1885c – Ryerson Building, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Demolished 1939.

A Model Business Block.
One of the most elegant commercial blocks In Chicago is just completed in the shape of the Ryerson Building, on the north side of Randolph street, midway between State street and Wabash avenue. It has a frontage of 75 feet, and consists of six lofty stories, The front is entirely of stone, iron, and glass, and is especially attractive, as well as a notable illustration of utility in architecture. It presents four massive supports in atone, and between these are slender cast iron windows filled with large plate-glass, and reaching from the bottom the second to the top of the fourth story. The highest story in treated as a handsome cornice for the entire front, the clusters of little pillars showing to fine advantage. The whole block is flooded with light from the great expanse of plate glass, and considering the central location, so readily reached from all sides of the city, there is no more favored business block in Chicago.

That the architecture of the building of the highest order is illustrated in the fact that as the New York Salmagundi Club’s recent exhibition of architecture a picture of this great office block was displayed conspicuously on the walls, and drew forth from experts nothing but applauding comments. It was designed by Architects Adler and Sullivan.

The fire-proofing of the building is all that could be desired, the celebrated Wight system of fire-proofing having been thoroughly applied, and with the invariably satisfactory results. The popularity of this system and its field of operations are constantly enlarging, as the absolute security afforded by it becomes more and more widely known. Thus it has been utilized in some of the most important construction work undertaken of late by the United States Government, while in our largest private buildings and wherever permanency is the aim it is equally in demand.

Messrs. Gray, Kingman & Collins, the well known wholesale grocers, have taken a lease of the entire building, and are now in possession, having removed from their former location, Nos. 3-13 Lake street, corner of Michigan avenue. The new store of the firm gives them the additional room demanded by their greatly enlarged business operations, and certainly such spacious, conveniently arranged, and brilliantly lighted quarters are not duplicated in any other mercantile building in Chicago. The steam-warming apparatus, steam pumps, etc, were supplied by the Hay & Prentice Company, Nos 34 and 36 South Canal street, the outfit representing well their superior workmanship, and popular system for public and private structures, The company’s work is in constant demand for our best buildings The plumbing contract was filled in the best manner by those well-known experts in their line, Messrs. Tipple & Coleman, No. 857 North Clark street, whose services are extensively called upon in the sanitation of our principal blocks and houses.
Inter Ocean, May 2, 1886