Chicago Air Raid Siren System DOCUMENTS FOUND!

[Stevan Z]

UPDATE: http://www.chicagofd.org/

Logan says all info can be found here.

[Brendan Ahern]

Even without the O'Hare area, there were still large swaths of the city that were uncovered or undercovered. I wonder if any of the model 7s or stl 10s were replaced with tbolts later? I am also interested in when the system was deactivated. New system officially went online in 1998. Old system I believe was shut off around 1988. Only a handful of sirens were even operational then. Sounds like issues with the landlines.

[Stevan Z]

Sorry for the large bump, but I found more info on the Chicago system. In the early 1950's, Chicago apparently has about 10 Model 2's "loaned" to them and were installed in the Loop along with the Super Sirex sirens. They must have been removed shortly after as they were nowhere to be found in the 1958 document. Here is a link to the Chicago Tribune article with the information: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1951 ... -completed

[Valra Bellkeys]

Well, seeing this topic again, it appears the google maps link in the original post isn't working..

[Stevan Z]

More info! I have been looking through the Chicago Tribune Archives the last few days and found so much information on Chicago's old Super Sirex's and Chrysler. One siren that surprised me was the Foster Engineering Steam Siren! Although the city only had two of them, I still think its a neat find. Here's the article: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1942 ... north-side
I will be updating this thread as I find more information.

[Tempest116]

Here are clippings of the sections you guys were talking about. And easer to read.

[vacuumcleaner]

So a few nights ago, Logan (Tbolthurricane on Youtube) contacted me stating that through some research, he found a website that showed documents of the old Chicago Civil Defense siren system from 1958! As you could expect I was speechless! The documents even showed the locations and models of Chicago's 99 sirens at the time. According to the list, there were...

5- 180HP Chrysler Bell Sirens (Later replaced with Thunderbolt 1000)
5- 40HP H.O.R. Super Sirex's (All in Downtown)
23- 10HP STL-10
15- 7.5HP Model 7
1- 5HP Model 5
57- 10HP Thunderbolt 1000
14- 2HP Model 2 (All in the loop, were loaned to Chicago for testing purposes)
2- Steam Powered Foster Engineering Sirens (Number as of the early 1950's)

I could not believe it. I take no credit with finding this info, its Logan who found it, I am simply writing this info here with his permission since he doesn't have an account. Anyway last night, we started a map, mapping all of the location. This morning, it was finished and the link is https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl ... g7jGnE89mE
A few years ago, one of the members found what appears to be a H.O.R. on top of the Field Building in Chicago. With the documents I received, I can confirm it is indeed one and is still standing, and is the only one still standing. Another interesting thing is the documents show that Chicago installed Thunderbolts in Evanston, IL which is a neighboring suburb. We do not have a clue on why they did but can say all of the Thunderbolt's in Evanston were part of the former Chicago system. Again, I'm really amazed at the info I received, and it shows the history of the old Chicago system no one was really 100% sure about. Thank you Logan for finding all of this info!

At the moment, I do not have a link to the documents. When I get them, I will add them here.

The T-bolt Chrysler replacement on Greenleaf Avenue is a Gridface, as well as the one by Midway. Two gridfaces in Chicago!

[Stevan Z]

So a few nights ago, Logan (Tbolthurricane on Youtube) contacted me stating that through some research, he found a website that showed documents of the old Chicago Civil Defense siren system from 1958! As you could expect I was speechless! The documents even showed the locations and models of Chicago's 99 sirens at the time. According to the list, there were...

5- 180HP Chrysler Bell Sirens (Later replaced with Thunderbolt 1000)
5- 40HP H.O.R. Super Sirex's (All in Downtown)
23- 10HP STL-10
15- 7.5HP Model 7
1- 5HP Model 5
57- 10HP Thunderbolt 1000
14- 2HP Model 2 (All in the loop, were loaned to Chicago for testing purposes)
2- Steam Powered Foster Engineering Sirens (Number as of the early 1950's)

I could not believe it. I take no credit with finding this info, its Logan who found it, I am simply writing this info here with his permission since he doesn't have an account. Anyway last night, we started a map, mapping all of the location. This morning, it was finished and the link is https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl ... g7jGnE89mE
A few years ago, one of the members found what appears to be a H.O.R. on top of the Field Building in Chicago. With the documents I received, I can confirm it is indeed one and is still standing, and is the only one still standing. Another interesting thing is the documents show that Chicago installed Thunderbolts in Evanston, IL which is a neighboring suburb. We do not have a clue on why they did but can say all of the Thunderbolt's in Evanston were part of the former Chicago system. Again, I'm really amazed at the info I received, and it shows the history of the old Chicago system no one was really 100% sure about. Thank you Logan for finding all of this info!

At the moment, I do not have a link to the documents. When I get them, I will add them here.

The T-bolt Chrysler replacement on Greenleaf Avenue is a Gridface, as well as the one by Midway. Two gridfaces in Chicago!

All Thunderbolts installed pre- 1960 in Chicago were grid faced, with the exception of 6 installed after.

[chrome4fan]

So a few nights ago, Logan (Tbolthurricane on Youtube) contacted me stating that through some research, he found a website that showed documents of the old Chicago Civil Defense siren system from 1958! As you could expect I was speechless! The documents even showed the locations and models of Chicago's 99 sirens at the time. According to the list, there were...

5- 180HP Chrysler Bell Sirens (Later replaced with Thunderbolt 1000)
5- 40HP H.O.R. Super Sirex's (All in Downtown)
23- 10HP STL-10
15- 7.5HP Model 7
1- 5HP Model 5
57- 10HP Thunderbolt 1000
14- 2HP Model 2 (All in the loop, were loaned to Chicago for testing purposes)
2- Steam Powered Foster Engineering Sirens (Number as of the early 1950's)

I could not believe it. I take no credit with finding this info, its Logan who found it, I am simply writing this info here with his permission since he doesn't have an account. Anyway last night, we started a map, mapping all of the location. This morning, it was finished and the link is https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl ... g7jGnE89mE
A few years ago, one of the members found what appears to be a H.O.R. on top of the Field Building in Chicago. With the documents I received, I can confirm it is indeed one and is still standing, and is the only one still standing. Another interesting thing is the documents show that Chicago installed Thunderbolts in Evanston, IL which is a neighboring suburb. We do not have a clue on why they did but can say all of the Thunderbolt's in Evanston were part of the former Chicago system. Again, I'm really amazed at the info I received, and it shows the history of the old Chicago system no one was really 100% sure about. Thank you Logan for finding all of this info!

At the moment, I do not have a link to the documents. When I get them, I will add them here.

I managed to find another siren, it was stated to be on a house on Ottawa Avenue.
"Wally Schoenfeld, the fire chief, had a siren on the roof of his home on Ottawa Avenue"

[Stevan Z]

Not a Chicago siren, but the original Norwood Park Fire Protection District siren. It was a very old Federal Enterprise Model 5B.