Upon completion in 1930, the Merchandise Mart was the largest building in the world and served as Marshall Field’s wholesale warehouse, where retailers could buy stock.
ANOTHER CHICAGO EXAMPLE OF ART DECO
Designed by Alfred P. Shaw for the architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, the Merchandise Mart is one of many Art Deco buildings in Chicago that reflect the optimism of the 1920s. The steel-framed structure is clad in limestone, terra cotta and bronze, and its ornamentation displays many of the style’s popular motifs. The recessed vertical windows with dark spandrels emphasize the building’s verticality and balance out its horizontal mass. Rows of decorative chevrons (zigzags) and octagonal towers at each corner of the building are common motifs used during the Art Deco era.
THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE MART
The Merchandise Mart began as a wholesale warehouse store for Marshall Field that included rental space for other wholesalers. The idea was to unite the sales of furniture, fabric and other decorative materials under one roof. However, it wasn’t the financial success investors expected. The Great Depression forced Field & Company out of the wholesale market. In 1945, the building was sold to a group headed by Joseph P. Kennedy for about a third of its original cost.
The Kennedy family held onto the property for more than three decades and sold the building in 1998 to Vornado Realty Trust. Soon thereafter, the building received retrofits to implement energy efficiency measures and to integrate real -time data into its operations. Although it’s still a designer showcase venue today, more than one quarter of the building is leased by tech companies including Motorola Mobility and tech startup incubator 1871.
Did you know?
In 1953, Joseph Kennedy commissioned the “Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame,” consisting of eight bronze busts atop tall pillars. The busts represent neither royalty nor presidents, but America’s foremost merchants.
Did you know?
The Merchandise Mart earned a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Did you know?
The Merchandise Mart was one of the first buildings in the city to be built over railway air rights.
Did you know?
The Merchandise Mart was built above tunnels that moved ashes to the lakefront where they were used as fill at the Grant Park and Burnham Park landfills.
Did you know?
The Mercandise Mart site was originally a Native American trading post.
Docent perspective
Named a Gold LEED certified building after 85 years of existence, and now a center of cutting-edge tech innovation for Chicago, the Merchandise Mart hosts incubator space for tech start-ups and is home to thousands of square feet for Motorola, one of the original tech pioneers.
Dave UtechCAC Docent, Class of 2003
