Consumers Building Explained

Consumers Building
Nrhp Type:cp
Nocat:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:13
Mapframe-Marker:building
Partof:Loop Retail Historic District
Partof Refnum:98001351
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Location:220 S. State Street, Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates:41.879°N -87.6281°W
Mapframe:no
Completion Date:1913
Architectural Style:Chicago School
Architect:Jenney, Mundie & Jensen
Floor Count:21
Floor Area:176000square feet

The Consumers Building is a Chicago school high rise office building in Chicago's Loop. It was designed by Jenney, Mundie & Jensen, and was built by Jacob L. Kesner in 1913.[1] The building is owned by the General Services Administration and currently sits vacant.[2] It is a contributing property to the Loop Retail Historic District.

In 2022, the building was proposed to be demolished, with $52 million earmarked for tearing down both the Consumers Building and the neighboring Century Building.

History

Early tenants included the Consumers Company, which occupied the 20th and 21st floors, the Hilton Company, a men's clothing retailer which occupied the corner store, Remington Typewriter Company, and film companies Mutual, Paramount, Pathé, and Universal.[1] [3] [4] A sixty foot electric sign on the roof of the building advertised the Consumers Company.[1] A. Weis & Company operated the Winter Garden, an upscale restaurant located in the basements of the Consumers Building and the adjacent 214 South State Street building, which Kesner had purchased to ensure a skyscraper would not be built there.[1] [5] [6]

In the 1920s, the Allied Amusements Association, an association of motion picture and vaudeville theatre owners, had offices on the building's 13th floor.[1] [7] Other tenants in the 1920s included Carnation Milk, the Cooperative stores, Integrity Mutual Insurance Co., Liberty Mutual, and the Pullman Company.[1] In 1931, men's clothing store Benson & Rixon began renting 5,000 square feet of space on the ground floor.[1] In 1936, Benson & Rixon left the building and was replaced by another men's clothing retailer, Howard Clothes.[8] [9] Benson & Rixon moved to 206-12 S. State St., before moving to their newly built store at 230 S. State St. the following year.[9] [10] Howard Clothes remained in the Consumers Building through the 1970s.[1]

In 1931, title to the building was transferred to Kesner's son in law, I.W. Kahn, who headed the Kesner Realty Trust.[1] The trust defaulted on its lease, and in 1937, title to the building was turned over to the owners of the ground leases.[1] In 1947, the building was sold to the 220 S. State St. Corporation for $2 million.[11]

In 1948, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service moved its offices into the Consumers Building.[12] The building was also home to the College of Jewish Studies in the 1940s.[13] [14]

In 1960, a group of Chicago investors purchased the building for $2 million.[15] The building later served as home to the Illinois Public Action Council, the Chicago Public High School for Metropolitan Studies, and the regional office of the Community Relations Service.[16] [17] [18] [19] [20] In 1976, the building was sold to a group of Chicago businessmen for $2 million.[21]

In 2005, the General Services Administration acquired the Consumers Building and neighboring buildings, using eminent domain to seize some of the properties, citing the need for increased security around the Dirksen Federal Building.[22] [23] In 2011 and 2013, Preservation Chicago listed the Consumers Building and the nearby Century Building as one of Chicago's 7 most endangered buildings.[24]

In 2017, CA Ventures reached an agreement to purchase the Consumers Building, the Century Building, and the two smaller buildings in between, for $10.38 million.[25] The Consumers Building and Century Building would have been converted to apartments, as part of a $141 million redevelopment project, while the historic Streamline Moderne storefront of 214 South State St. would have been restored and incorporated into a 25,000 square-foot structure built between the taller buildings for retail and commercial use.[25] [23] Under the terms of the agreement, the City of Chicago would purchase the buildings from the federal government and then immediately sell them to CA Ventures. However, the City of Chicago backed out of the agreement in December 2019, citing security concerns at the nearby Dirksen Federal Building.[26] [27]

In 2022, Preservation Chicago listed the Consumers Building and the nearby Century Building as one of Chicago's 7 most endangered buildings, after a $52 million federal earmark to demolish the buildings was revealed.[28] [29] [30]

See also

Notes and References

  1. "Web site: 220 S. State Street - The Consumers Building, Chicago, IL . . January 11, 2020 . January 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112215338/https://www.gsa.gov/historic-buildings/220-s-state-street-consumers-building-chicago-il . live .
  2. News: Gallun . Alby . Feds move to sell State Street buildings . . April 27, 2016 . January 18, 2020 . September 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200913120208/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160427/CRED03/160429849/feds-move-to-sell-chicago-buildings-on-state-street . live .
  3. News: Labor Blamed for $750,000 Loop Film Fire . . July 2, 1917 . 1, 11.
  4. 'Split Reel' Notes For Theater Men . . February 23, 1918 . 385 . January 1, 2020 . April 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240410214642/https://books.google.com/books?id=gwxKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA385#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  5. Book: Sengstock, Charles A. . 2004 . That Toddlin' Town: Chicago's White Dance Bands and Orchestras, 1900-1950 . . 115 . 978-0-252-02954-7 . January 17, 2020 . April 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240410214652/https://books.google.com/books?id=q0_sWHQoVG8C&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  6. Book: Chicago Central Business and Office Building Directory . The Winters Publishing Company . June 1922 . 62 . January 17, 2020 . April 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240410214635/https://books.google.com/books?id=c6o6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA62#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  7. Book: Blue Book of Chicago Commerce . The Chicago Association of Commerce . 1920 . 565 . January 12, 2020 . April 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240410214641/https://books.google.com/books?id=MnI6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA565#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  8. News: Benson-Rixon Leases State Street Store . . May 31, 1936 . C10.
  9. News: Chase . Al . Men's Clothing Chain to Open Chicago Store . . June 2, 1936 . 29.
  10. News: Benson & Rixon State St. Store to Open Tuesday . . October 10, 1937 . B11.
  11. News: 21 Story Consumers Building Is Sold for 2 Millions Cash . . January 19, 1947.
  12. News: U.S. Mediation Offices Now at 220 S. State St. . . June 15, 1948 . 2.
  13. Book: Rosenberg, Pauline . The Sentinel Presents 100 Years of Chicago Jewry . College of Jewish Studies . https://web.archive.org/web/20210111015428/https://www.spertus.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/The%20Sentinel%20Presents%20100%20Years%20of%20Chicago%20Jewry.pdf . 2021-01-11 . August 1948 . 27 . January 1, 2020 . The Sentinel Publishing Co..
  14. News: Jewish Schools Beckon Youths to New Terms . . N3.
  15. News: Gavin . James M. . 3 Chicagoans Buy 22 Story Loop Building . . April 12, 1960 . B5.
  16. News: Galloway . Paul . IPAC rakes grass roots with 'activist' volunteers . . February 14, 1985 . D3.
  17. News: Neal . Steve . Locin . Mitchell . Stevenson Calls Debate Conditions a Farce . . October 2, 1986 . January 1, 2020 . January 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200101085806/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-10-02-8603140342-story.html . live .
  18. News: Burns . Kathleen . For Students in 'The Metro,' All the World's a Classroom . . April 30, 1970 . S11.
  19. Book: Community Relations Service . United States Department of Justice, Community Relations Service . 1972 . January 1, 2020 . April 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240410214716/https://books.google.com/books?id=eLpI_EfSfIsC&pg=PP27#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  20. Book: Manual For Youth Coordinators . President's Council on Youth Opportunity . 1969 . 126 . January 1, 2020 . April 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240410214647/https://books.google.com/books?id=2uA9beg6JqQC&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  21. News: S. State building bring $2 million . . June 2, 1976 . C9.
  22. News: Feds invade State Street . . November 14, 2005 . January 8, 2020 . January 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112215335/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20051114/NEWS12/200018483/feds-invade-state-street . live .
  23. Web site: A Bright Future for Century and Consumers Buildings . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112215324/https://preservationchicago.org/newsletter_posts/a-bright-future-for-century-and-consumers-buildings/ . 2020-01-12 . . January 8, 2020.
  24. Web site: Preservation Chicago Unveils the 2011 Chicago 7 Most Threatened… The Century & Consumers Building . https://web.archive.org/web/20200913120837/https://preservationchicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/userfiles/file/202and220state.pdf . 2020-09-13 . . January 11, 2020.
  25. News: Ori . Ryan . $141 million project to bring 429 apartments to State Street . . June 1, 2017 . January 11, 2020 . January 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112233204/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-state-street-development-ryan-ori-0602-biz-20170601-column.html . live .
  26. News: Ori . Ryan . $141 million State Street development halted over federal courthouse security concerns . . December 16, 2019 . January 11, 2020 . January 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200109182922/https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/ryan-ori/ct-biz-state-street-sale-apartment-deal-dead-ryan-ori-20191216-idhugpwehvafzmuw66g7ljg3h4-story.html . live .
  27. News: Kozlarz . Jay . State Street apartment plan derailed over security concerns at nearby courthouse . . December 16, 2019 . January 11, 2020 . January 6, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200106214424/https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/12/16/21024798/apartment-development-state-street-consumers-century-building . live .
  28. Web site: Century & Consumers Buildings – Most Endangered 2022 . . March 9, 2022 . March 9, 2022 . March 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220309201111/https://preservationchicago.org/2022/03/09/century-consumers-buildings/ . dead .
  29. News: Channick . Robert . Chicago's annual list of most endangered buildings includes two historic skyscrapers the federal government wants to demolish . . March 9, 2022 . March 9, 2022 . March 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220309203109/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-most-endangered-chicago-buildings-20220309-ml7yn5h64nffvks6wjxgopjbau-story.html . live .
  30. News: Rodkin . Dennis . These are the most endangered places in Chicago . . March 9, 2022 . March 9, 2022 . March 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220310020903/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/nonprofits-philanthropy/preservation-chicagos-most-endangered-places-2022 . live .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Consumers Building".

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