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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Chicago (1889-1936, later CA-14 & IX-5). Renamed Alton, 1928

USS Chicago, a 4500-ton protected cruiser, was built at Chester, Pennsylvania. Commissioned in April 1889, she served in the North and South Atlantic and in European waters until 1904, when she was sent to the Pacific. Returning to the east coast in 1908, Chicago was used mainly as a training ship for the next nine years. In 1917, she became flagship of the Atlantic Submarine Force, remaining in that role through World War I. She went to the Pacific in 1919 and soon was assigned to support submarines at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Chicago was classified as CA-14 in 1920, decommissioned in September 1923, but remained at Pearl Harbor as a barracks ship under the classification IX-5. Renamed Alton in 1928, she was sold in May 1936. The following July, the old cruiser foundered while under tow from Hawaii to California.

This page features a selected early photograph of USS Chicago and a portrait of one of her commanding officers.

If higher resolution reproductions than these digital images are desired, see "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 61549

USS Chicago (1889-1936)


Underway at sea, circa the early 1890s.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 77KB; 740 x 590 pixels

 


The following image shows one of Chicago's Commanding Officers:

Photo #: NH 48058

Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, USN


Engraving after a sketch by Gribayeitoff, 1894, while he commanded USS Chicago. Mahan retired in 1896, but his reputation as a historian and strategist led to further official employment, including service on the Naval War Board during the Spanish-American War.


U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 72,392 bytes; 580 x 780 pixels

 

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24 October 1998