Skandinaven Building

Skandinaven Building
Life Span: 1883-~1950
Location: Peoria and Milwaukee Avenue
Architect: TBD

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1885

Skandinaven The

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Skandinaven 183 to 187 N. Peoria

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1911
Skandinaven 522 to 517 N. Peoria

Story of Chicago In Connection with the Printing Business, Regan Printing House, 1912

SKANDINAVEN, 1866-1912: A Norwegian daily and biweekly paper, with a Sunday edition. It was established by Knud Langeland and John Anderson, who retained his interest until his death in 1910. In 1873 Victor F. Lawson bought an interest. Johnson, Anderson and Lawson were proprietors and publishers, 1874-1875; in 1876 and 1877 Anderson and Lawson were editors and publishers. John Anderson Publishing Co. has continued as publishers from 1889 to date.

Founded in 1866 by John Anderson and Knud Langland. The Skandinaven was, at its birth, a four page weekly paper. It remained a weekly until the week of the Great Fire of 1871, and a daily issue was commenced which has been continued without interruption till 1941.

In 1878 the plant was moved from Lawson’s building to the Hendlie Building at 86-89 Franklin Street; the rent here was high, however, and the firm was still short of space. So Anderson decided to use 85 feet of land he had acquired on Peoria Street, just off Milwaukee Avenue in the Scandinavian business district, to erect his own building. This structure was completed in 1883. It was built of brick, 60 feet wide and 118 feet deep, three stories high with a basement.

Artist Printer, December, 1891

The basement, lighted on all four sides, is used entirely as a pressroom, mailing and stock room. It contains thirteen newspaper, book and job presses (under the charge of Andrew Menzenberger, an able and efficient workman), which, with the other machinery, are driven by a forty-horse power engine furnished by the well known Finn of Fraser & Chalmers. Such is the pressure of work that the pressroom runs day and night.

The first floor is devoted to the business office, salesroom and job department, the latter under the foremanship of Mr. F. A. Egerston, giving employment to from twenty to thirty compositors. One special feature of this department is that orders for book and job work can be filled in ten different languages, namely, English,
Norwegian, Swedish, German, Holland, French, Spanish, Finnish, Italian and Bohemian- an advantage of which no other printing establishment in the United States can boast. In other words, manuscript received in any or all of these languages, ranging from a pamphlet to a volume, can be turned out ready for the market promptly and without leaving the building.

On the second floor are located the editorial staff of the Skandinaven, consisting of six writers, under the supervision of the chief editor, Prof. Peter Hendrickson, a gentleman of national reputation; also the private office of Mr. Anderson, where all the mail is opened, the extent of which must be seen to be appreciated, the services of two clerks being required to open and handle the same.

The third floor is devoted to the bindery and newspaper department, the former under the supervision of Mr. Julius B. Johnson, where may be found embossing, stamping, cutting, numbering, wire stitching and sewing machines, and, in fact, all the paraphernalia required in a first-class binding establishment. Here forty hands are
engaged.

The composing room of the newspaper department adjoining, airy and welllighted, under the control of Mr. B. Shervey, gives constant employment to twenty-six compositors. The building is without a doubt the best lighted printing office in this city.

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