The Marshall Field and Company Building

Zoe Heidorn UPP 501, Parker

The building that houses Macys on State Street is one of Chicagos great landmarks and better known by Chicagoans as the Marshall Field and Company building. A merger with the former parent company in 2006 resulted in a change of name alongside fierce protest from Marshall Field enthusiasts. The structure in its final form was assembled over four phases of building between 1892 and 1914. The building is a National Historic Landmark and a Chicago Landmark. With floor space reaching almost 35 acres, the thirteen story building was for a moment the largest retail structure in the world (Christian, 1977).
1. Each corner of the building bears a plaque and street name (Daniela, 2006).

THE BUILDING The building stands in Chicagos downtown Loop, a region encompassed on four sides by local train lines. It occupies a full city block measuring 340 by 385 feet between the streets of Washington, Wabash, Randolph and State (image 1). The formal front of the building lies on State Street, known for a near century as a bustling commercial strip (Christian, 1977). While the landscape surrounding the Marshall Field building has changed dramatically in the past century, the architecture of the building itself remains nearly untouched amidst the cacophony of new development. Designed by Daniel H. Burnham in 1900, its architectural form is composed of base, body and top in the Renaissance tradition. The first three floors form the structural base and are supported by a series of lower concrete caissons and an upper granite-covered steel framework. The body of the building, the fourth through tenth floors, feature a granite facade and evenly spaced trios of windows in the style of the Chicago School. The pattern of windows partitioned by vertical piers runs uniformly up to the eleventh floor and ends in a detailed band. The top three floors of the building feature recessed windows, columns and an ornate crown which caps the building (image 2). The design of an earlier annex on the corner of Wabash and Washington is in the Italian Renaissance style, which emphasizes greater ornamentation (image 3) (Christian, 1977). Elaborate architectural detailing dresses the building sparingly (image 8). The interior of the building is designed in the commercial Beaux-Arts style (Pridmore, 2002). Inside, a thirteen-story light well runs through the northwest
4. Ceiling of the the main atrium (Johnson, 2009) 3. The buildings older annex (sftrajan, 2004) 2. Building exterior at the corner of State and Washington (sftrajan, 2004)

portion of the structure (image 7). In the southwest corner is a Tiffany ceiling constructed with 1.6 million pieces of glass, the largest glass mosaic in the United States (image 5) (Goddard, 2011). At the center of the structure is a glass-topped atrium (image spanned by escalators reaching all floors (image 4). A water fountain intended for the original design by Burnham was constructed at a later date at the center of this open space (Emporis, 2011). Original oak flooring and walnut and mahogany wainscoting still shine throughout the building and many of the display cases are original as well (Christian, 1977).
5. Looking up at the Tiffany glass dome (Patricia, 2010)

THE EXPERIENCE The smell of perfume invades the nose as one pushes through the revolving doors on State Street. The main entrance stands between four fiftyfoot Ionic marble columns, known to be among the tallest in the world. Two cast bronze clocks covered with more than a century of green patina (image 6) are mounted on either corner of the State Street facade (Goddard, 2011). Bright foliage and the frequent vagrant surround the buildings periphary. Regardless of which side of the city block one enters from, the eyes are met with a commotion of retail on display. The building holds nine floors of merchandise: an array of cosmetics, apparel, jewelry, linens, kitchen appliances and home furnishings. A food court, candy and pastry shop and Starbucks coffee shop reside in the basement of the building. A second Starbucks sits in the ground level at the northeast corner. The structure is connected to the citys underground pedway system, linking it to a fitness center, a new shopping center across the street, and a rail station (Soucek, 2010). Entering from the ground floor, high ceilings and tall detailed columns overlook an array of finer merchandise displays. Glass counters run up and down the aisles, filled with cosmetics, perfumes and jewelry. Mens goods sit in an adjacent room, the lingering smell of which is contrastingly masculine from the colognes on display. Bags and finer office goods dwell in the buildings older annex, marked by more elaborate architectural detail in the entrances and stairwells. The array of merchandise offered is divided by floor and subdivided by room. Looking up from the main atrium, beneath escalators spanning the open space and connecting each level in a laced fashion, shoppers can read out the contents of each department. Tall gold letters legible from the ground level label every floor.
7. The thirteen-story light well brings natural light into the environment (sftrajan, 2004). 6. Two cast bronze clocks hang on the corners of the State Street facade (Clock at Marshall Fields).

Customers meandering through the building pass a series of escalator and elevator systems, some of which seem quite archaic in fashion. The escalators outside of the main atrium are shockingly narrow by todays standard. These were installed in the 1930s and considered a modern and expensive investment at the time (Goddard, 2011). Many of the landings between these secondary escalators are seemingly barren and unfinished. One might suspect that the fashionable upkeep of a building of this size would be overwhelming and ultimately unmanageable. There is evidence throughout the building to support the notion. Against a backdrop of handsome architecture is an obvious lack of attention to detail in the modifiable elements of the space. Strips of material are missing from display cases, odd spaces are unused and merchandise is often in disarray. Areas of the basement seem relatively empty and the dressing rooms are poorly maintained. Lackluster displays pay no tribute to the noble space. The extensions of the space provided by Macys are not unlike those at any other of the retail chains locations. There are, however, a few areas of the building which have been magnificently preserved. The Walnut Room located on the 7th floor (image 10) features its original crystal chandeliers and dark Russian Circassian walnut wall panels. Every holiday season a three-story Christmas tree is erected at the center of the room (Soucek, 2010). This time of year boasts a revival of the long-lost energy of the teeming commercial landmark. Window displays depicting a wellknown childhood story are installed at the beginning of each holiday season. Tourists and city dwellers alike are dedicated to the customary holiday Marshall Field visit, entailing a viewing of the windows, a token visit to Santa Claus, and perhaps an afternoon lunch in the Walnut Room (Greene, 2005). The building regains the charm it once wore so dashingly as a monument to civic grandeur (image 9).
9. Holiday decorations hang beneath the Tiffany glass dome (demozie, 2008). 8. Elaborate decorations grace the buildings exterior (Kuenstler, 2009).

THE SPACE IN CONTEXT Working with men who were taking commercial advantage of Chicagos population boom in the mid-nineteenth century, Marshall Field emerged a pioneer in the way of retail business (Pridmore, 2002). He took advantage of the role of women in the marketplace by offering a dignified place where they could shop without the accompaniment of men. He created a environment of luxury in the gritty city, made artful displays of merchandise in windows, and

10. The Walnut Room (The West End, 2009)

offered a level of customer service not seen in the day (Greene, 2005). He was the first to bring a tearoom into a retail space and by 1920 the building boasted seven distinct areas for dining. At one point the building housed a library, reading room and medical facility for use by shoppers. Customers were invited to use the space not only for retail transaction, but for social and personal benefit. Information and accommodation bureaus offering transportation information and telephone services were part of the customer service mantra pioneered by Marshall Field and Company. (Soucek, 2010). These services are rendered nearly obsolete by todays technology and retail standards. What was started by Marshall Field became a standard for competing department stores nation-wide. Modern retail spaces echo the same organization and business techniques that gave Marshall Field and his successors such an advantage. Contrary to the era of commercial luxury the buildings architecture harks back to, the merchandise and displays of today have turned decidedly pedestrian. The great department store of Chicagos past looks stale amid a sea of rivals. The available brands are relatively commonplace and the racks are prone to seasonal clearances. There is a palpable disconnect between the physical building and the business it contains. What Marshall Field accomplished in his time was unprecedented. The luxury and strength of the space at its height popularized its role in the marketplace and offered something new to shoppers. Today, department stores are in every city and a dying trend. The Marshall Field and Company building stands as a ghostly monument to a bygone era of retail in early Chicago.

Sources Cited
Christian, R. J. (1977). National register of historic places inventory-nomination: Marshall Field & Company Store. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved from http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/ Text/78001123.pdf Clock at Marshall Fields. [Photograph]. Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica. com/EBchecked/media/141910/One-of-two-clocks-at-the-Marshall-Fields-flagship-department Daniela. (Photographer). (2006). Marshall Fields Chicago [Photograph], Retrieved September 2, 2011, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocknrolldetox/207058080/ demozie (Photographer). (2008). Christmas in Chicago-Marshall Fields 3 [Photograph], Retrieved September 4, 2011, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10847211@N04/2998415936/ Emporis. (2011). Macys at State Street. Retrieved from http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&ln g=3&id=marshallfieldcompanystore-chicago-il-usa Greene, J. (2005). Marshall Fields food and fashion. Warwick, UK: Pomegranate Communications, Inc.. Goddard, L. (2011). Remembering Marshall Fields. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. Johnson, K. (Photographer). (2009). Marshall Fields [Photograph], Retrieved September 4, 2011, from: http:// www.flickr.com/photos/aka_kath/3510450068 Kuenstler, S. (Photographer). (2009). Marshall Fields [Photograph], Retrieved September 8, 2011, from: http:// www.flickr.com/photos/stvk5/4170984352 Patricia. (Photographer). (2010). Still Marshall Fields to me [Photograph], Retrieved September 10, 2011, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tamarackgold/4442352638 Pridmore, J. (2002). Marshall Fields: a building from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Rohnert Park, California: Pomegranate Communications, Inc.. sftrajan. (Photographer). (2004). Marshall Fields [Photograph], Retrieved September 2, 2011, from: http://www. flickr.com/photos/sftrajan/2073197166 sftrajan. (Photographer). (2004). Marshall Fields State and Washington 2004 [Photograph], Retrieved September 2, 2011, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sftrajan/1237487331 sftrajan. (Photographer). (2004). Marshall Fields Wabash & Washington Bg (1892) [Photograph], Retrieved September 2, 2011, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sftrajan/1238360226 Soucek, G. (2010). Marshall Fields: The store that helped build Chicago. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. The West End. (Photographer). (2009). Marshall Fields: the Walnut Room [Photograph], Retrieved September 10, 2011, from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewestend/3788281510 Twyman, R. W. (1954). History of Marshall Field & Co., 1852-1906. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net.proxy.cc.uic.edu/2027/heb.00319 Wilson, M. R. (2005). Marshall Field & Co.. Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2663.html