| Address | Not stated |
|---|---|
| Built | 1928-29; 1935, 1937, 1941 (Additions) |
| Architect | Not stated |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | June 1, 2004 (Final) |
| Type | Factory and warehouse |
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“Alschuler was one of Chicago's leading, innovative designers of industrial buildings in the early 20th century, and the Chicago Printed String Co. Building exemplifies his design philosophy of innovative reinforced-concrete construction and handsome ornamentation as applied to industrial buildings.”
“ARCHITECT ALFRED S. ALSCHULER Alfred S. Alschuler (1876-1940), the architect of the Chicago Printed String Co. Building, was one of Chicago's most prominent early 20th-century architects. Born in Chicago to German immigrant parents, Alschuler received bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from the Armour Institute of Technology (now the Illinois Institute of Technology), and also took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.”
“A July 29, 1928 article in the Chicago Tribune reported on the construction of the first section of the Chicago Printed String Co. Building: When the [Chicago Printed String] company began business about 14 years ago it had a capacity of 50,000 yards a day.”
“The Chicago Printed String Co. Building displays good integrity, displayed through its siting, scale, and overall design in its historic relationship to the surrounding Logan Square community area.”
“A handsome example of a 1920s "modernistic" style, the Chicago Printed String Co. Building combines the sleek, rectilinear forms typical of the Art Deco style along with stripped down Classical-style ornamentation, including handsome, sparely-detailed Classical pilasters.”
“The cost of the building exclusive of the land, will be $180,000. The Chicago Printed String Co. Building is a handsome example of a 1920s "modernistic" building, combining the streamlined, geometric forms typical of the Art Deco style with stripped down Classical-style detailing, and illustrates Alschuler's ideas about structure and aesthetics as pertaining to industrial buildings.”
“Building exteriors were then ornamented with a variety of decorative motives, often in terra cotta, illustrating the belief that industrial buildings should be aesthetically pleasing. The Chicago Printed String Co.”
“The building combines the sleek, rectilinear forms and abstracted foliate and geometric ornament typical of the Art Deco style, along with stripped down Classicalstyle ornament typical of Modern Classicism, both "modernistic” architectural styles of significance to Chicago architecture.”
“The building is distinguished by bands of triangular-shaped terra cotta tiles ornamenting the building's main entrance, window spandrels, and rooftop parapet. These tiles, with their green matte finish, were the product of the American Terra Cotta Company, one of Chicago's important manufacturers of terra cotta.”
“The building's most distinctive physical feature is the use of decorative bands of triangular-shaped terra cotta tiles with a green matte finish that ornament the building's main entrance, spandrels, and roofline.”