Northern Trust Co. Building
Life Span: 1905-Present
Location: 50 S. LaSalle
Architect: Frost & Granger; C. F. Murphy (1967 addition)
- Lakeside Business Directory of the City of Chicago, 1911
Northern Trust Co (The)Byron L. Smith pres; Thos C King cash; LaSalle nw cor Monroe tel Main-3322
Northern Trust Safe Deposit Company The Edward J Phelps sec and mngr; LaSalle nw cor Monroe tel Main-3322
Inter Ocean, April 16, 1905
NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY’S BANK TO BE MODEL STRUCTURE
Plans of Building Contain Unique Features and the Rapid Dispatch of Business Is Assured.
The Northern Trust company’s new building will be erected on the lot at the northwest corner of Monroe and La Salle streets, on which the Bryan block has stood since the great fire. It will have a frontage of 190 feet on La Salle street and 73 feet on Monroe street, with an alley at the north end, thus giving light upon three sides. The entrance is on La Salle street, near the corner of Monroe. The building will be four stories high, with a basement and subbasement.
The first floor will be devoted to the savings department, the second to the banking department, and the third to the trust department. The fourth floor will be used for retiring and filing rooms and various other purposes.
The safety deposit vaults will be located directly below the savings bank department. and the heating and other necessary plants will be in the subbasement.
The plan of the bank contains some unique features. The entrance admits to a grand lobby, with a ceiling forty-one feet high, in which is a grand marble stairway leading to a gallery on a level with the second floor, or banking department. Thus, on entering the building, the savings department is upon the right hand, extending north for a distance of half a block, and the banking department may be reached by ascending a short flight of stairs or by using elevators.
The trust department, with the offices of the president and board of directors, takes up the entire third floor, and the plans provide for every possible convenience and facility for the prompt and safe dispatch of business, and the comfort and convenience of customers.
Architectural Record, January, 1907
Leave a Reply