Ottowa Building,
Life Span: 1872-Before 1949
Location: 105-109 Madison (old), 62-66 W. Madison
Architect: John M. Van Osdel II (front remodel)
- Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1874
Donohue, Wilson & Henneberry (Michael A. Donohue, William Wilson and William S. Henneberry; blank book mnfrs. 105, 107 and 109 Madison
Goodyear Rubber Co., George Clapp, Agt., F. M. Shepard, pres; J. A. Minott, sec; 105 and 107 Madison
Metropolitan Business College, M. R. and O. M. Powers, props. 105, 107 and 109 Madison
Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1876
Donohue, Wilson & Henneberry (Michael A. Donohue, William Wilson and William S. Henneberry) bookbinders, 107 Madison
Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Ottawa Building.—105 to 109 Madison
Victor Talking Machine Co 107 Madison tel Central-1334
Chicago Tribune, March 23, 1873
Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1880
SALISBURY & CLINE,
prominent in the rubber trade, and successors to the old house of Hallock, Salisbury & Cline, invite the public to their spacious new store 109 Madison street, where all varieties of rubber goods may be found.
Chicago Tribune, November 1, 1886
THE LOSSES AND INSURANCE.
Nearly $175,000 Goes Up in Flame and Smoke.
The entire loss will reach $173,000 on a close estimate. The Goodyear Rubber Company who occupied the first floor and basement Nos, 105 and 107 Madison street, will lose $50,000 on stock valued at $100,000, the insurance being $62,000, a portion ot which was placed as follows: Lancashire, $1,000; Mercantile of Cleveland, $1,500: Connecticut of Hartford, $2,500; Fire Insurance Association of London, $2,500. Mr. Clapp, agent for the compny, states that there will be a greater salvage fan at first supposed.
Knight & Leonard, printers, lose $50,000 on presses and stock, valued at $100,000, insured for $46,000, two-thirds of which is placed in local insurance companies, the balance foreign. Knight & Leonard will also sustain entailing loss on contracts for railroad printing which they will be unable to fill.
Salisbury & Cline, representing the Boston Belting Company, occupying the first floor and basement at No. 109, will lose about $5,000 on their stock of rubber clothing an leather belting, which is damaged by water. A large amount of their stock was owned by Eastern houses, which they represented agents. Their whole stock was valued at $50,000, insured for $62,000, one-half of which was placed in foreign companies (Berlin, Germany). A portion of the balance is follows: Boston Underwriters’, $2,500; Lancashire, $2,500: Delaware Mutual Safety Philadelphia, $2,500: Fire Insurance Association of London, $2,500; Washington of Boston, $2,500.
William Wilson & Co., book manufacturers, who occupied the rear half of the fourth floor, in whose place the fire is supposed to have started, suffered a total loss of their machinery and stock, valued at $30,000 so insured for $13,000 in local companies.
C. W. Magili, printer, who occupied a part of the second floor, suffered a loss by water of $3,000 on his stock, which was valued at $7,000 and insured for $4,000 in local companies.
R. G. Badoux & Co., book publishers, occupied the building only with desk-room, and their loss is slight.
C. F. Ward, the agent of the Gugler Lithograph Company, had desk/room on second floor. His loss is not estimated.
T. S. Donobue represente the Derby Paper Mills, and had desk-room on the second floor.
Agent Clapp, for the Goodyear Rubber Company, said last night that 10 o’clock this morning he would endeavor to be doing business again, as a stock was arriving from the branch house in Milwaukee.
The building, which was damaged to the extent of $15,000, was owned by Judge L. C. P. Freer, who lives at No. 241 Michigan avenue. His agent is Samuel Despres, who placed the insurance on the building, which covers the entire loss.
Inter Ocean, May 27, 1894
The estate of the late L.C. Paine Freer will make extensive alterations to the building, Nos. 105 to 109 Madison street. An entire new front four stories high will be put in and the interior entirely remodeled. The plans have been made by J. M. Van Osdel, and about $60,000 will be expended in the work.
Ottowa Building
1898
Inter Ocean, July 24, 1896
Fall of an Elevator in the Ottawa Building.
An electric elevator in the Ottawa building. No. 105-109 Madison street, was officially Inspected at 10 o’clock yesterday morning by a city inspector, who pronounced it in first-class order, capable of carrying a load of 2,000 pounds.
Two hours later the elevator fell from the second story with a dozen employes of the Excelsior Cloak Company, who were returning to their workshop on the third floor. The elevator was ascending between the second and third floors, when suddenly it stopped and began to descend, slowly at first, but with rapidly increasing velocity. The car struck the floor with such force as to crash through it nearly a foot. The sudden strain and jerk broke the cables of the counterweight, which fell from the top of the building, crashed through the floor, and wrecked the electric motor.
The elevator at the time of the accident was in charge of the janitor of the building. Hubert Riggs, the regular elevator man, John H. O’Neil, having gone to dinner.
The name of the city elevator inspector cannot be learned until he presents his report this morning. There are a number of inspectors, and at the office in the city hall nobody could tell who made the inspection. He inspected everything but the electrical
machinery.
The motor and connections were inspected daily by L. Z. Sweet, an expert, and also at frequent intervals by H. Cochran, inspector for the Edison Company, and by C. S. Welch, engineer of the Occidental building. The electric plant was inspected when installed two years ago by the city electrical department. It does not make subsequent inspections of electric plants unless changes have been made in them.
Within a short time after the accident a dozen electrical experts, including H. H. Hornsby, chief inspector of the city electrical department, Assistant Inspector Haskins, and Frederick H. Prince, president of the Baton & Prince Company, which made the electric plant, arrived. None of the experts were able to locate the cause of the accident, although they made every effort to do so.
The men in the elevator at the time of the accident were well jarred, but not seriously injured, “more scared than hurt,” as one of them expressed it.
Inter Ocean, My 4, 1902
TALKING MACHINES.
The Talking Machine Company, jobbers and exporters in talking machines and ac-cessories, 105-107-109 Madison street (incorporated), successors to the Edison Talking Machine company. This company are the largest jobbers in talking machines in the United States, and carry a large stock of all kinds of talking machines, including Victor Talking Machines, Edison Phonographs, Polyphones, Columbia Graphophones, Gramophones, and Disc Machines. Their business extends all over the world. Their foreign traveler is now in China and Japan establishing agencles.
Inter Ocean, April 26, 1908
Property at 105-109 Madison Street, Owned by Freer Estate, Leased to John R. Thompson for Ninety-Nine Years.
The important deal of the week in down town projorty was the closing of the ninety-nine year lease to John R. Thompson of the promises at 105-109 East Madison street from the Freer estate. The transaction had been pending for nearly a year and reports were current several months ago that the county treasurer had taken over the property. For one reason or another, however, the papers remained in escrow until Thursday, when they were filed for record.
The property, which has a south frontage of sixty feet, with a depth of 167 feet, is 100 feet west of Dearborn street. It is improved with a five story brick structure known as the Ottawa building. Mr. Thompson now occupies a part of the ground floor with a restaurant. C. S. Ennis & Co. are credited with
having negotiated the deal.
The land valuation fixed on this property by the board of review for 1907 was $494,150, but in this transaction, figured on a 4 per cent basis, the property is valued at $625,000. or a little more than $10,000 a front foot. The rental for the first ten years is to be $24,000 per annum and $25,000 per year for the balance of the term, in addition to which the lessee is to pay all public taxes.
The present buildings on the property are valued at $35,000, but one of the conditions of the lease is that during the next ten years the lessee shall erect on the ground a first class, modern, fireproof building not less. than twelve stories in height, and to cost not less than $250,000. This building is to be ready for occupancy not later than Dec. 31, 1918. The lessee has an option for an extension of the lase for an additional period of fifty years at an annual rental of $30,000.
Ottawa Building
Robinson Fire Insurance Map
1886
Ottawa Building
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1906
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