Old Ice Sled in Chicago in early 1900's (Industry: movies, university)

[Southside Shrek]

Can anyone identify this 6 person ice sled apparently taken on a frozen lagoon in Chicago back in the early 1900's? It has me baffled. All I could think of is that this photo was taken on a frozen lagoon in Jackson Park near the Museum of Science and Industry. Maybe those well-dressed chaps with bowler hats grabbed an arctic expedition sled that was intended as an exhibit at the museum, shoved it out onto the ice and used it as a photo prop.

OR, it could be a rare photo of America's first bobsled Winter Olympics team.

[linicx]

Could it be from the Chicago World Fair?

[Avengerfire]

Are you sure those guys are not the founders of Delta Tau Chi?

I see an strange resemblance between the guys on the sled and a few of the guys in this picture.

[Lookout Kid]

That's definitely an early bobsled. Check out the similarities to this one from 1951:

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by linicx

Could it be from the Chicago World Fair?

Not a bad guess at all. The Chicago World Fair ran from May 1893 through October 1893. THe ancestor (a former Hyde Park area resident) who had this photo in his possession was not born until 1886 and would have only been 7 years old at the time of the fair. The guys on the ice sled are much older, in their late teens to early 20s. I also don't see any buildings from the fair in this winter photo although it's possible the.photographer took this photo looking south. I strongly suspect this photo was taken some years later than the fair.

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Are you sure those guys are not the founders of Delta Tau Chi?

I see an strange resemblance between the guys on the sled and a few of the guys in this picture.

LOL Possibly frat boys at the University of Chicago and they also used that contraption as a beer sled circa 1900-1910.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

Not a bad guess at all. The Chicago World Fair ran from May 1893 through October 1893. THe ancestor (a former Hyde Park area resident) who had this photo in his possession was not born until 1886 and would have only been 7 years old at the time of the fair. The guys on the ice sled are much older, in their late teens to early 20s. I also don't see any buildings from the fair in this winter photo although it's possible the.photographer took this photo looking south. I strongly suspect this photo was taken some years later than the fair.

Any lake or pond shouldn't have been frozen over at that time of year, though.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by thePR

Any lake or pond shouldn't have been frozen over at that time of year, though.

The buildings would have still been standing in the winter.

I do think the pic is from between 1905 and 1920 however.

[Lookout Kid]

Bobsledding became an Olympic sport in 1924. And by looking at a bunch of vintage bobsled photos, it does look like this one could be from that period. The unique thing about this particular sled is that the steering wheel is mounted on a vertical shaft. Most sleds I've seen have the shaft coming out at an angle from the "dash" (like a car).

I'm not sure when the hats in the picture were in style... That may help date the photo.

Bobsled teams have/had four on the sled at one time, but of course there were others team members too.

[Lookout Kid]

Okay, bowler or derby hats place the photo anywhere from the late 19th Century to the 1920s, so that's not much help. They were much more popular in Great Britain, though, so is it possible that these guys are English?