Can anyone tell me more about this building? It's decorated with all kinds of terra cotta--frogs, turtles, octopus, crabs, etc. COC Landmarks website says it was built in the 1920s, Peter J. Weber, architect. However, I found an old advertisement that lists J & J Kohn Furniture at that site in 1916. I suppose that could have been an older building that was replaced by the current one. Would love to know more. Thanks.
That is the Central Market Furniture Building.
It was sort of an early Merchadise Mart for furniture,
A number of furniture companies had their show rooms there.
Mercer52 Wrote:
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> Thanks for the ID! Any idea why it's decorated
> with sea creatures and other animals?
I have no idea.
Never even noticed it before until you brought it up.
However, about a year ago, I was at Architectural Artifacts dropping off some repairs. The manager showed me an elevator grill that was decorated with crabs and starfish and shocks of wheat, and asked me if I had any guesses as to what building it came from.
I had no clue, but now I wonder if it came from this one.
I'll have to swing down there one of these days and take a closer look.
Here's a link to the IHPA report on the building from the 70's
[url=http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/PropertyInformationReport.aspx?refnum=151264]IHPA 1410 S Wabash[/url]
Not a lot of information, but there there is a photo from the 70's.
I found that before the Wabash building, Peter J Weber, who once worked for Burnham, oversaw the 1907 addition to the Fisher Building. So, apparently, he had a thing for aquatic forms in terra-cotta.