted the first Chicago Theatre company in 1837 in an abandoned dining room. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1851, and the Wigwam was built in its place nine years later.

Conventions

Chicago has hosted the most

United States presidential nominating convention A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpo ...

s (14 Republican National Conventions and 11

Democratic National Conventions The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

, in addition to one notable

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

assembly). The 1860 Republican National Convention (the second Republican National Convention) was held at the Wigwam. The

was hosted in a different "Wigwam" built for the convention as a semicircular roofed amphitheater. These were the first Chicago visits for each party's national convention. Baltimore has hosted 10 and Philadelphia has hosted 9. The 1868 Republican National Convention returned to Chicago, but it was located at the

Crosby Opera House Crosby's Opera House (1865–1871) was an opera house in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded by Uranus H. Crosby in 1865 with the goal of advancing the arts in Chicago by bringing opera to the city. The five-story building was design ...

. The 1892 Democratic National Convention convened in a temporary "Wigwam" in Lake Park for

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

's third nomination.

1860 Republican National Convention

The 1860 Republican National Convention was eventful for its nomination of Abraham Lincoln, who went on to a

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

notably marked by the onset of the

and the abolition of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. During the convention, backroom dealing and political scheming played a role in the outcome. Nevertheless, Lincoln, who had stayed in Springfield during the convention, received vociferous support and carried the nomination.

Today

Today, the corner of W. Lake Street and N. Wacker Drive bears the address of 191 N. Wacker. This address is in the West Loop neighborhood of the Loop community area in Chicago. The 157 m (516 ft), 37-story office tower, named 191 North Wacker, was designed by

Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...

and built in 2002. The major tenants include Drinker, Biddle & Reath, Much Shelist, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Heitman Financial, and RSM McGladrey. In 2017, the city rededicated plaques gifted in the early 20th century by the Daughters of the American Revolution, which commemorate the nomination of Lincoln at the Wigwam, and the Saganaush Hotel.

References

External links

{{Chicago Landmark memorials and monuments Commercial buildings completed in 1860 Former buildings and structures in Chicago History of Chicago Chicago Landmarks Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago