Haymarket Riot Monument
Located at 1300 W Jackson Blvd, this monument is absolutely steeped in history. In 1886, a striking group of factory workers held a meeting at Haymarket Square, west of the Loop. Towards the end of the meeting, a bunch of police arrived on the scene, and things quickly degenerated and got out of hand. A bomb exploded killing one policeman and injuring several demonstrators. Shots were fired, and by the end of the day, six policemen were lay dead, killed mostly by accident by their own forces, and more than sixty others were injured. Despite the fact that the identity of the bomber was never proven, eight strikers were convicted of inciting murder, and four were hanged. Some years later a statue was erected in the memory of the dead policemen. It consists of a stilted policeman standing with arm upraised commanding peace 'in the name of the people of Illinois'. The statue itself has had a very colorful past, being rammed by a bus, and having its plaques stolen several times. In 1928 it was moved several blocks away to Union Park. After being blown up twice, it has now found a home in the courtyard of the Chicago Police training centre. The men convicted of the bombing have become heroes and martyrs to anarchists and labor activist movements.
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