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Essential Architecture- Chicago
Loop North Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House |
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architect |
Richard E. Schmidt, Garden & Martin |
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location |
600-618 W. Chicago Ave. |
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date |
1907-08 |
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style |
Chicago school |
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construction |
large-scale reinforced-concrete construction |
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type |
Warehouse |
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Built as a 1.25-million square foot warehouse and office building by one
of the nation's first large mail-order catalog businesses, which was
founded in 1872 by A. Montgomery Ward and George Thorne. The Catalog
House is a visual "landmark" along the North Branch of the Chicago
River, closely hugging the riverbank with its dramatic, curving,
600-foot-long, trapezoidal form. This is one of the best examples of a
Chicago School-style industrial building and a pioneering example of
large-scale reinforced-concrete construction. Noted architectural
historian Carl Condit said: "This building stands by itself as one of
the most powerful works of utilitarian architecture that our building
art has produced." The building's geometric terra-cotta ornament is a
rich, subtle variation on the modern decoration common to several
Chicago School architects, including Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd
Wright. The building is listed as a National Historic Landmark due to
its significance in the history of American retailing and association
with A. Montgomery Ward. A later administration building (1929) and
north additions (1917 and 1940) are not part of the Chicago Landmark
designation. |
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links |
With special thanks to the City of
Chicago website,
www.egov.cityofchicago.org , for much of the info on this page.
Photos copyright City of Chicago. |
| www.essential-architecture.com | |