The Telephone Book Goes to Press
designslinger]
When Richard R. Donnelley opened his print shop in Chicago in 1864, he planted the seeds
of what would grow to become the world's largest printing company. In 1886 Donnelley began publishing Chicago's telephone directory which lead to R.R. Donnelley & Sons changing fortunes. When Sears Roebuck & Co., also headquartered in Chicago, wanted to sell products to a nationwide audience and was looking for a relatively inexpensive way to reach them, they turned to Donnelly. Soon after they began publishing a catalog for Marshall Field & Co., along with other telephone directories for cities around the country. By 1896 business was booming and it was time to move into larger quarters. Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, with partner Samuel Treat, designed a structure that was called, "a radical departure from the usual kind of manufacturing building in the city."
designslinger]
The exterior of the Lakeside Press Building didn't look like your average printing plant.
Shaw and Treat's use of wide expanses of glass set into brick bays, decorative ornamentation and attention to detail, set the building apart from the typically mundane, smoke-belching, late 19th century factory.
Donnelley's business continued to grow as it entered the 20th century. So much so that it
eventually outgrew its Polk Street plant. The building was converted into residential condominiums in the 1980s and became a dormitory for students attending nearby Columbia College in the 1990s. So where did Donnelley go? Find out on Thursday when we continue the story of the world's largest printer.
Posted by designslinger at 3/9/2010 1:31 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Lakeside Press Howard Van Doren Shaw R.R. Donnelley Sons commercial architecture
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Lakeside Press Howard Van Doren Shaw R.R. Donnelley Sons commercial architecture
It's a cliffhanger!!! Can't wait to find out what happens to Donnelley.
-K
Beautiful detail on these!
Thanks! And thanks for stopping by.