Girard Building
Life Span: 1888- ~1920
Location: 298-306 Dearborn St. (Old). 412-420 S. Dearborn St.
Architect: Thomas Hawkes
Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Girard Bldg.—300 to 306 Dearborn.
Chicago Tribune, February 19, 1888
John T. Dale has had plans prepared by Thomas Hawkes for the rebuilding of Nos. 298 to 306 Dearborn street, which was partly destroyed by fire recently. It is intended to make the new building, when reconstructed, an improvement on the former one. The cost will be about $40,000.1
- Girard Building
Architectural drawing
1888
Rand McNally Birdseye Views, 1893
② The Girard Building
At 298-306 Dearborn Street, has 100 feet frontages on Dearborn Street and Custom House Place. It is 60 feet deep and 80 feet high, with 7 stories and basement; 1 passen- ger elevator, 1 freight elevator, 15 offices, and 4 stores; brick, stone, and iron exterior. Occupied by printers, publishers, engravers, andphotographers. Erected in 1888.
Printing-house Row, from Van Buren Street.
Print (above) portrays faithfully the extraordinary double row of high buildings which lines Dearborn Street between Van Buren and Harrison streets. This is Printing-house Row so called from the large number of printing-offices included within its limits. Among the high structures of this group, described elsewhere, are the ① Old Colony, the ② Girard, the ③ Manhattan, the ④ Monon, the ⑤ Como, the ⑥ Caxton, the ⑦ Pontiac,, and the ⑧ Ellsworth.
- Girard Building
Greeley-Carlson Street Atlas of Chicago
1891
NOTES:
There were two fires that occurred in 1888. The first on January 7, 1888 at 300-306 Dearborn street, and the second at 298 Dearborn on January 16, 1888. Both buildings were built in 1884.Both buildings were occupied with several printing companies.
Among the printers at Nos. 300 to 306 were:
Campbell Printing Press Co.; the John J.Harlan Printing and Binding Co.; A. B. Judson,book and job printer; McGill Bros. printing-machine works; B. Cottrell, printing-machine works; the Cushing Printing Co.; Eugene Baker, book and job printer; the office of the National Harness Review; Murray & Thatcher, book and job printer.
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