Marshall Field and Company Building

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Coordinates: 41°53′1.31″N 87°37′37.09″W / 41.8836972°N 87.6269694°W / 41.8836972; -87.6269694
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This article is about the flagship store location. For the building in Oak Park, see Marshall Field and Company Store (Oak Park, Illinois). For the building in New York City formerly named the Marshall Field Building, see 200 Madison Avenue.

Marshall Field and Company Building
Chicago Landmark
Daniel H. Burnham
Architectural styleChicago school
NRHP reference No.78001123
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 2, 1978[1]
Designated NHLJune 2, 1978[2]
Designated CLNovember 1, 2005

The Marshall Field and Company Building is a

Randolph Street, North Wabash Avenue, and East Washington Street. Field and partners founded their Chicago store in 1852, and first built an expansive shopping emporium on this site in 1868. The 1901 building was the fourth for the department store at this site.[3]

Marshall Field's established numerous important business "firsts" in this building and in the series of previous elaborate decorative structures on this site for the last century and a half,[4] and it is regarded as one of the three most influential establishments in the nationwide development of the department store and in the commercial business economic history of the United States.[5] The name of the stores formerly headquartered at this building changed on September 9, 2006, as a result of the merger that produced Macy's, Inc. and led to the integration of the Marshall Field's stores into the Macy's now nationwide retailing network.[6]

The building, which is the third largest store in the world,

Chicago Landmark on November 1, 2005.[9] The building architecture is known for its multiple atria (several balconied atrium - "Great Hall") and for having been built in stages over the course of more than two decades.[10] Its ornamentation includes a mosaic vaulted ceiling designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a pair of well-known outdoor street-corner clocks at State and Washington, and later at State and Randolph Streets, which serve as symbols of the store since 1897.[10]

Business history

Main article: Marshall Field's
Marshall Field (left) and Potter Palmer (right) were instrumental in the Marshall Field's move to anchor the future "Loop" Retail Historic District at State Street and Washington Street.
Sequence of store fronts at North State & Washington Streets corner, broken by the aftermath of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire
downtown business district area

Although the official corporate name of the retail entity based in this building had been

Singer Sewing Machine Company. In 1877 another fire consumed this building, and when a new Singer Building was built to replace it at the same location in 1879, Field then put together the financing to purchase it. The business has remained there ever since, and it has added four subsequent buildings to form the integrated structure that is now called the "Marshall Field and Company Building."[11][12]

Chicago's retailing center was State Street in the famous downtown

designer labels, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Miu Miu and Jimmy Choo, which led to the disassembly of several designer departments of the former Field's (see picture below).[15]

On September 9, 2006, at the time of the stores merger and conversion, the name of the building was officially changed to "Macy's at State Street".

newspapers, radio and television.[19][20]

A remaining Marshall Field's building nameplate (2006)

Business legend

The store housed a business that established new retailing standards and broke many retailing conventions of the day.

Berlin.[4]

The building has three atria including the 5-story balconied Louis Comfort Tiffany, (1848-1933), (later Tiffany & Co.) mosaic-capped vaulted ceiling one (left, 1910) in the southwest corner. On the right notice the construction stages/years evidenced by slight exterior facade differences.

The building continues to be the second largest store in the world.[7] Marshall Field took over the operations of the store in 1881 and became the first merchant to post the price of the goods in plain sight, which eliminated the common practice of haggling and charging whatever the buyer would pay.[4] On top of that, Field stood behind his product with his famous slogan that symbolized his willingness to refund the full price of all merchandise (a policy inherited from early mentor and partner Potter Palmer)[24] purchased in his store:

Give the lady what she wants.[24]

Building details

Entrance with Holiday decorations and automobiles parked along State Street, c.1910s
Louis Comfort Tiffany, (1848–1933), (later Tiffany & Co. studios of New York City) glass mosaic vaulted ceiling of Marshall Field & Company Building
Marshall Field & Company Building famous two-level balconied Tea Room restaurant
Marshall Field & Company Building view, 1905

The 13-story

Daniel H. Burnham, (1846–1912), designed the two primary sections along State Street (the north building built in 1902 and the south in 1905–06).[25] For a time, the building was the largest store in the world at 73 acres (300,000 m2) of floorspace, with the largest book, china, shoe, and toy departments of all the world's department stores.[22]

The current building has several atria: A

Ionic-style capped granite columns on the State Street façade.[11] The building is estimated to be 150.68 feet (45.93 m) high.[10]

Marshall Field and Company Buildings front facade on North State Street, pictured behind adjacent "Block 37" construction project underway across State Street.

The building is known for its two exterior clocks, which weigh about 7.5 short tons (6.7 long tons) each,[11] on its northwest and southwest corners along State Street at both Randolph and Washington Streets.[10][25] The southwest clock at the original Washington Street intersection, known as "The Great Clock", was installed on November 26, 1897. Marshall Field envisioned the clock as a beacon for his store which he viewed as a meeting place. The clock was installed after the southwest corner of the store had become a popular meeting place and people began leaving notes for one another on the Marshall Field's windows. The clock was an attempt to end this practice, and encourage punctuality.[11]

Today, the building is located at 111 North State Street, between Washington and Randolph Streets, within the designated "Loop" Retail Historic District of the Chicago "Loop", across State Street from the "Block 37" future construction project, across Randolph Street from the Joffrey Tower, and across Wabash Avenue from The Heritage at Millennium Park.[3] An underground public concourse connects the basement to 25 East Washington Street, which formerly housed the Marshall Field's Men's Store.[10] The building is a major hub for the "Chicago Pedway".

Traditions and place in popular culture

Saturday Evening Post magazine cover, November 3, 1945 - "The Clock Mender"
One of the famous iconic Marshall Field's "Great Clock"

The building has several

The Night Before Christmas, Harry Potter, and Cinderella.[27] Annually a three-story tall Christmas tree is brought in for the Holiday season.[10] In an effort to quell opposition to the merger/ conversion, Macy's made a formal statement of its intent to continue the traditions of a 45-foot (13.716 m) Christmas tree, a seventh floor "Frango" viewing kitchen, and animated holiday window displays.[16][28]

On November 3, 1945, American illustrator

Chicago Historical Society.[29]

In John Dos Passos' novel The 42nd Parallel (1930), character Eric Egstrom is employed at this Marshall Field's building.

Authors G. K. Chesterton and Sinclair Lewis met in the Field's department store building's book department, which resulted in their collaboration on the unpublished play "Mary Queen of Scotch."[10]

Gallery

  • Looking down the northwest atrium with the edge of the hanging American flag in Marshall Field's
    Looking down the northwest atrium with the edge of the hanging American flag in Marshall Field's
  • Disassembled Dolce and Gabbana Collection during conversion from Marshall Field's to Macy's
    Disassembled
    Dolce and Gabbana
    Collection during conversion from Marshall Field's to Macy's
  • Detail of the "Great Clock" on the corner of the Marshall Field & Company Building, built 1891–1892, at North State and Washington Streets, erected 1897
    Detail of the "Great Clock" on the corner of the Marshall Field & Company Building, built 1891–1892, at North State and Washington Streets, erected 1897
  • The "Great Clock" on the corner of the Marshall Field & Company Building of 1891–1892, above a crowd of pedestrians at North State and Washington Streets, erected 1897
    The "Great Clock" on the corner of the Marshall Field & Company Building of 1891–1892, above a crowd of pedestrians at North State and Washington Streets, erected 1897
  • The original State Street entrance sign bronze plaque for Marshall Field and Company with adjacent new Macy's signage, Chicago, 2005
    The original State Street entrance sign bronze plaque for Marshall Field and Company with adjacent new Macy's signage, Chicago, 2005

Notes

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Marshall Field Company Store". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 3, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
  3. ^
    Chicago Historical Society
    . 2005. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Marshall Field's". PdxHistory.com. February 9, 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
  5. ^
    Chicago Historical Society
    . Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  6. ^ "Federated Announces Strategic Decisions to Integrate May Company Acquisition; Company to Focus on Building the Macy's and Bloomingdale's Brands While Increasing Profitability". Business Wire. CNET Networks, Inc. September 20, 2005. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Hieggelke, Brian (December 6, 2005). "Requiem for a Dream". Newcity Communications, Inc. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  8. ^ Ralph J. Christian (March 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Marshall Field & Company Store". National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying six photos, exterior and interior, from 1960 and undated (1.21 MB)
  9. ^ "CHICAGO LANDMARKS: Individual Landmarks and Landmark Districts designated as of January 1, 2008" (PDF). Commission on Chicago Landmarks. January 1, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ^
    Emporis.com. Archived from the original
    on May 14, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  11. ^
    Chicago Magazine
    . Retrieved April 3, 2008.
  12. ^ a b "Marshall Field and Company". Jazz Age Chicago. Scott A. Newman. May 11, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  13. ^ a b Bennett, Larry (2005). "Shopping Districts and Malls". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  14. ^ Danzer, Gerald A. (2005). "The Loop". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  15. ^ Jones, Sandra (September 8, 2006). "House brands heavy at Macy's". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^
    Macy's North. April 27, 2006. Archived from the original
    on September 28, 2007. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  17. ^ a b "Protesters Mourn Marshall Field's End". cbs2chicago.com. CBS Broadcasting, Inc. September 9, 2006. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
  18. ^ Jones, Sandra (September 5, 2006). "Hard-core fans stay loyal to brand". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
  19. Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on October 5, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
  20. ^ Sander, Libby (January 17, 2007). "Loss of a Beloved Department Store Breeds a New Kind of Superfan". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
  21. Chicago Historical Society
    . Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  22. ^ a b "Marshall Field's". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  23. Chicago Historical Society
    . Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  24. ^
    Chicago Historical Society
    . Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  25. ^
    Chicago Historical Society
    . 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  26. ^ Hanson, Keri (January 16, 2018). "The Fascinating History of Macy's on State Street in Chicago". VisitMacysUSA.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  27. ^ Runice, Jackie. "Marshall Field's State Street Holiday Window Display". AOL, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2008.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Federated Reveals Plans For Flagship Marshall Field's On State Street". Nielsen Business Media, Inc./AllBusiness.com, Inc. May 1, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2008. [dead link]
  29. ^ "Time heals rift over a Rockwell: Tiff between 2 retail chains comes to an end with the donation of the painting 'The Clock Mender' to the Chicago History Museum". Chicago Tribune. McClatchy-Tribune Business News. September 27, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2008.[permanent dead link]

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