How Many Bays Does the Building Have?
[Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building (1914) George C. Nimmons, architect /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
The Chicago River was once lined with large brick warehouses, what made the Reid,
Murdoch building unique was that architect George Nimmons actually gave the grocery wholesalers a structure that went beyond the basic, boring, utilitarian design of its original brick-faced neighbors.
[Reid, Murdoch Building, 325 N. Clark Street, Chicago /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
Nimmons was one of the city's more prolific commercial/manufacturing designers. He
became the architect of the Sears, Roebuck Company and designed warehouses, factories and stores for what was once the world's largest retailer. The Reid, Murdoch commission came in 1914, one in a number of similar projects in the Nimmons' office. The architect was also known for his Prairie Style instincts which can be seen in some of the details on the building's facade.
[Reid, Murdoch & Co. Wholesale Grocers Building /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The warehouse was also the first along the river constructed within the framework of
the ground breaking Chicago Plan of 1909. It was set back from the river unlike the older storage warehouse structures which came right up to the river's edge, and Nimmons' placed Reid, Murdoch's most prominent feature, the clock tower, on the river front rather than the street fronts on Clark or La Salle. He also included a pedestrian walkway along the building's river face accessible from both streets, a very early version of the city's Riverwalk.
[Reid, Murdoch Center /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
So, before we go any further, take a good look at the picture above and count the number
of window bays to the left of the clock tower and then to the right. Notice that there are more on the right than left? Nimmons' building was originally symmetrical but lost some of it's west (left) side in a street expansion in the mid-1920s. La Salle Street was widened and a bridge was built to span the river. In order to make room for all that girth, one bay of the warehouse was removed and the corner bay was restored to the truncated end. The city had been talking about widening the street when the building was constructed, but it was just one of a number of street expansion ideas on the planning table, and we all know that just because a plan has been proposed doesn't mean it will ever become a reality.
Today the building houses the offices of Encyclopedia Britannica, but a lot of Chicago area
residents will remember it as the home of the city's infamous Traffic Court division, where hundreds of people a day approached Nimmons' elegant warehouse for their court date with butterflies in their stomach, and a sense of dread.
See more about the La Salle Street expansion at: Missing: Original House Front.
Posted by designslinger at 9/30/2010 1:33 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Prairie Style George C. Nimmons warehouses commercial architecture
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Prairie Style George C. Nimmons warehouses commercial architecture
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