Ottawa Building

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Ottawa Building, formerly 105-109 Madison Building
Life Span: 1873-~1920
Location: Madison between Clark and Dearborn
Architect: John Van Osdell II (1896 remodel)

Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1873

Cleveland Paper Co.

Donohue, Wilson & Henneberry

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1874
Knight & Leonard (Charles A. Knight & Charles E. Leonard), printers105, 107 and 109 Madison
Barnhart Bros. & Spindler, type foundry, 109 Madison
Slack Charles H. grocers, 109 Madison
Donohue, Wilson & Henneberry, (Michael A. Donohue, William Wilson and William S. Henneberry) blank book mnfrs. 105, 107 and 109 Madison

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1880
Donohue & Henneberry, (Michael A. Donohue and William P. Henneberry) bookbinders. 105 Madison
Salisbury & Cline, (W. H. Salisbury and G. F. Cline) belting, packing and hose and all kinds of rubber goods 109 Madison

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1885
Salisbury & Cline, (W. H. Salisbury) belting, packing and hose and all kinds of Rubber goods 109 Madison

Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1899
Ottawa Bldg.—105-109 Madison

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1904
Ottawa Bldg.—105-109 Madison
Talking Machine Co The Henry R. Babson pres 107 Madison tel Central-1334
Salisbury W H & Co rubber goods and leather belting 109 Madison tel Main-1906

Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1911
Ottawa Bldg.—62 W. Madison

Inter Ocean, May 16, 1872

Architects.
Burling, Adler & Co., 107 and 109 Madison st.

Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1880

SALISBURY & CLINE,
prominent in the rubber trade, and successors to the old house of Hallock, Salisbury & Cline, invite the public to their spacious new store 109 Madison street, where all varieties of rubber goods may be found.

Chicago Tribune, October 31, 1886

At 4:15 this morning fire broke out in the rear of the six-story building Nos. 109 and 111 East Madison street, occupied on the ground floor by the Goodyear Rubber Company and on the upper floors by Knight & Leonard and C. W. Magill, printers, W. Wilson & Co., book-bladers. The fire evidently started near the light shaft and, running up, spread on the top floors and had burst through the roof before discovered at The Tribune office. The fire had been burning for some time and had gained such headway that a third alarm was given as soon as the Marshal arrived.

Fire Patrolmen Burled.
While four members of the Fire Patrol were engaged in covering up stock in the lower story and basement the heavy machinery abore caused the floor to give away, burying the men in the débris. Their cries soon sounded above the din caused by the crowd and the engines, and the two crews of the Fire Patrols rushed to the rescue.

The condition of four other men who are imprisoned, at the time of going to press, is here given:

Capt. James Hume

A. C. Papineau

Wm. Darby and Gus Borgemenke

William Dougherty

The Losses.
The principal loss will be to the tenants of the upper floors, the Insurance Patrol having covered the stock on the floors below.

Salisbury & Cline, belting, also occupy a store on the ground floor.

James Davis & Co., the Boston Belting Company, Goss Publishing Company, and the Boston Woven Hose Company are also represented In the building by Salisbury & Cline; while R. G. Badoux & Co., book-publishers; the Derby Mills, T. S. Donabue, agent, and the Gugler Lithograph Co., O. F. Wood, agent, were situated on the floors above. The loss by fire will be to the two upper stories, and will be total to the occupants. It will exceed $200,000, the principal losers being Knight & Leonard. The damage to the buildings will be at least $10,000.

At 6 o’clock the department had the flames under control, though it was burning with considerable headway.

The insurance carried by Knight & Leonard is supposed to be about $75,000.

The building is owned by I. C. P. Freer. It was rushed up immediately after the great fire, and, it is claimed, was a veritable fire-trap.

De Wolf sold his building to Freer for $143,000. Billy Emmett, Otto Young, and Billy Clapp once offered the tenants considerable money to vacate the premises in order that the building might be converted into a theatre. Their efforts were unsuccessful.

Incidents.
The fire broke up the games in progress in Joe Martin’s gambling-house, next door, and sent the players into the street hatless and coatless, where they stood in groups and bet on the loss.

The gamblers tumbled their treasure into a large valise and one of them laboriously shouldered the heavy burden of gold and greenbacks and waded through the running water in the alley out into Dearborn street. Some of his companions followed him with the most valuable portions of the roulet table and faro layouts.

Persons going home from the Saturday night dances soon kattered about to witness the progress of the flames. Their presence served as a nucleus for others, and the curious sightseers in a measure hindered the movements of the firemen. Idlers of all classes were also soon on the ground, and added to the excite-ment. Newsboys yelled themselves hoarse in endeavors to outdo the firemen’s cries.

The firemen first on the scene climbed the fire-escapes in the alley to get at the fire, and in doing so exposed themselves to great danger. The beat fron within beated the iron abutters, and they soon began to fall from their Tastenings, and the firemen were kept actively dodging to avoid them. All the telephone wires in the second or business district were disconnected, as the two cables through which they were distributed passed over the buildings and were severed.

The lines will not be in operation today.

Knight & Leonard were printing the Democratic baliots for the county ticket. Just to what extent this will incommode that party is not known, but arrangements for issuing the ballots will be made eurly today it was claimed by some of the party who had gathered about in the streets.

Inter Ocean, May 27, 1894

The estate of the late L.C. Paine Freer will make extensive alterations to the building, Nos. 105 to 109 Madison street. An entire new front four stories high will be put in and the interior entirely remodeled. The plans have been made by J. M. Van Osdel, and about $60,000 will be expended in the work.

Inter Ocean, July 24, 1896

Fall of an Elevator in the Ottawa Building.
An electric elevator in the Ottawa building. No. 105-109 Madison street, was officially Inspected at 10 o’clock yesterday morning by a city inspector, who pronounced it in first-class order, capable of carrying a load of 2,000 pounds.

Two hours later the elevator fell from the second story with a dozen employes of the Excelsior Cloak Company, who were returning to their workshop on the third floor. The elevator was ascending between the second and third floors, when suddenly it stopped and began to descend, slowly at first, but with rapidly increasing velocity. The car struck the floor with such force as to crash through it nearly a foot. The sudden strain and jerk broke the cables of the counterweight, which fell from the top of the building, crashed through the floor, and wrecked the electric motor.

The elevator at the time of the accident was in charge of the janitor of the building. Hubert Riggs, the regular elevator man, John H. O’Neil, having gone to dinner.

The name of the city elevator inspector cannot be learned until he presents his report this morning. There are a number of inspectors, and at the office in the city hall nobody could tell who made the inspection. He inspected everything but the electrical
machinery.

The motor and connections were inspected daily by L. Z. Sweet, an expert, and also at frequent intervals by H. Cochran, inspector for the Edison Company, and by C. S. Welch, engineer of the Occidental building. The electric plant was inspected when installed two years ago by the city electrical department. It does not make subsequent inspections of electric plants unless changes have been made in them.

Within a short time after the accident a dozen electrical experts, including H. H.
Hornsby, chief inspector of the city electrical department, Assistant Inspector Haskins, and Frederick H. Prince, president of the Baton & Prince Company, which made the electric plant, arrived. None of the experts were able to locate the cause of the accident, although they made every effort to do so.

The men in the elevator at the time of the accident were well jarred, but not seriously injured, “more scared than hurt,” as one of them expressed it.

Inter Ocean, My 4, 1902

TALKING MACHINES.
The Talking Machine Company, jobbers and exporters in talking machines and accessories, 105-107-109 Madison street (incorporated), successors to the Edison Talking Machine company. This company are the largest jobbers in talking machines in the United States, and carry a large stock of all kinds of talking machines, including Victor Talking Machines, Edison Phonographs, Polyphones, Columbia Graphophones, Gramophones, and Disc Machines. Their business extends all over the world. Their foreign traveler is now in China and Japan establishing agencles.

Inter Ocean, April 26, 1908

Property at 105-109 Madison Street, Owned by Freer Estate, Leased to John R. Thompson for Ninety-Nine Years.
The important deal of the week in down town property was the closing of the ninety-nine year lease to John R. Thompson of the promises at 105-109 East Madison street from the Freer estate. The transaction had been pending for nearly a year and reports were current several months ago that the county treasurer had taken over the property. For one reason or another, however, the papers remained in escrow until Thursday, when they were filed for record.

The property, which has a south frontage of sixty feet, with a depth of 167 feet, is 100 feet west of Dearborn street. It is improved with a five story brick structure known as the Ottawa building. Mr. Thompson now occupies a part of the ground floor with a restaurant. C. S. Ennis & Co. are credited with
having negotiated the deal.

The land valuation fixed on this property by the board of review for 1907 was $494,150, but in this transaction, figured on a 4 per cent basis, the property is valued at $625,000. or a little more than $10,000 a front foot. The rental for the first ten years is to be $24,000 per annum and $25,000 per year for the balance of the term, in addition to which the lessee is to pay all public taxes.

The present buildings on the property are valued at $35,000, but one of the conditions of the lease is that during the next ten years the lessee shall erect on the ground a first class, modern, fireproof building not less. than twelve stories in height, and to cost not less than $250,000. This building is to be ready for occupancy not later than Dec. 31, 1918. The lessee has an option for an extension of the lase for an additional period of fifty years at an annual rental of $30,000.

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