WTTW tells the dramatic story of a defining and prescient moment in Chicago history - the Great Fire of 1871 - when Chicagoans faced destruction, rebuilt, and prepared the city for a thriving future. The story unfolds through the eyes of people who lived through the fire, including Chicago Tribune publisher William Bross, Mayor Roswell B. Mason, a heroic Board of Trade custodian (and former slave) Joseph Hudlin, and a successful businesswoman named Catherine O'Leary.