As the World's Columbian Exposition closed its gates in October of 1893, H.H. Holmes also departed from Chicago, leaving his Castle, and whatever secrets were contained within the walls, behind him. However, he did attempt one final scheme in Englewood before turning his back to the city for good. Whether it was for the money or his own personal protection cannot be said. But knowing the score of Holmes, it was probably for both.
Unfortunately, no picture of the Castle has been found from when Holmes occupied it. Above is one of the earliest known photos and it was probably taken around 1895 when Holmes was in prison. The name on the pharmacy window reads "Robinson" and not "Holmes."
During construction of his building, Holmes took out a fire insurance policy for it. The beneficiary was a man named Hiram S. Campbell, one of many fictitious alter egos used by Holmes. No one knows for sure if Holmes himself or one of his fellow conspirators (some suspect Patrick Quinlan, the hotel janitor) started the fire. It broke out in multiple places on the top floor, decimating most of the interior but causing minimal damage to the exterior or other floors (as shown by the picture above). Holmes then tried to collect $6,000 in insurance money. According to Erik Larson in Devil in the White City, "An investigator for one of the insurance companies, F. G. Cowie, became suspicious and began a detailed investigation. Though he found no concrete proof of arson, Cowie believed Holmes or an accomplice had started the fire. He advised the insurers to pay the claim, but only to Hiram S. Campbell and only if Campbell presented himself in person." Campbell never appeared to collect his money and the fire would not be the first change that would happen to the World's Fair Hotel in its proprietor's absence.
On August 19, 1895, as Holmes sat languishing in his prison cell in Philadelphia, the money making dreams of a man named A. M. Clark went up, literally, in smoke. Clark had planned to lease the hotel and open it as a "murder museum" tourist attraction. The charge of 15 cents per person would buy a guided tour of the morbid site. However, just before Clark could receive his first paying customer, fire broke out at Wallace and 63rd streets shortly after midnight, destroying the top two floors of Holmes' building and causing slight damage to the first floor. According to Harold Schechter in
Depraved, "At precisely 12:13 AM, George J. Myler - a night watchman at the Western Indiana railroad crossing - spotted flames shooting from the Castle's roof. Before he could turn in an alarm, a series of explosions rocked the building, blowing out the windows of Fred Barton's ground floor candy shop. By the time the first engines arrived the fire was already out of control. A half hour later the roof collapsed, taking down part of the building's rear wall. By the time the blaze was extinguished, at around 1:30 AM, much of the Castle had been consumed." No one ever discovered who started the fire. Some say it was an act of God but most historians believe it was either an accomplice trying to get rid of evidence the police had missed during the excavation or some outraged citizen that didn't want the building becoming a permanent part of the growing city.
Either way, the fate of the building was further condemned. The top floors were gutted and removed from the structure. However, the first floor shops were allowed to reopen about a year later. All remained in business until the building was finally torn down. For years the barren plot of land was left alone, bearing no signs of what had once stood there or who had crossed the threshold. It looked just as it had when it was first seen by Holmes. In 1938, the land was purchased by the United States government and a post office was placed (somewhat) on the site.
I say "somewhat" because the post office does not sit on the exact same area the Castle was built on. Just like Englewood itself, the plot does not look the same as it did in 1893. Part of the land is home to a parking lot, an overpass, a sidewalk, and a tree. The post office mostly sits next door to the Castle with a small overlap on 63rd street.
The Castle was shaped like the letter L, with the longer side being on Wallace, the shorter side being on 63rd, and the two sections meeting at the corner intersection.
The top photo shows the street layout while the other two show what sides of the building were on which street. (The middle one shows the Wallace side and the bottom one shows the 63rd side).
This is about where the post office sits:
So even though people love to say that they occupy the exact same space, they actually do not, though climbing the tree would put you into one of the asphyxiating rooms on the second floor. However, there is a slight overlap in the two structures. Part of the post office basement overlaps with what would have been the creepy Castle basement. In fact, there is a small section of a brick wall in the post office basement that is speculated to have been from the Castle, though this has never been proven. The idea of stepping into a piece of the Castle basement has lured many ghost hunters and their expensive equipment to Englewood. The above photo showing the overlap actually came from the following website where you can check out some of their paranormal related research:
The various transformations of H. H. Holmes' Castle show that nothing material can last the test of time. However, stories can live forever, always finding new ears to intoxicate.
Until next time.
XOXO, Kate
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