Acknowledgments
Yuri Nakazawa compiled the research for this exhibition. We
thank the following people for their invaluable assistance:
Alfred Alschuler, Jr., Jane Clarke, Marion Despres, Joan Draper,
Peter Ha back, Herbert Hacker, Trudy Hansen, Ruth Kamen,
Robert Kincaid, Richard Marcus, John Moore, Rex Moser, Hazel
Robinson and Janet Ruggles.
Program
Exhibition
January 22 through May 31, 1981 in the corridor gallery near
the cafeteria, The Art Institute of Chicago
Free Lectures
February 5 and 12, 1981 in Columbus Drive Auditorium of the
Art Institute, 6:00 P.M. Robert Bruegmann and C. William
Westfall will discuss , respectively, "The Temple, The Tower,
and the Metropolis of the Twenties," and " Shaping a City:
Alfred S.Alschuler and Chicago Architecture, 1900-1930."
A project of the Burnham Library of Architecture
The Art Institute of Chicago
Funded by the Illinois Humanities Council and the
National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional
support from the Museum Education Department
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-70798
© The Art Institute of Chicago, 1981
Designed by Michael Glass, Chicago, Illinois
This is the first in what we hope will become a series of miniexhibits on aspects of local architecture that have been overshadowed by past studies of the more famous Chicago School
buildings and their architects, Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan,
and Frank Lloyd Wright. One such architect who deserves recognition is Alfred S. Alschuler (1876-1940) .
Alschuler was a native Chicagoan who attended the Armour
Institute of Technology and the School of the Art Institute before joining Dankmar Adler's architectural practice in 1900.
From then until 1907, when Alschuler started out in his own
practice, he worked with Adler and Samuel Atwater Treat.
From 1907-22, Alschuler specialized in commercial and industrial architecture. Some of his early examples are the John R.
Thompson Building at 350 North Clark (1912), the Cunard Building at 140 North Dearborn (1916; demolished], and the John
Sexton Building, 500 North Orleans (1916; addition 1919).
It is evident that .he was capable of handling a project such
as the London Guarantee and Accident Company Building, but
we do not know why he , specifically, was chosen for this job
instead of the prestigious office builders Graham, Anderson,
Probst and White (the successors to D. H. Burnham and Company) or Holabird and Roche. It is likely that Alschuler was an
associate and perhaps, a neighbor of John S. Miller who, in 1909,
put together the parcels of land that form the site of the London
Guarantee Building at 360 North Michigan Avenue . (Alschuler
and Miller's son were both on the Winnetka Plan Commission
in 1921.) This site h as important historic associations and physical characteristics.
First, it was the site of Fort Dearborn, one of the log-built
frontier outposts established by Thomas Jefferson in 1803, burnt
during the War of 1812, and rebuilt in 1816. A marble tablet
commemorating this structure was placed, in 1881 , on one of
the post-fire commercial buildings erected here in 1872- The
Hoyt Grocery Block. The second historic event occurred in
1920- the opening of the Michigan Avenue Bridge designed by
Edward H. Bennett. It was the construction of this doubleleveled bascule bridge with its connections to upper and lower
Wacker Drive, all part of Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago
(1909), that made the real estate adjoining the river ripe for
development. The Wrigley Building by Graham , Anderson,
Probst and White was being completed in 1921. The Chicago
Tribune held a competition, in 1922, to design its nearby office
building, and all Chicago looked forward to this area becoming
a tangible expression of this city's new aspiration to become
the Paris of the Prairie. This image, and the classical detailing
of the bridge, doubtless had some influence on the choice of
limestone classicism for the London Guarantee Building; an
ornate classicism that was distinctly different and more elaborate than the typically stark Chicago School buildings that
were constructed before this, even by Alschuler himself. The
site's physical qualities were equally compelling. The doubleleveled Wacker Drive required design coordination and detail
differentiation for the service and pedestrian levels. The prop-
erty line was irregular, causing the main facade to be concave.
Moreover, the Fort Dearborn Corporation, the building corporation consisting of London Guarantee executives who were investing in this for their company's American headquarters,
could not obtain the Keough property, causing Alschuler to
design a courtyard space around it on Michigan Avenue. This
space is clearly shown as a gap in both the presentation model
and rendering of the accepted design drawn by Frank O.
Tupper-White, an English designer who worked for Alschuler.
Three-dimensional models and perspective drawings are the
techniques that architects use to present or sell the building to
a client. The building corporation finally obtained a 198-year
lease to the property, and Alschuler designed a low structure to
fill in the space, yet retain the courtyard effect.
Work was begun on the foundations of this twenty-one story
skyscraper in January, 1922, when the working drawings were
approved and copies distributed to the contractors for their
construction.The cornerstone ceremony was held on December
3, 1922, with officials of the Army, State, City, the London
Guarantee and Accident Company, and the Chicago Historical
Society in attendance. The ceremonies included a military
escort of fifty-five men from Fort Sheridan, the same number
of soldiers who evacuated Fort Dearborn in 1812 to be massacred at Eighteenth Street and Calumet Avenue. Speeches by
Thomas Condon of the London Guarantee and Accident Company and architect Alschuler, as well as the latter's writings
about the building, reveal that they viewed this structure as a
permanent "civic" contribution to Chicago's cityscape akin to
the monuments of ancient Greece and Rome. The classical
imagery in the building-Corinthian columns, Greek meander
patterns, Roman eagles and lions, and the reclining sculptures
of the gods Ceres and Neptune flanking the main entrancereinforces that association with the antique world. In addition,
there was local imagery in the Fort Dearborn bronze relief over
the central door, and corporate imagery in the griffins, urns,
and coats of arms of the City of London found throughout the
lobby and exterior of the building. The elaborate cupola on the
top, a variation of a Greco-Roman lantern, was intended to "balance the effect of the Wrigley and Tribune towers." The cupola
is, here, more of a formal device than an iconographic one. It
reflects Alschuler's interest in this type of architectural element. In 1934 he wrote that he admired them on public buildings in Helsinki and Stockholm, particularly the Stockholm
Town Hall of 1909-23.
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These various details were drawn, modified, and executed
with the steel-structured and limestone-sheathed building completed in 1923 at a total cost of five million dollars . Its success
was immediate. Rental brochures rightly stressed the building's
practical advantages in its proximity to business, yet distance
from the "din, dirt, and disorder of the Loop." Images of the
building and its urban environment were reproduced in countless postcards, newspaper ads, books, and magazine illustrations. demonstrating that it was an important addition to
Chicago's skyline of the early 1920s. Further recognition came
in the form of the gold medal for 1923 by the Lake Shore Trust
and Savings Bank. Alschuler's career continued to flourish immediately afterward. He designed other high-rise buildings such
as the Mercantile Exchange at 110 North Franklin Street (1927),
180 North Michigan Avenue (1926-28), and 1209 North Astor
Street (1926) .
By the late twenties, new buildings began to fill in the spaces
that surround the London Guarantee Building-buildings that
were larger than it and in a flashier "Art Moderne" style, such
as 333 North Michigan Avenue by Holabird and Root and the
Carbide and Carbon Building at 230 North Michigan Avenue
by the Burnham Brothers. In 1946, less than twenty-three years
after it was built, the London Guarantee Building was sold and
architects Graham, Anderson, Probst and White were contracted to make a study for filling in the Michigan Avenue
light court to expand rental space. Architects Cone and Dornbusch had a similar proposal in 1952 which was also not
executed. Four years later, Cone and Dornbusch were the
architects responsible for modernizing the building in a oneand-a-half million dollar renovation that provided new elevators , central heating, and air conditioning, but removed the
elaborate ironwork of the main entrance and covered the original dome with acoustical tiles. Although altered from its original appearance, 360 North Michigan Avenue, now the Stone
Container Building, still functions admirably well today. It is
a distinctive structure within Chicago's ever growing skyline,
and one that deserves our notice.
John Zukowsky
Architectural Archivist
Documentation
Alfred S. Alschuler, Architect
Dwight P. Robinson and Company,
General Contractors
Indiana Quarries Company, Indiana limestone.
Vanderkloot Steel Works, structural steel.
Oscar Daniels Company, steel erectors.
S. S. Kimbell Brick Co., face brick.
The Central Oolitic Stone Co., cut stone.
Geo. Archer and Son, stone setters.
Material Service Corporation, building materials.
W. J. Newman Co., caissons.
West Woodworking Company, cabinet work.
Nollau and Wolff Mfg. Co., frames and sash.
Mehring and Hanson Co., heating.
Johnson Service Company, temperature control.
Warren Webster and Co., vacuum system.
M. J. Carboy Company, plumbing.
Yeomans Brother Company, sewage ejectors.
R. B. Hayward Company, ventilating.
E. E. Davis Company, concrete fireproofing.
Henry C. Kinsley Co., sheet metal.
Manton and Smith Co., ornamental iron, bronze.
Central Iron Works of Chicago, fire escapes.
Central Asbestos and Magnesia Co., asbestos.
Samuel Olson and Co., ash conveyers.
The Patent Scaffolding Co., scaffolding.
The Security Safety Device Co., window
safety appliances.
C. J. McGuire, wrecking.
Sterling Wheelbarrow Co., wheelbarrows.
H. R. Bradley and Co., consulting engineers.
Robert W. Hunt and Co., testing of materials.
Selected Sources
Alschuler, Alfred S. Writings, III of the Alfred S. Alschuler
Collection, Spertus Museum of Judaica.
Alschuler, Alfred S. "Influence of Modern Design on Architecture," Mothers' Aid Message, XII no. 3 [January, 1934), 3,
14-16.
Chase, Al. "Buildings New Owners Study Boost in Space,"
Chicago Tribune, November 10, 1946.
Cone and Dornbusch. Prospectus for a Proposed Addition to the
London Guarantee and Accident Building, December 15, 1952.
Fuller, Ernest. "Famous Chicago Buildings," Chicago Tribune,
January 24, 1959.
Karl, Joseph I. "Skyscraper on Historic Site," Real Estate News,
XVIII no. 1 (January 1923), 1-11.
Laying of Cornerstone Site of Fort Dearborn, December 3, 1922.
32 page typescript in the Chicago Historical Society.
Scrapbooks on 360 North Michigan Avenue. 3 vols. (HelmsleySpear of Illinois).
154
c . .. .
Phot o: Courtesy H e lmsl ey-Spear o f Illinois . The building and its
urban e nvironm en t appea r in th e Hof CHICAGO.
Exhibition Checklist
The drawings on exhibit were chosen from the ninety-six sheets
for the London Guarantee and Accident Company building that
were donated to the Burnham Library in 1980 by Friedman,
Alschuler, and Sincere. The drawings are mostly arranged in
chronological order.
1
Proposed Alterations and Additions for the Building at the
Southwest Corner of Michigan Avenue and River Street, the
Predecessor of the London Guarantee Building, August 20, 1917.
Pencil and colored pencil on tracing paper.
2
14
Unaccepted Design for the Parapet of the Keough Addition,
May 16, 1923. Pencil and colored pencil on tracing paper.
15
Accepted Design for the Parapet of the Keough Addition,
May 24, 1923. Pencil on tracing paper.
16
Cartouche for the Sixteenth Floor, December 7, 1922. Pencil on
tracing paper.
17
Bronze Tablet of Fort Dearborn for the Main Entrance, January
22, 1923. Pencil on tracing paper.
3
18
Elevations for the Griffins at the Sixth Floor, c. 1923. Pencil
and colored pencil on tracing paper.
4
19
Designs for Mr. Lawson's Office (the Building Manager?)
c. 1923. Pencil on tracing paper.
Plaza Elevation, Sheet No. 10, January 3, 1922. Ink on linen.
Michigan Avenue Elevation, Sheet No. 11 , January 3, 1922. Ink
on linen.
Proposed First Floor Plan, c. 1922. Pencil and Ink on tracing
paper.
5
Floor Plans, c. 1922. Ink on linen.
6
Part Plan of the Tower, prob. January 3, 1922. Sheet No. 22.
Ink on linen.
7
Main Entrance, Sheet No. 17, January 3, 1922. Ink on linen.
8
Proposed Doorway Design, Main Entrance, c. 1922. Pencil on
tracing paper.
9
Lobby Details for the Elevator and Mail Box, Sheet No. 26,
January 3, 1922. Ink on linen.
10
Designs for the Mail Box and Chute, September 11, 1922. Pencil
on tracing paper.
11
Lobby Details for the Elevations and the Floor Paving. c. 1922.
Ink on linen.
12
Design for a Temporary Sidewalk Arcade for Use During Construction, June 2, 1922. Pencil and colored pencil on tracing
paper.
13
Keough Addition, July 28, (1922). Pencil on tracing paper.
EXTANT BUILDINGS BY ALFRED
The dates given are those of the design.
names.
s.
ALSCHULER (1876-l940)
The names given are the original
1910
Floor Clean Company, nw corner, 37th and Jasper Place
1911
Rogers and Hall Printing Company, 124
1912
Thompson Commissary Building, 350 No Clark
w.
Polk (top two floors, 1914)
The Shops Building, 17-25 N. Wabash
1913
Webster Building, 327
s.
LaSalle (top five stories, 1929)
Donohue Annex, 723-33 South Dearborn
;\
1915
Hump Hair' Pin Company, nw corner, Prairie and Cullerton
1916
Pelouze Building, 218-30 E. Ohio
John
6H[WRQ Building,
500 N. Orleans (eastern portion, 1919)
1918
Legler Branch, Chicago Public Library, se corner, Pulaski and Monroe
1919
Ilg Electrical Ventilating Company, 2800-58 West Roosevelt Road
1920-22 Hudson and Marmon
1921
Automobile Showrooms, 2230-38
s.
Michigan
London Guarantee Building, 360 N. Michigan
Cuneo Press Building, sw corner, Grove and Cermak
1922
Griswold-Walker Warehouses, 1525
Blum Building, 624-30
1923
s.
s.
Newberry
Michigan
Isaiah Temple, E. Hyde Park Boulevard
Columbian Colortype Company, 320-36 E. 21st
Hartman Furniture Company, nw corner, Wabash and Adams
1924
Michigan-Ohio Building, nw corner, Michigan and Ohio
1925
Commercial store, sw corner, Grand and State
1926
Adams-Franklin Building, ne corner Adams and Franklin
Michigan-Lake Building, sw corner, Michigan and Lake
1215 North Astor Cooperative Apartments
1927
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, nw corner, Franklin and Washington
Finchley Building, 23 E. Jackson
1929
Harrison Hotel and Electric Garage, se corner, Wabash and Harrison
Compiled by
c.w .
Westfall, February 12, 1981