Amazing Images Of Great Chicago Fire, Courtesy Of New York

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Within the newly opened digital archives of the New York Public Library, are hundreds of images taken after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Among them is a stereoscopic view, titled "Birdseye View From Top Of Waterworks, North Side."

It is perhaps a view from the iconic Michigan Avenue Water Tower, which was one of the few structures spared by the blaze.

The images are part of a collection of 180,000 historical items recently added to the public domain by the New York Public Library.

Click here to view more of the items contained in the collection.