Caxton Building
Life Span: 1890-1946
Location: 500-508 S. Dearborn
Architect: Holabird & Roche
The Caxton Building was 12 stories high. Holabird & Roche were the architects. Steel columns were used with grillages of steel beams in the spread foundations.
The original coast of the Caxton Building, including architects’ fees, was 24.858 cents per cubic foot. This building was condemned and removed by the Department of Subways and Superhighways.
Rand McNally’s Birds’-Eye-Views of Chicago 1893
The Caxton Building,
At 328-334 Dearborn Street, has frontages of 80 feet through to Custom House Place. This is a great hive of industry with printers, binders, and publishers on each one of its 12 stories. The building rises to a height of 150 feet, and has 3 passenger elevators, which carry 3,000 persons daily. There are 110 offices and 5 stores. The construction is steel, fire-proofing, brick and terra-cotta exterior. Erected in 1890; cost $270,000.
Printing-house Row, from Van Buren Street.
The page (below) 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.
The Caxton Building.
Caxton on right, Monon on left.