Acres of Furniture
[American Furniture Mart (1924/26) Henry Raeder, George C. Nimmons & Co., N. Max Dunning, associate
architects /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
When this blue-capped spire appeared on the Chicago skyline in 1926 east of the newly
developing Michigan Avenue retail district at Lake Shore Drive, it towered over a sparsely populated neighborhood with acres of vacant property and a few low-rise manufacturing buildings. Supposedly in the original design the top of the tower was meant to be a landing site for dirigibles. I have a feeling, if it's true, it was a fleeting consideration.
[Furniture Mart Building, 666 N. Lake Shore Drive at Erie Street, Mc Clurg Court and Huron Street, Chicago /Images
& Artwork: designslinger]
The story begins in 1924 with the eastern portion of the structure designed by a team of
architects which included George C. Nimmons, designer of a lot of large, prominent commercial projects in the city. The building, located at 666 N. Lake Shore Drive, was built to house the showrooms and offices of the country's leading furniture manufacturers, many of which were headquartered in Chicago and surrounding states. At the time the city was the furniture production hub of the country and a consortium of businessmen saw a opportunity in providing a centralized furniture display facility which gave wholesalers an opportunity to look at all the product lines available for the retail market under one roof. And so the American Furniture Mart was born.
[American Mart, June 30, 2010 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
As you can tell, the building was massive. 2,000,000 square feet of floor space which
translates to just over 43 acres. It was the largest building in the world until the Merchandise Mart was built along the Chicago River in 1930. For decades thousands of store owners, their agents, salesmen, designers and trade representatives would descend on the city for the big furniture shows. But as more and more of the industry moved from the Midwest to the South because of lower labor costs and more efficient transportation systems developed, the Mart fell on hard times. By the mid-1970s the once financially successful project was running $1,200,000 a year in the red.
[Lake Shore Place (1981) Fujikawa, Conterato, Lohan and Asoociates, architects /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
In 1979 the building was purchased by a New York developer who planned on converting
the giant white elephant into a multi-use structure housing condominiums, rental apartments, offices and retail. At the time 666 was the largest conversion project ever attempted. Unfortunately the early 80s were not a good time for the real estate market and by 1986 the project was in bankruptcy court. The bank holding the mortgage took over and a new real estate management company was brought in to handle leasing and sales. It was also decided that the number 666 had too many negative connotations (something to do with the Bible and evil) so the address was officially changed to 680 and a new name, Lake Shore Place was attached.
The building found a large commercial tenant to fill its office space in 1989 when Playboy
Enterprises left their Michigan Avenue home of 23 years for 680 N. Lake Shore Drive. The building bustles with activity once again and now sits in one of the premiere residential neighborhoods in the city. The tower isn't as openly visible as it was in 1926, but it peaks out from around surrounding high-rises every now and again, and when Northwestern Hospital tore down the old Veteran's Hospital building last year it opened up a view to the western facade that hadn't been seen in 70 years.
See our post about the Merchandise Mart: Merchandising Art, and another building that was
under consideration as a dirigible landing site: They Just Don't Build "Em Like Like This Anymore - Pt.II, plus find out a little more about dirigibles at: Floating on Air.
Posted by designslinger at 7/8/2010 1:45 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: American Furniture Mart dirigibles George C. Nimmons
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: American Furniture Mart dirigibles George C. Nimmons
The American Furniture Mart looks as if it were built (at least from the exterior) as a cathedral to furniture design.
Like the Woolworth Building in NYC. A testamonial to Mr. Woolworth and the power of 5 & Dime commerce!