| Address | 431 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Built | 1891 |
| Architect | William Le Baron Jenney |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | July 7, 1978 (Final) |
| Neighborhood | Loop |
| Type | Office and commercial building |
| Landmark ID | L-139 |
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“These technological innovations advanced the development of a new style of commercial architecture which later came to be called the Chicago school style. The Manhattan building at 431 South Dearborn predates mature works of the school, but it contains all the elements used by Chicago school architects.”
“After the war he came to Chicago, and here he established an architectural practice in 1868. In the following two decades, Jenney devised an innovative system of carrying the weight of a building on an internal framework of steel and iron.”
“They transformed steel framing from a matter of structure to a matter of style. The Manhattan was a triumph of engineering. It rose to an unprecedented height of sixteen stories (matched by that of the north half of the Monadnock Building, a masonry structure completed the same year).”
“Twelve years later, Jenney designed another building for Leiter, now the State Street Sears Roebuck and Company Store. The first Leiter Building represented an intermediate step between the then prevalent masonry construction method and true steel frame construction.”
“On the floors above, the deep girders were riveted to the columns in a simple system called portal bracing, effectively increasing the rigidity of the frame. The Manhattan was the first skeletal frame building in which these devices were deemed necessary, and their successful implementation furthered the development of skyscraper construction in which wind bracing is imperative.”
“The window groupings also derive from practical considerations, and therefore reflect the spirit of the Chicago school. The technical innovations expressed in the Manhattan provided the backbone for further development of the Chicago school of architecture.”
“(The building to the south was demolished when Congress Street was widened). The weight of the Manhattan transmitted to its 1 footings was calculated at 3,000 pounds per square foot.”
“Above the granite, pressed brick with terra-cotta ornament faces the building. The use of pressed brick on these upper stories represents an attempt to lighten the wall load of the building.”
What other designation reports say about this building
“Jenney's design for the Manhattan Building at 431 S. Dearborn Street, completed the same year as the Second Leiter Building, also employed a metal skeleton structure and rose to 16 stories, briefly making it the…”
“Wabash Avenue, designated Chicago Landmark); Manhattan Building (1891, extant, 431 S. Dearborn Street, designated Chicago Landmark); the New York Life Building (1894, 1898, extant, 37-43 S.”
“Wabash Avenue; the Manhattan Building, (1891) 431 S. Dearborn Street, and the New York Life Building (1894, 1898 addition) 43 S. LaSalle Street. These four building are designated Chicago Landmarks.”
“Jensen was a draftsman in Jenney and Mundie's firm at the time the Manhattan Building, 431 S. Dearborn St., was constructed in 1895. (Photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey Collection, Library of Congress, 1964.) D.”