Old Colony Building


[Old Colony Building (1894) Holabird & Roche, architects /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

Named the Old Colony building in 1894 by owner and Bostonian Francis Bartlett in recognition of his home state and the old Plymouth Colony, the northeastern U.S. connection played a major role in architect's Holabird & Roche securing the commission. There were just a few degrees of separation between the designers and the owner, and from that circle some of Chicago's most renowned buildings were produced.


[Old Colony Building, 407 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Before Martin Roche joined William Holabird as a partner, Holabird was teamed up with Ossian Simmonds. Simmonds left to oversee the design of the recently opened Graceland Cemetery, the final resting place for some of Chicago's wealthiest citizens. Bryan Lathrop, a recent Chicago arrival from Virginia, joined his uncle's real estate firm and became the manager of Graceland. Lathrop was married to Helen Aldis, whose family had arrived on the shore of Massachusetts in the 1630s. Helen's brother Owen was also in real estate and worked as the agent for a pair of Boston brothers who invested heavily in Chicago real estate. The Brooks brothers were in the same social class as Bartlett, and Lathrop took on Bartlett as a client, another investor interested in making money in the exploding Chicago market. It was through his role as manager of Graceland and his association with Simmonds that Lathrop met Holabird & Roche who introduced the architects to Bartlett and Aldis, who introduced them to the Brooks brothers. It was how the Old Colony got built, as well as 6 major commissions became landmark buildings in the firm's portfolio, and the circle was complete.


[Old Colony Building /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

Today a portion of the city's famous "L" runs right if front of the building's Van Buren Street facade, which back in 1894 served as the structure's main entrance. And the round corner bays are now the sole survivors of an architectural feature once found on a number of buildings in Chicago's downtown business district. The old Colony had seen better days, but a recent cleaning of the facade by new owners has put a shine back on renewed Old Colony.

See a group of Bostonian connected projects at: Marquette Building, the Pontiac Building, Chicago, and a transitional building at: 90s Modern.
Posted by designslinger at 9/6/2011 4:41 AM
Categories: Architecture, Architects, History
Tags: Holabird and Roche Owen Aldis Bryan Lathrop Brooks brothers Chicago Loop commercial architecture
 

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  • 9/28/2011 2:20 PM Dan wrote:
    I believe that the seals that appear on each side of the main entrance on Dearborn are the seals of Massachusetts, not Illinois, another connection to the Old Colony.
    1. 9/29/2011 3:35 AM designslinger wrote:
      They sure are! Didn't get to take a pic of them because there was scaffolding around the base of the building when we photographed it.

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