Merchandise Mart (Chicago, Illinois)
USA /
Illinois /
Chicago /
Chicago, Illinois /
West Merchandise Mart Plaza, 222
World
/ USA
/ Illinois
/ Chicago
World / United States / Illinois
store / shop, office building, landmark, skyscraper, mall, high-rise, wholesale business, Art Deco (architecture), 1930_construction, historical building
This is the Merchandise Mart, a 340 ft (104 m), 24-story office building constructed from August 1928 until May 1930 and designed by the firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White. Its Art Deco style was integrated with influences from three building types: an 18-floor warehouse with 4 corner pavilions and minimal setbacks, display windows (like on a department store) on the first 2 floors, and a skyscraper on the south side.
The building was constructed for Marshall Field and Company to centralize Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors and trade under a single roof. Today, it continues to be a leading retailing and wholesale destination, being the home of many fashion and interior design studios and related businesses. It was the world's largest building in terms of floorspace until the Pentagon opened in 1943. It remains the world's largest commercial building, with a floor area of 4,100,000 sq ft (380,900 sq m) and over 14 km (8.6 mi) of corridors. From 1963 until 2008, it had its own Zip Code (60654). Notable tenants included WMAQ-TV and the Chicago Transit Authority. Over half of the building is occupied by wholesale showrooms.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the building was modernized. From 1982 to 1991, the Merchandise Mart underwent a $100,000,000 modernization project. In 1988, an enclosed pedestrian bridge, designed by Helmut Jahn, was built over Orleans Street to connect the Mart to the Apparel Center. In 1992, the first two levels were converted to retail.
The Merchandise Mart received LEED Silver Certification in 2007. It is served by an elevated train station on the Chicago 'L' system to the east.
The building was constructed for Marshall Field and Company to centralize Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors and trade under a single roof. Today, it continues to be a leading retailing and wholesale destination, being the home of many fashion and interior design studios and related businesses. It was the world's largest building in terms of floorspace until the Pentagon opened in 1943. It remains the world's largest commercial building, with a floor area of 4,100,000 sq ft (380,900 sq m) and over 14 km (8.6 mi) of corridors. From 1963 until 2008, it had its own Zip Code (60654). Notable tenants included WMAQ-TV and the Chicago Transit Authority. Over half of the building is occupied by wholesale showrooms.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the building was modernized. From 1982 to 1991, the Merchandise Mart underwent a $100,000,000 modernization project. In 1988, an enclosed pedestrian bridge, designed by Helmut Jahn, was built over Orleans Street to connect the Mart to the Apparel Center. In 1992, the first two levels were converted to retail.
The Merchandise Mart received LEED Silver Certification in 2007. It is served by an elevated train station on the Chicago 'L' system to the east.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchandise_Mart
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 41°53'18"N 87°38'8"W
- Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center 0.6 km
- The Shops at North Bridge 0.8 km
- Au Bon Pain 1.4 km
- David Barton Gym Chicago 1.5 km
- The Magnificent Mile 1.6 km
- The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection 2.1 km
- Former Sprague Warner & Company grocery distribution center 5.5 km
- Chicago Kedzie Plaza 6.1 km
- Lake Meadows Shopping Center 6.3 km
- spam 7.1 km
- River North 0.4 km
- Near North Side 1.3 km
- Cabrini-Green 1.3 km
- Chicago Loop 1.6 km
- Gold Coast 2 km
- Goose Island 2.2 km
- Goose Island Neighborhood 2.3 km
- Near West Side 2.8 km
- West Town 3.3 km
- North End of the CTA Red Line 6.2 km
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