Stereo analysis
AnalyzedVerdict
Genuine stereo pair92%
The two photographs contain the viewpoint difference needed to produce genuine depth.
- Depth spread
- 3px
- The range of horizontal difference between the two views. More spread generally means more depth; 0–1 px usually indicates a monoview.
- Match
- 99%
- The share of usable picture detail that can be matched between the left and right views. A higher number means a more reliable comparison.
- Vertical
- 3px
- Vertical drift between matched details. Lower is better; 4 px or more can indicate camera movement, scan skew, or poor alignment.
A yellow-mount stereoview showing the three-story City Hotel beside a taller commercial block. Two prominent signs name the hotel. Above it, a large wall advertisement reads “D. B. FISK & Co.” and offers millinery and fancy goods at wholesale, with “53 & 55” painted over the business name.
The elevated viewpoint takes in the intersection, the hotel steps, and a row of shop entrances. The neighboring façades have repeated tiers of arched windows and projecting cornices. Several pedestrians stand along the pavement, a horse-drawn vehicle is partly visible at the left edge, and street lamps and tall poles line the curbs.
A fragmentary printed trade clipping pasted at the lower right names “FISKE & CO.” and gives the address “53 and 55 Lake Street, Chicago, Ill.” The address and corresponding numbers on the wall advertisement support the identification of the scene as Lake Street, Chicago. The clipping spells the business name “Fiske”; the painted sign reads “Fisk.”
No photographer’s or publisher’s imprint is visible on either side, and the date remains unidentified. The reverse bears a short pencil notation that is not confidently legible.
- Medium
- Stereoview
- Subject
- Illinois, Outdoor Scene, Yellow Mount
- Dimensions
- 6.75 × 3.29 in (171.6 × 83.5 mm)
- Condition
- Small surface loss at the upper left corner of the left print and scattered brown spots, chiefly in the sky areas. The pasted clipping is torn and incomplete at the left; a small brown mark is visible on the reverse. Otherwise sound.
- Catalogue no.
- MSV1756
Catalogue details
Location
City Hotel site, southeast corner of Lake and State Streets · Chicago, Illinois, United States
Photographed subject · Exact site · 80% confidence
The card’s hotel signs and Lake Street clipping identify the subject; the Chicago Historical Society/Northwestern University exhibit places the City Hotel at the southeast corner of State and Lake, on the later Burton/Page Brothers Building site. Coordinates come from Mapcarta’s mapped replacement building; they locate the hotel site, not the exact camera position. ([greatchicagofire.org](https://greatchicagofire.org/landmarks/state-and-lake-streets/))
