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Marshall Field’s: The Man and the Store After fires damaged the first two buildings, the third and final building was built in 1892. By 1907, the store would cover the entire block that included State, Washington, Randolph Streets and Wabash Avenue. Daniel H. Burnham and other architects worked together to produce the luxury and grandeur that was Marshall Field’s and company. The building’s exterior was not extravagant with the common historical ornament of the time, but conservative and classic. This classic exterior complemented the luxurious interior and accomplished Field’s goal of “creating a place where the public would be dazzled by opulence”. Marshall Field’s was at one time known as the largest department store in the world. There were stores located in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Stockholm and Berlin. Field believed in taking advantage of the industrial revolution and transportation, so goods were imported from Europe and Asia. Marshall Field’s established store policies that would alter the world of department stores. It was the first store to refund an item for full price, the first to place prices right on the merchandise, the first department store to start a European buying office, first to have in-store dining and the first to establish a bridal registry. Marshall Field’s was innovative and always stressed the importance of the costumer. That is why Marshall Field’s and company was known for their excellent costumer service around the world because they treated every shopper with the utmost courtesy and respect. Marshall Field’s was also one of the only places women could go with out being escorted by a male. A big reason for this was because Field believed in hiring women to make the shopping experience more comfortable for them. Before Marshall Field’s women did not have clubs they could go to in order to meet other women, like men did. They did not even have public lavatories that were available to them either! That is why Marshall Field’s was so popular among women because it was a place they could meet other women, shop, eat and even use the lavatory. Marshall Field’s coined the phrase “give the lady what she wants”. Marshall Field’s has impacted the city of Chicago in an enormous way. It was a job opportunity for men as well as women and was a step up from the factory jobs at that time. Marshall Field’s brought people and products from all over the world to Chicago. It helped to put Chicago on the map for trading and tourism. Marshall Field’s helped to establish other historical sites such as the Field Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Chicago and many others. Marshall Field’s defined Chicago as an International city.

The Wrigley Building

The Wrigley building was built in 1920 and was the first large office building built north of the Chicago River. It was founded by William Wrigley Jr. and he envisioned a building of grandeur that would compliment his successful gum company. This building is so unique because unlike other sky-scrappers of that period, it has a triangular shape. The Wrigley building became the leading structure in the development of the Michigan Avenue business district. The buildings basic structure was modeled after the Seville Cathedral’s Giralda Tower in Spain. However the decorative design was based on French Renaissance buildings. The major architects of this building were Graham, Anderson, Probst and White. They used a classic structure with decadent trimmings to create this masterpiece of a building. The walls of the Wrigley Building are made of five different grades of terra cotta, ranging from dark to light. This beautiful terra cotta makes the building look as if is were illuminated or gleaming. One of the most obvious features of the Wrigley structure is its giant clock. This clock’s four hands each measure nineteen feet long and seven inches in diameter. The Wrigley building was so successful that William Wrigley Jr. decided to build another like it. That is why William Wrigley Jr. decided to add on an identical building to the original one. When the second building was complete there was a sky bridge added on the fourteenth floor and one added on the ground level to join the two buildings together. The Wrigley Building was very important to the development of Chicago. It is because of the success of this building that there was further development of North Michigan Avenue. The Wrigley gum company attracted big businesses to Chicago due to its success as a multi-million dollar business at the end of WWI. The Wrigley Company is located all over the world but its home is in Chicago.

Chicago Tribune Building

In 1922, the Chicago Tribune organized a competition to design the most beautiful building. This building would become the new home of the Chicago tribune news paper. Although the Chicago news paper already had a place to call home, its editor Colonel Robert McCormick had a vision for something greater. He wanted a building that would inspire its workers and be a model for future generations. Another reason McCormick wanted to build a new building was because the downtown loop was becoming overcrowded. He wanted the paper to play a part in the social, industrial, and political development of Chicago. McCormick believed this message needed to be expressed by the building it was printed in. The competition to design “the most beautiful modern building” began in 1922. In a period of three months 258 entries were received from all over the world. This contest became so important because it showcased the work of some of the best architects in the twentieth century. Each week the Tribune would include pictures of the entries to get the publics feed back on what they liked the best. The paper also stressed the idea of what they were really looking for in a design. McCormick wanted a more Gothic and historical style building that would commemorate the Chicago Tribune’s seventy-five years in print. The contestants that came closest to this idea of McCormick’s vision were Howells and Hood, the second place winner was Sarrinen and third was Holabird and Roche. The winners and all other design entries announced the tuning point in American architecture. The building itself was based on other neo-gothic structures of the time. The Tribune Tower stretches 462ft and is a decorative building containing buttresses at the top of the tower. The majority of the public liked this new building but it did receive a lot of criticism. Critics said it was too Gothic and opposed the trend of modernized buildings that were started by the Chicago School of Architecture. Even though many said the design for this building should not have one first place, it has become one of the most famous and recognizable buildings in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune Building has become a very important landmark in Chicago. It was the third skyscraper to be built on what would become the famous “Magnificent Mile”. The Tribune building helped to bring business and better jobs to Michigan Avenue and also put Chicago on the map for tourism. Whether critics approved of the design of the Tribune Building or not, they can not deny the lasting impact it has had on the city.