This photograph is one of a series of glass negatives taken by Dr. Walter R. Titzel around the turn-of-the century. The photographs include images of this railroad accident, his medical office, a local ship-building company on the Calumet River, and children playing on the beach at Calumet Park. Dr. Titzel practiced general medicine in Southeast Chicago for 55 years. His office was located on 10150 Ewing Avenue on the East Side. Dr. Titzel helped deliver over 5000 children in the area.
There is no information from the time about this particular photograph. However, it is likely that the railroad was the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (L.S.&M.S.) which ran on the railroad tracks parallel to Indianapolis Boulevard. A newspaper article from a local paper, the Daily Calumet, carried a story on May 1, 1893 about a train derailment near 101st and Avenue K (now Ewing Avenue) on the East Side of Chicago. The steeple of the church in the background matches the configuration of the church building for Bethlehem Lutheran Church which opened in 1891 and burned down in 1918 and which was located at 103rd and Avenue H. The photo comes from a set of glass plate negatives which were taken by Dr. Titzel, whose office was within walking distance of the accident.
