Just to the right of center in the foreground, where the number 1 is barely visible, is the small crater left by the bomb. The number 2 is on the wall of the building on the south side of what was called Crane's Alley, on the north side of which was the Crane Brothers factory. The number 3 is the speakers' wagon, though the evening before it was situated just above Crane's Alley. The number 6 is above the Desplaines Street station. The point of view is thus from in front of the Crane Brothers factory looking southwest down Desplaines Street. In the distance down Desplaines Street is St. Patrick's Church, erected in 1856 at the northwest corner of Desplaines and Adams Streets. It is still in use in this same location today.

At the Haymarket trial, a physician and self-described socialist named James D. Taylor testified that he both attended the meeting and came back to survey the scene the next morning. Taylor, 76, was born in England but had lived in the United States for more than forty years and was a naturalized citizen. He stated that he found bullet marks on the south wall of the Crane Brothers factory, and on the south side of a telegraph pole across the street. The point the defense hoped to make with this testimony was that most of the gunfire had come from the police. Taylor also testified that the telephone pole had been removed since the time of the riot.