Marshall Field Wabash Avenue Annex I
Life Span: 1892-1912
Location: NW corner of Wabash avenue and Washington street
Architect: TBD
- Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1899
Field Marshall & Co Building. Washington nw cor Wabash av
Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Field Marshall & Co Building. Washington nw cor Wabash av
Chicago Tribune, July 19, 1891
Marshall Field’s Plan.
It is said that Marshall Field has been negotiating for some time with a view to acquiring all that part of the block bounded by Randolph, State, and Washington streets, which he does not already own. It is supposed that the rest of the block is wanted to extend the retail dry-goods business of Marshall Field & Co., now somewhat circumscribed by the walls of the building on the southwest corner of this square. The building occupies about one-quarter of the block. The facts and arguments adduced in support of this story are in substance as follows:
A number of important sales of Wabash avenue and Washington street frontages have been going on recently, the negotiations being conducted quietly and without the aid ostensibly of real-estate brokers. The purchaser s name is not known in one or two of the deals, in another the vender declines to disclose it, and in three cases the purchaser is said by the vendors to be a Boston man of the name of Kramer. One of the sellers thinks the real purchaser is Marshall Field. At any rate property of the value of $565,000 in this locality has changed hands, it is solid, by deed or contract within a few weeks and the transactions have been kept from the public great care.
The block has an entire frontage on the four streets of 1,380 feet, of which Mr. Field controls 765 feet, or a little more than one-half. The building occupied by Marshall Field & Co. has 150 feet on State and 150 on Washington street. North of this stands a forty-foot lot belonging to the estate of Hugh Speer, on which Mr. Field has leases seven or eight years. The adjoining forty feet Mr. Field bought of William E. Hall. Next comes a thirty-foot piece belonging to the Osborn estate. North of this stands Central Music Hall, which occupies 130 feet to the corner of Randolph street, Mr. Field is said to own a controlling interest in tho Central Music Hall property.
Chicago Tribune, July 17, 1892
Marshall Field’s New Retail Store.
A building in which a good many people will be interested is Marshall Field’s new retail store at the northwest corner of Wabash avenue and Washington street. It is to be nine stories high but the four upper floors will be cut up into offices and placed on the market. The lower floors will be used for the retail trade, it being cunsidered inadvisable to use the upper portion of the structure for such purposes. The building will cost $800,000 and will have a frontage on Washington street of 150 feet and 108 feet on Wabash avenue. The work on the foundations has been commenced. The plans provide for a handsome steel-frame structure, faced with pressed brick and terra-cotta. Fluted and polished granite blocks will be used for the first three stories. The elevator service will be divided so that the service for the office portion will be separate from the store section of the structure. A feature of the store will be its connection with Mr. Field’s old building on the northeast corner of Washington and State streets. The connection will be made by means of tunnels, which will be finished in marble. These passageways will be made brilliant and attractive and will be lighted with electricity. The style of architecture will be the Spanish renaissance.
- Marshall Field Retail Annex
Wabash and Washington Streets
Rand McNally Bird’s Eye Views of Chicago, 1893
③ The Marshall Field Buildings
Occupy the whole north side of Washington Street, between State Street and Wabash Avenue, fronting 260 feet on State Street, 340 feet on Washington Street, 108 feet on Wabash Avenue. The old building is a remarkably handsome structure of the Parisian style, which is the third of a like appearance that has risen on this site since 1868, when it was first opened by this firm. It is 125 feet high, with 6 stories and basement, ornate stone front, and many pavilions. There are 6 elevators. The windows are dressed with the latest, richest, and most beautiful goods, and the interior presents an animated and enter- taining spectacle. The new building was erected in 1892, at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Wabash Avenue, of steel, granite, terra cotta, tile, and marble, in the latest style of fire-proof construction. It has 9 stories, 90 suites of offices, and no less than 13 elevators. The four lower floors have been added to the retail quarters, and the whole gives to Field & Co. a vast accommodation for their retail dry-goods business.
Chicago Tribune, April 9, 1893
MAY BUILD A TEMPORARY BRIDGE.
Stipulation by Which Marshall Field May Span Holden Place.
The difficulty between Marshall Field and Henry A. Barling and others over the building of a bridge between the former’s retail store and his new structure at Wabash avenue and Washington street has relaxed. An agreement has been made which permits the erection of a temporary bridge. Men were at work on the structure yesterday.
The erection of the bridge originally proposed by Marshall Field was stopped by an injunction issued on the prayer of Henry Barling and others who were interested in property abutting on Holden place, which the bridge spanned. The proposed bridge was described by the plaintifis as a structure of steel and terra cotta three stories in height and running back on Holden place from the line of Washington street forty-five feet. The injunction was made perpetual and an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court.
A stipulation between those interested provides that pending the appeal a temporary bridge may be constructed across Holden place. The bridge must be at least twenty-two feet north of the Washington street line and shall be only one-story high and not over twenty-three feet wide. Thirty days after the disposition of the appealed case by the Supreme Court the bridge shall be removed if the decision is adverse to Marshall Field. The thirty days, however shall not begun until Nov. 1, 1893, if Barling’s suit is successful.
- Marshall Field Store
Wabash and Washington
Greeley-Carlton Atlas of Chicago
1891
The Standard Guide to Chicago For the Year 1893
Marshall Field & Co.’s New Building.
Location, N. W. Cor. Wabash ave. and Washington st. Nine stories high. The four upper floors are arranged for offices. All of the other floors are used for the retail dry goods trade in connection with Marshall Field’s establishment on State and Washington st. Cost, $800,000. This building has a frontage on Washington st. of 150 feet and 108 feet on Wabash ave. It is a handsome steel-frame structure faced with pressed brick and terra cotta. Fluted and polished granite blocks are used for the first three stories. The elevator service is divided so that the office portion is served in a different part of the building. Connection is made with the original retail store by means of tunnels, beneath the alley, which are finished in marble. These passage ways are made brilliant and attractive by the use of electricity. The style of architecture is the Spanish renaissance.
- Marshall Field & Co. Wabash Avenue Store before and after 1901. Note the connection between the buildings in 1901.
- Marshall Field Store
Wabash and Washington
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1906
Dry Goods Reporter, March 9, 1912
Announcement was made the latter part of last week of a real estate deal which will make the premises of Marshall Field & Co. , on State street in this city the largest establishment in the world devoted to the sale of merchandise at retail. This was the acquisition under a long term lease of the Trude Building at the southwest corner of Wabash avenue and Randolph street. This gives to Marshall Field & Co. the control of the entire city block bounded by State, Washington, Randolph streets and Wabash avenue.
When the present Trude building is revamped and made to conform architecturally with the other buildings now occupied by the firm, Marshall Field & Co. retail will occupy a floor area of approximately 2,000,000 square feet or practically FORTY-SIX ACRES of floor space. This exceeds the John Wanamaker, Philadelphia, store by nearly seven acres.
Up to this time the Wanamaker store has had the edge on Marshall Field 8: Co. by several acres of floor space. When the Trude Building is finally incorporated into the Field retail establishment, Chicago will boast without fear of contradiction of the largest store in the world.
The acquisition of the Trude property on Wabash avenue and Randolph street comes as the final realization of a hope which has found expression in almost fifteen years of patient waiting and negotiations, and it has a peculiar interest for the reason that its acquirement will give to this great concern the unique distinction of being the only one to occupy an entire city block, and also the largest area occupied by any strictly retail establishment in the world.
Another interesting feature is the fact that it is the only holding in the entire block which has been acquired by Marshall Field & Co., all the other parcels having been secured by purchase or lease by the late Marshall Field and the Marshall Field estate.
Leave a Reply