Cyrus McCormick Mansion

Cyrus McCormick Mansion, Mrs. Emmons Blair
Life Span: 1879-1954
Location: 135 Rush (675 N. Rush), Rush and Erie Streets
Architect:

Chicago Tribune, February 21, 1875

Cyrus H. McCormick will build a residence for himself on Rush street, between Erie and Huron streets.

Chicago Tribune, May 25, 1880

THE SOIREE MUSICALE.
An Evening At Mr. Cyrus H. M’Cormick’s.
Yesterday being the twenty-first anniversary of the birthday of Mr. Cyrus H. McCormick, Jr., the occasion was celebrated at the new palatial residence of his parents on Rush street by a soirée musicale et dansante, at which some three hundred guests were present to tender their congratulations. Besides being devoted to honoring the majority of the young gentleman named, the festivities were intended to serve also as a social dedication of the new family residence, a full description of whose many beauties is given further on. The company was distinguished as well as large, the list of guests comprising the names of many of the leading citizens of Chicago. As will be seen, the entertainment provided by Mr. and Mrs. McCormick for their guests was of a most enjoyable character. Yet it is safe to say that the pleasure which they received in surveying the exquisite beauties of the mansion was hardly surpassed by the other enjoyments which had been prepared for their pleasure. Room after room was inspected by the guests, to whom the revelations in each of architectural symmetry, richness of furniture, and store of all that is beautiful and rare in art and antiquity, were a succession of delightful surprises, arousing an endless chain of favorable comment, in which full justice was done to the exquisite taste which their host and hostess have shown in the accumulation of so much that is beautiful and artistic.

The guests began arriving at an early hour, and the streets in the vicinity of the house were rendered almost impassable by a blockade of equipages. The carriageway was open during the evening. and the guests entered the house both by the side and front doors. Large awnings extended from the entrances to the curbing, and rich carpets were laid along the stone flagging. Brilliant lime-lights were placed at intervals along the opposite sides of the streets, and these, together with the dazzlingly lighted interior, produced a charming effect, attracting large crowds of people to the neighborhood. A perfect system of calling the carriages was introduced, and there was but little confusion in this regard.

On entering the house the guests were ushered up the wide stairway to the third floor, where they were met and received by Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus H. McCormick and Mr. Cyrus H. McCormick, Jr. After extending the usual congratulations, the ladies and gentlemen passed on to the Concert Hall.

In this spacious apartment chairs had been set for the accommodation of 150 guests, but “standing-room only” was the rule before the opening of the concert, and numbers were glad to find seats in the spacious landing outside, from which the strains of music were heard to as good advantage as inside the hall, though a view of the stage was lost to them. The stage, situated in the west end of the concert-room, was handsomely decorated with hangings in maroon and olive, decked out with garlands. while from the ceiling, along the centre of the stage, hung a magnificent star composed of roses. The walls were profusely hung with beautiful oil and water-color paintings, upon which the light from a grand chandelier fell through a tempering medium of a hanging festoon of white muslin, which served also to prevent the musical sounds from being lost in the open turret which surmounts the centre of the auditorium. The following was

The acoustic properties of the concert-room proved to be admirable, and the various numbers on the program were rapturously received the honors of the occasion were carried off by Miss Kellogg, who was in excellent voice and had to submit gracefully to several encores. The orchestra, which was under the direction of Mr. Julius Fuchs, also acquitted themselves admirably, as did also all the other performers, the general result being a musical success of the very highest order.

At the conclusion of the concert the company went down-stairs to the dining-room, where a fine repast had been prepared under the direction of Mr. H. M. Kinsley. The table was a very handsome one, and looked all the more so on account of the beautiful surroundings. In its centre, beneath the exquisite chandeliers, which spread a rich light upon the scene, was a magnificent piece of floral ornamentation consisting of a large horseshoe, cornucopias, lyre, and fountain resting upon a very large wreath, the whole standing four feet in height, and composed of the most beautiful flowers, among which jacquimot, Marshal Niel, bon saline and tea rose, cape jasmines, and other rare flowers were noticeable. A cake at each end of the table was surmounted by a handsome bouquet, the floral display reflecting great credit upon Mr. Kruger, who had its arrangement in charge. The supper, which was appropriate to the season, consisting of salads, jellies, charlottes, ices, and cream, and cooling beverages, was enjoyed heartily by all, who, having tasted of their host’s good cheer, then made a tour of the house, admiring its beauties and the exquisite floral decorations.

These were exceedingly rich and tasteful, every nook and corner containing some beautiful device of the florist’s art. On entering the main hallway the guest’s eye was met with a huge bank of callas, camellias, and rare roses, in the midst of which was worked the initial “C,” resting on the broad mantel facing the door. Along the halls and on the landings were placed a number of large foliage plants, and a rich profusion of smilax and evergreen was to be seen on every hand. Reissig had charge of the floral decorations.

The reception was not strictly full dress, many of the ladies appearing in walking costume, though a number of handsome toilets were displayed.

About 11 o’clock the orchestra was brought into requisition, and a promenade concert of six numbers was gone through with, the guests meanwhile inspecting the beauties of the mansion. The following was the program:

At the conclusion of this program the rooms were cleared for dancing, which was kept up until a late hour by the young people. The company dispersed about midnight, after having spent an exceedingly enjoyable evening.

Among those present were the following: Mr. and Mrs. Griggs, Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Potter. Mr. and Mrs. F. Beckwith, Gen. and Mrs. Chetlain, Mr. and Mrs. E. Isham, Mr. and Mrs. Nickerson, Mr. and Mrs. Skinner, Mr. and Mrs. Culver, Mr. and Mrs. Jewett, Mr. and Mrs. Hulbert, Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, Mr. and Mrs. Shilas, Mr. and Mrs. Perry H. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. C. Henrotin. Mr. and Mrs. Chapin, Mr. und Mrs. S. H. Keefoot, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Mr. Davis, Miss Cucttain, Mr. R. Nickerson, Mr. Harvey, Mr. and Miss Arnold, Miss F. Arnold, Miss Drummond. Miss Farusworth, Mr. and Mrs. A. Day, Mr. and Mrs. Hosmer, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond, Mr. and Mrs. Magruder, Miss Magruder, Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland, Miss Kirkland, Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding, Mr. James Sheahan, Mr. A. Badger, Dr. and Mrs. Sawyer, Miss Sawyer, Mr. Howard Ross, Mr. Murdock, Miss Ross, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Mulliken, Mr. and Mrs. P. Palmer, Mrs. Potwin, Miss Potwin, Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Nixon, the Messrs. Keep, the Misses Keep, Mr. and Mrs. Perry H. Smith, Jr., Miss Lucy McCormick, Gov. Bross, Mr. Millet, Dr. and Mrs. Elliott, Gen. and Mrs. Buford, Dr. and Mrs. Boal, Mr. and Mrs. Field, the Hon. and Mrs. Dickey, Mr. and Mrs. Ayres, Miss Spaulding, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Medill, Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, Mr. and Mrs. Keith, Mr. Waite, Mr. Poole, Miss Howt, Mr. G. Healy, Mr. and Mis. Clarke, Miss Clarke, Mr. and Mrs. Huntington, Mr. Ellis, Miss Taylor, the Messrs. Sheldon. Mr. T. D. Jones, Mr. C. H. Johnston, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Goodwin, Jr., John Crerar, Gen. and Mrs. Joseph Stockton, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. and Mrs. D. H. Hills, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Spalding, the Misses Spalding, Judge and Mrs. T. Lyle Dickey, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. McKay, Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Lewis, Mr. and Mrs J. McGregor Adams, Mr. and Mrs. John V. Clarke. Mrs. Kate N. Doggett, Gen. and Mrs. A. C. McClurg, Col. and Mrs. W. S. Jobnston, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Diblee, Isaae N. Arnold, Miss Arnold, Thomas Dent, Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. King. Mayor Harrison, Miss, Lina Harrison, Charles Fullerton, Mrs. Chapin, Miss Chapin, Miss Roxanna Wentworth, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Jewett, the Hon. and Mrs. Charles B. Farwell, Mr. and Mrs. Palmer V. Kellogg, Miss Fanny Kellogg. Mr. and Miss Matz, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Field, Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Nixon, Mr. and Mrg. S. C. Griggs, Mr. George H. Ladin. Mr. Grant, Prof. and Mrs. J. T. Matthews, Mr. and Mrs. P. P. Oldershaw, Miss Gould, Mrs. Judge Beckwith, Judge and Mrs. G. W. Cothran, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Yale, Mr. and Mrs. J. Willing, Col. and Mrs. Johnston, Misses Johnston, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. and Mrs. P. Kellogg, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, Dr. and Mrs. Isham, Mr. Hannah, Misses Barlock, Judge and Mrs. Goudy, Miss Goudy, Mr. and Mrs. John Forsythe and the Misses Forsythe, Judge and Mrs. Rogers, Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Whitehead, Mr. and Mrs. C. King. Mr. A. Byerson, Mr. and Mrs. Hills, Mr. and Mrs. Keep, Mr. and Mrs. Spruance, Mr. S. Kerfoot, Jr., Messrs. Rogers, the Rev. A. E. Kittredge, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, Mr. W. Butler, the Misses Moore, Mr. Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn, Dr. and Mrs. Jones, Mr. Munger, Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Patterson, the Misses Patter-son, Mr. Chauncey Binir, Mr. Watson Blair Mrs. Shields, Miss Shields. Miss Williams, Ed Blair, Ed Potter, William Douglas, Mr. Cragin, J.W. Mrs. and Miss Shenhan, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory, Mr. and Mrs. MeKay, the Hon. H. M. Shepherd, the Hon, John Mattocks, Judge and Mrs. Mark Skinner, the Misses Skinner, Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Isham, the Hon. John Wentworth, the Hon. H. L. Waite, Samuel Johnston, Mr. and Mrs, W. F. Storey, A. C. Badger, J.T. Ryerson, Jr., Ernest Smith, Mr. Copeland, Mr. Goold, Mr. and Mrs. Enos Ayres, Maj. Joseph Kirkland, Mr. Dent, Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Rudder, Mr. and Mrs. William T. Boal, Commodore A. A. Munger, the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Elliott, Mr. and Mrs. Perry Trumbull.

THE HOUSE.
Its Plan and Appointments.
This handsome mansion, so recently completed and so pleasantly thrown open to hundreds of Chicago’s best society last evening, occupies, with the lot on which it stands, fully one-half of the block bounded by Rush, Huron, Pine, and Erie streets. It faces on Rush street, a large lawn extending on the north to Huron and on the south to Erie. The house is three stories high, is built of Lake Superior sandstone, and forms, with its massive and impressive brown, a rich piece of heavy German Renaissance, somewhat sombre, it may be, but solid and substantial all through, and worthy to be put down as chief of the many private residences which have made Chicago noted us a city where not only solidity and wealth but genuine art taste prevail,—such, for instance, as the homes of Perry H. Smith, George M. Pullman, and Marshall Field. Ascending the broad sandstone steps at the Rush street entrance and entering the lobby past heavy mahogany doors, one is ushered into the Ante-Hall, furnished in oak and embellished with the decorations which a cultivated taste can suggest and an abundance of means obtain. The walls are covered with Aubuisson tapestry and the ceiling frescoed, after the style of Henry IV.’s castle, with figures of the salamander, intersecting crescents, and the modest shamrock. The floor is of oak, with a satin-wood contrast, with the furniture and upholstery to match. A massive brass chandelier, with four gas-jets surrounded by a plain glass cylinder globe, supplies the illumination. A Khorassan rug of rich texture, and with yellow as the prevailing color, extends to the middle hall. The effect throughout is singularly rich and harmonious, and leaves one with a very favorable impression on the mind as one starts on a tour of further inspection.

The first room on the right is Mr. M’Cormick’s Private Library, which is handsomely furnished in and ebony, the fireplace forming a notable feature of the room. The paper is of the English character in this case,—modest gold, with light, flat, unobtrusive figures in celling is plain, in gilt, But and bite bordene and the curpet an exquisite Persian pattern. The lambrequins are of raw silk, picked out with gold stitches, the designs being some which Mrs. McCormick obtained in France, and belonging to what is known as the medieval style. The room is supplied with a lavatory of walnut and ebony, in harmony with the prevailing style.

The continuation of the hall, or what may be termed the middle hall, is similar to the ante-hall. Light oak prevails, the tapestry is repeated as in the outer hall, and the ceiling belongs with it, the only marked additional feature in the frescoing being the fleur-de-lis.

The second room on the right of the hall is the Grand Library, a feature of the house which, next to the dining-room immediately east of it, will impress many as one of the most attractive in the entire mansion. It is finished in the modern Queen Anne style of ebony, with silver work to set it off and relieve it. The ceiling is divided into coffres by the same kind of wood. and these coffres are frescoed in blue, gold, and gray. The walls are hung with French tapestry, and the window hangings are of royal crimson. The furniture is partly upholstered in crimson, with a gold relief to the solid ebony. A massive fireplace occupies the middle of the west wall. its bright polished iron-work contrasting with the prevailing ebon hue. A large mirror and a large French clock also serve to set it off, while a profusion of ornaments here and there add general effect. Pendent from the its frescoed ceiling is an antique silvered bronze chandelier carrying twelve imitation candles and a drop-light. A handsome Persian carpet covers the oak and satinwood floor, which is rendered all the more attractive by the use of ebony borders. The inside shutters to the windows, here as well as elsewhere throughout the house, are of bright mahogany. which contrasts prettily with the lace curtains and the darker overhanging lambrequins. The shelves of the library are adorned with the works of the standard authors, bound in the handsomest library style of blue and gold.

The first room to the left after entering the hall is the Music-Room, a spacious and elegant apartment, into which the light flows through the windows facing on Rush street and are looking out upon the lawn lying between the northern façade of the building and Huron street. The spirit of the music-room is redolent of the woods, the ornamentation being rich in the beauties of forestry. The woodwork is mostly in satinwood with inlayings of California rosewood representing running and trailing vines, while a border of maiden’s hair gives a peculiar charm to the general design. The floor of this, and all the other rooms on the lower story of the building, is by Haiman, of New York, and is laid in twelve-inch blocks of oak and satinwood, with an ebony tracing in the border. The furniture of this room is in old strawberry plush with applied embroidery, this feature of the ornamentation having been brought from France, and much of it being of great age and rarity. The covering of the floor consists of Oriental rugs from Persia of beautiful design and texture, their coloring harmonizing delightfully with the general effect of the furniture and ornamentation of the room, whose character is fully assured by an elegant Steinway grand piano.

East of the music-room is the Drawing-Room, one of the most artistically finished and furnished chambers in the house. A striking feature in this apartment is the chandelier, an importation from France, in bright bronze with enameled glass ornaments. The woodwork in the drawing-room entirely by Marcotte, and the folding-doors by which, when occasion requires, it and the music-room can be made practically a single apartment, are of very elegant and elaborate design.They are of white maple and rosewood, richly carved, the striking feature of the carving being four floral panels of medallion shape resembling respectively, rose, lily of the annunciation, and chrysanthemum.

The ceiling of the drawing-room is flat, and divided into coffres by dark lines, the decoration being according to the English adaptation of the Japanese feeling. The mantel is of full height, containing a beveled glass mirror placed above the range of vision so as to reflect the ceilings and chandeliers, the carving and illumination being after the style of Marcus Ward. A prominent feature of the furniture of this room is a cabinet in maple.—a work in the modern English style after the manner of Talbert, the carving being a low relief decorated with wood tints. The general furniture is in figured embroidered silk in a light, pinkish gray, with light gold plush. The carpet is English, its color being blue-green ground with dull colors overlaid. The papering of this room harmonizes delightfully with the buff tint which prevails, and seems to pervade and soften the atmosphere in the luxurious apartment.

Where all is so beautiful it is difficult to select any one feature as worthy of special commendation. Yet it must be acknowledge that in the dining-room of Mr. McCormick’s mansion is concentrated an amount of artistically-disposed elegance and luxury hardly equaled by any similar one in the West. This room is finished in solid and exquisitely-carved mahogany.

The walls are hung with Gobelln tapestry of a woodland design, representing the park of one of the palaces of King Henry IV. of France. The ceiling is covered with a very elaborate system of designs, among which are conspicuous the Legion of Honor, a picture of the McCormick “reaper,” “sheaves of golden grain, beehives, symbolic of industry, and the names of the mythological deities, Pomona, Flora, Ceres, and Diana. The celling is coffred off with mahogany and panels decorated with tapestry colors on a gold background. The sideboard reaches nearly to the ceiling, and is a solid mahogany structure of very handsome design and proportions. The mantel opposite, which reaches to the ceiling, is in Queen Anne work. carved superbly in low relief with fruits and vegetables, the central panel containing a coat of arms in a small, chaste design. A mirror in the mantel is situated a little above the vision and against it hangs a superb French clock in gilt, forming a beautiful centre-piece to the surrounding elegance. From the centre of the ceiling hangs an old French chandelier of rare design. The carpet in the dining-room is an Indian rug of Khorassan design, one of the most beautiful of its kind ever brought from the East.

A small but cozy smoking-room is situated in a little tower on the southeast corner of the house, whose ebony furniture, tapestry hangings, and general elegance make it a very desirable place in which to putt away the post-prandial cigar.

The Butler’s Pantry is north of the dining-room, its ample shelves stocked with rare china and its secret recesses stored with snowy table-linen. North of this is a closet, lavatory, and telephone-room, supplied with an Edison and a Bell. Still further north is the young folks school-room, a cozy apartment finished in black walnut, with a cherry-wood floor, set off with a marquetry border. The walls are decorated with Japanese matting and the ceiling frescoed to conform to the same general feeling. The room is provided with a piano, writing-desk, and a library of schoolbooks and apparatus.

The Main Hall, just beyond the middle hall, is tapestried in the same style as the others and its light oak floor covered with rugs of Oriental pattern. Another massive fireplace—also of oak—stands at the easternmost end and is set off with Minton art tiles in colors designed to blend with the light woodwork. The side entrance abuts upon the left of this hall, and from the landing ascends the grand staircase by which one reaches the upper stories, provided one prefers walking to riding in the handsome light oak elevator which runs noiselessly from the basement to the top of the house in a light passageway a few feet to the east and north of the fireplace just referred to. This main staircase runs north to the entresol landing, were it turns and reaches the second floor. It is of solid oak, in the Queen Anne style, with a running hand-rail of crimson worsted, with heavy tassels at its ends, and carried in heavy brass brackets attached to the sides of the staircase at convenient intervals. The walls are of stamped velvet paper of the cream-buff tint, and are set off with a stamped paper border of pink gray. A soft, heavy English Axminster covers the stairs, and is held in its place by the old-fashioned square silver stair-rods. The entresol floor, just referred to, provides sufficient space for a couple of rooms with fire-proof ceilings for the safe keeping of valuable articles. One is known as the silk-room, und the other, which contains a fire and burglar proof vault, is set apart for the repose and security, when not in use, of the family plute and jewelry.

The landing at the head of the flight of stairs leading from the first to the second story carries with it the same massive and dignified appearance which characterizes the rooms below, being spacious and of graceful proportions and elegant decoration. The wails are covered with flock paper of the same design and tint as that of the stairway. The ceiling is very chaste and attractive, the coffres being decorated with a tracery of vines of laurel and honeysuckle. The carpet is English, of the Teberan style.

Of the rooms on the second floor, one of the most attractive is that of the young ladies—
A Sitting-Room with a bed alcove off from it. The woodwork of this room is of maple, the choicest varieties of this wood being employed in conjunction, with remarkably happy effect. The window-snutters are of mutogany and Mexican bay. Upon the walls is hung a paper in gray silver ground run over with light-blue and gray flowers, with a dado of the same, in the form of an arcade,—a design which gives the room an appearance of great grace and airiness. The ceiling of this room is very light and graceful, with self-tints of the wall and gold with little scattered towers and leaves in the Japanese taste. A stained glass lunet looks out to the east, and beneath it is a chiffoniere in maple and satinwood of great elegance. Off from this room is a dressing-room, finished in cherry with maple pilasters and furnished with pier and looking glasses and other elegant necessaries to the ladies’ toilet. This room has, in common with all the rooms facing east, a delightful view of the lake.

Off from this room is the nursery, a cozy apartment finished in oak. The decorations of the wall are in the Japanese feeling. The ceiling is in the English Gothic style except the cove, which is gold with Japanese roses. The fireplace is surrounded by tiles, upon which are pictured leading Scriptural stories. In the bathroom off the nursery the walls are hung with Walter Crane’s drawings of Mother Goose subjects.

Opening upon a spacious veranda, which also runs beneath the windows of the young ladies’ room, is the Family Sitting-Room, a very elegant and comfortable apartment finished in mahogany. The wall-paper is superb, the pattern being gold and green interlacing vines, the colors rising in one set of tints from light gold-green up to deep tea-green shades. The ceiling is a very fine piece of Queen Anne decoration, all in light tints except the cross-bands, which are dark and richly decorated with realistic foliage and flat flowers. The wainscoting is of the same order as the rest of the room, the uprights and crosses being of San Domingo, and the panels of Tomano. The carpet of this room is a Parisian fabric, woven in imitation of the Persian rug. The furniture is very rich and elegant, the pattern being red-gold background with decorations of like character with the walls, though the shade of the background gives at first the effect of contrast rather than harmony.

Mr. and Mrs. McCormick’s bedroom adjoins the family sitting-room, and is finished and furnished in mahogany. The fireplace is of very elegant design, being in accord with the Queen Anne feeling. The paper is the same as that of the room previously described, except that it has been touched up with flakes of a yellowish tinge, which give it a distinctive and very pleasing character. The dressing-room off from this chamber is very handsomely finished in cherry, und the walls are covered with a very delicately and richly flowered pattern of paper.

Cyrus McCormick Jr.’s room is a very handsome chamber, richly furnished and decorated with great taste. The carpet is an Indian rug pattern of French manufacture. The wall-
paper is very graceful, being of a bluish tinge, with a gold floral pattern representing the root as well as the stem and Hower of the plant. The doors of this room are very pleasing in their appearance, a variety of differently colored woods being used in their construction.

The guests’ chamber, an apartment facing to the west, and handsomely finished in maple und black-walnut, completes the list of the rooms on the second floor, a feature of which is that they all connect with one another.

An oaken stairway, similar to that between the first and second stories, leads from the latter to the third, and brings one almost at once to the door of the Concert Room, which was last night ablaze with light and filled with an audience made up of the very élite of Chicago society. The room is semi-eircular in its character, with a guest-chamber off the left, and the housekeeper’s room off the right. At its western end has been erected a permanent stage, about eighteen feet wide by fifteen deep, suitable for private theatricals, or, as last night, for an orchestra and piano. The back of the stage was draped in rich maroon with olive festoons across the proscenium, extending down to the corner on the side and the corner of each panel, and further adorned with deep crimson velvet. A small sub-stage was built over the front balcony of the house, and similarly decked with maroon, the whole forming a very rich, warm background. The ceiling of the concert-room is entirely plain, and the acoustic properties of the place, which were put to a test lust evening, proved to be all that couid be desired. A number of paintings adorned the walls, and added greatly to the improvement of the general effect.

The Guests’ Room off this concert-room, with an alcove fronting on Erie street, is by all odds one of the handsomest and cosiest nooks in the whole house. The ceiling runs through the alcove unbroken, and the decorations of both walls and ceiling make it one of the most charming spots in the mansion, owing to the exquisite coloring which sets them off. The alcove itself is frescoed in blue and maroon, and the rest in gold and olive green, the combination produciug an ellect at once pleasant and beautiful. A somewhat larger guest-room occupies the space at the southeast corner of the story, and is finished and decorated in a manner which captivates the eye. The servants’ hall and the storerooms occupy the opposite, or northeast corner.

The rare display of good taste in the interior decorations of the house is something on which Mr. and Mrs. McCormick may well congratulate themselves for the foresight which led them to intrust this important department of the work to Mr. L. Marcotte, the well-known decorator of New York. That gentleman contrived and fitted the entire woodwork of the house,—in one respect its most attractive feature,—and supplied a large portion of the upholstery. The rich tapestries which adorn the walls were brought from Europe by Mr. and Mrs. McCormick, and to Mr. Marcotte is due the credit of having placed them where they would most add to the generally graceful effect. In point of interior decoration it is doubtful whether any private residence in the West can at all compare with that which Mr. and Mrs. McCormick have erected and furnished at so lavish an outlay, and with a degree of good taste rarely equaled.

The Culinary Departments of the new house occupy the larger portion of the basement and communicate with the butler’s pantry overhead by means of dumb-waiters of the most approved pattern. The basement also contains the servants’ dining-room, the laundry, and last, but by no means least, a large, airy billiard-room, furnished with a Collender table, for the amusement of such as care to chase the ivory with the chalked cue.

The electric apparatus may be said to extend from everywhere to everywhere throughout the vast mansion. Each room is provided with this prompt means of communication, so that one can really want for nothing in this particular. Besides the electric apparatus, many of the rooms are furnished with speaking-tubes for the more direct delivery of orders to the servants in the lower portion of the house, and for general communication between the members of the household.

The appointments of the stable are all that could be desired. The beauties of the large lawn have already been referred to indirectly, and are such as to be enjoyed from almost every window in the house. What with the situation, the handsome but solid exterior, the rare degree of elegance and taste to be met with in the adornment of the interior, the new residence takes its place near the top of the list of the really fine houses in this or any other part of the country.

Chicago Tribune, August 22, 1915

The Chauncey McCormick are moving in this autumn to the house in Rush street that the Higginsons occupled for three years, the old William McCormick home where Chauncey McCormick was born. He has much sentiment for and many associations with the house, which is in a neighborhood which might properly be called McCormickville, as Mrs. Cyrus McCormick, the R. Hall McCormicks, the Cyrus H. McCormicks, the Robert H. McCormicks, the Hamilton McCormicks, and Mrs. Emmons Blaine (nee McCormick) all live within a stone’s throw. It is “the return of the native.”

First floor plan of the Chicago residence of Cyrus Hall McCormick and his family. The drawing was produced by the architectural firm of Cudell and Blumenthal.

Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1949

Dear Tribune Readers: Instead of printing a letter from Martha Freeman Esmond, your editor is using the space today to tell you of the upheavals on the near north side. They make old residents feel like repeating the words of the hymn: “Change and decay in all around I see.”

Crossing Rush st. at Huron st one views a melancholy sight. The square red brick house occupied for years by the late Mrs. William Blair is down, its site marked only by a flat surface of rubble. still standing is its handsome iron fence, which was always noteworthy. Shrubbery lines this fence, and the spreading ash tree adds a note of green. But soon a business block will rise here, mute witness to the disagreeable truth that this no longer is a residence section.

Diagonally across the street, the north side of the yard in which the Cyrus H. McCormick mansion stands is being excavated. A great red machine has been biting into the ground for days and these gargantuan mouthfuls have now made a cavity which will be the basement of the 5 and 10 cent store we are told will occupy this corner. What will be the fate of the south half of the lot-Rush and Erie sts. -is not yet revealed, but the porte-cochere of the house has been taken down, so the great brown
stone mansion begins to look rather sad.

The Cyrus H. McCormick mansion was four years in building, says Thomas E. Tallmadge, in his valuable work, “Architecture in Old Chicago.” Begun in 1875, lt was not occupied until 1879. Its cupola and mansard roof betray the fact that it was built in the 70s, and its brown, stone emphasizes this, for that was the favored building material of that decade, It was not a particularly happy choice, for it chips off easily.

This great mansion, second in interest only to the Potter Palmer castle, has been the scene of many notable society events.

In that mansion used to be free-hearted hospitality.

But the wife of the reaper magnate, whose name before her marriage was Nettie Fowler, was more than a mere society leader. She dressed simply and after the death of her husband lived quietly, attracting to the somber old house missionaries and educators, for she gave enormous sums to the work of Christian missions abroad and in the United States. In the library hung a portrait of its mistress, painted by G. P. A. Healy, depicting her as a beautiful young hoop skirted. matron. Those who saw her in her old age discerned in her serene countenance traces of the beauty which had been hers. It was sometimes said that she looked like a madonna grown old. Mme. McCormick, as she was called in the later years of her life, died in 1923 and the house has been little occupied since then.

The house at 701 Rush st. will soon be torn down. This fine home was built by Henry W. King, of Browning, King, & Co. Mr. King, sometimes called the mayor of Rush st., had made his money in clothing, and Mrs. King, known for her wit, used to say, looking across the street at the McCormick mansion: “We sew and they reap.” The woodwork in the King house is beautiful and the basement kitchen has been transformed into a charming studio apartment by Jo Mead and Associates, With the King house, will go the two houses next north, 711 and 713 Rush st., for all are to be demolished to make way for a parking lot. The house numbered 711 was built by Cyrus H. Adams Sr., father of Cyrus H. Adams who was a nephew of the reaper magnate. The brown stone front house, 713, was the home of William G. McCormick, father of Chauncey McCormick, president of the Art institute. So it is small wonder that Rush st., in its heyday, was known as McCormickville.

With these residences going rapidly, lovers of old houses will want to walk along this thorofare, known sometimes as “quaint little Rush st..” to see what is left of a once fashionable section which vied with Prairie av, in housing the elite of Chicago.

Rand McNally Bird’s Eye Views of Chicago, 1893

The McCormick Mansion. Standing in the center of large and tastefully ornamented grounds, at the southeast corner of Huron and Rush streets, is the celebrated home of Mrs. Nettie F. McCormick, widow of the late Cyrus H. McCormick, the millionaire above mentioned. This has always been a hospitable and representative Presbyterian home, where many successful plans of education and charity have had their origin.

Chicago Tribune, April 28, 1954

Let Contract to Raze Old McCormick Mansion
The sanitary district trustees agreed yesterday to award a contract to the Speedway Wrecking company, 58 E. 29th st., to raze the old Cyrus Hall McCormick mansion at Rush and Erie sts. on its low bid of $8,500. The board has acquired the site for a new office building to be erected at a cost of $1,300,000.

Chicago Tribune, October 7, 1954

The fully air conditioned, 4½ story building is being built on the site of the old brownstone Cyrus Hall McCormick mansion and fronts 150 feet on Rush st. and 140 ft. on Erie st. Completion is expected in about a year.

Chicago Tribune, February 15, 1950

Built behind the McCormick mansion.

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