Pre-World War I On 7 December 1889,
Chicago departed
Boston for
Lisbon,
Portugal, arriving on 21 December. The cruiser served in European and Mediterranean waters as the
flagship of the
Squadron of Evolution until 31 May 1890, when she sailed from
Funchal,
Madeira to call at
Brazilian,
Venezuelan and West Indian ports before returning to New York on 29 July.
Chicago operated along the east coasts of North and
South America and in the
Caribbean as flagship of the Squadron of Evolution—and later as flagship of the
North Atlantic Squadron—until 1893. After taking part in the
International Naval Review in
Hampton Roads in April, she left New York on 18 June 1893 to cruise in European and Mediterranean waters as flagship of the European station. During this period the ship was commanded by
Alfred Thayer Mahan, already famous as a naval strategist.
Chicago returned to New York on 20 March 1895, and was placed out of commission there on 1 May. Recommissioned on 1 December 1898,
Chicago made a short cruise in the Caribbean before sailing for the European Station on 18 April. She returned to New York on 27 September and participated in the naval parade and
Dewey celebration of 2 October 1899.
Chicago sailed from New York on 25 November for an extended cruise, as flagship of the
South Atlantic Station until early July 1901, then as flagship of the European Station. With the squadron, she cruised in northern European, Mediterranean, and Caribbean waters until 1 August 1903, when she proceeded to
Oyster Bay, New York, and the
Presidential Review. From 3 December 1903 – 15 August 1904,
Chicago was out of commission at Boston undergoing repairs. After operating along the northeast coast, the cruiser departed
Newport News on 17 November for
Valparaíso,
Chile, arriving on 28 December. There, on 1 January 1905, she relieved the
armored cruiser as flagship of the
Pacific Squadron and for three years operated off the west coasts of North and South America, in the Caribbean, and to
Hawaii. In 1906, she played a key role in the evacuation of
San Francisco during the
1906 San Francisco earthquake. Arriving from
San Diego at 6pm on 19 April,
Chicago's radio allowed the city's leadership to communicate with the outside world, as telephone and telegraph lines were down. A group of two officers and sixteen enlisted men from
Chicago supervised waterborne evacuation efforts. The removal of 20,000
refugees to
Tiburon in
Marin County by this ship and numerous other vessels is said to be unparalleled and unsurpassed until the 1940
evacuation of Dunkirk. On 8 January 1908,
Chicago departed San Diego for the east coast and in May joined the
Naval Academy Practice Squadron for the summer cruise along the northeast coast until 27 August, when she went into reserve.
Chicago was recommissioned the next summer (14 May – 28 August 1909) to operate with the Practice Squadron along the east coast, then returned to
Annapolis. On 4 January 1910, she left the Academy for Boston, arriving on 23 January. She then served "in commission in reserve" with the
Massachusetts Naval Militia until 12 April 1916, and with the
Naval Force of Pennsylvania from 26 April 1916 – April 1917.
World War I and beyond On 6 April 1917,
Chicago was placed in full commission at
Philadelphia and reported to Submarine Force, Atlantic (
COMSUBLANT) as flagship at
New London,
Connecticut, commanded by future Admiral
Thomas C. Hart. On 10 July 1919, she departed New York to join Cruiser Division 2 (CruDiv 2), as flagship in the Pacific. She was reclassified CA-14 in 1920 and then CL-14 in 1921. From December 1919 – September 1923, she served with SubDiv 14 and as tender at the
Naval Submarine Base Pearl Harbor.
Chicago was decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 30 September 1923 and served as a
receiving ship at Naval Submarine Base Pearl Harbor until 1935. On 16 July 1928 she was renamed
Alton to free the name
Chicago for the
heavy cruiser and was reclassified as an "unclassified miscellaneous unit" (IX-5).
Alton was sold on 15 May 1936. She foundered in mid-Pacific on 8 July 1936 while being towed from Honolulu to San Francisco for delivery to her buyers. ==Gallery==