Chicago Tire Fire, Cuneo Press Building - 1989, 16mm film, Tri-x reversal

Raw footage of the Cuneo Press Building fire in Chicago on April 14, 1989. The source of the deep black smoke was apparently the hundreds of tires which were being "temporarily stored" in the first floor of the structure closest to the camera (starting around the two minute mark), which is actually on Grove Street (a short diagonal road following the curve of the Chicago river). The complex of buildings remained derelict for several years and became the location for numerous music video shoots as well as the movie Backdraft (released in 1991). The building was imploded in January 1995. I hope to post footage of both the derelict structure and the implosion as I resurrect more footage from the archives. This was filmed with a Bolex 16mm camera to Tri-X reversal film. Images by Carl Wiedemann © 1989 Sound and music by Carl Wiedemann © 1991