Old Colony Building

“When the Old Colony opened, it was one of several thriving structures that had been built in the area to provide much-needed office space. The pioneering architectural style that characterized these buildings grew out of the same need.”

“The principles pioneered in the Old Colony would later become important to the mature Chicago school as developed by these same architects. (Cover photograph) The northwest corner of the Old Colony Building.”

“In contrast to the earlier Tacoma, the Old Colony is supported throughout on a metal framework; there are no bearing walls. The skeletal frame combines an unusual mixture of both novel and established technologies.”

“The Old Colony topped its neighbors by one story and was approximately 215 feet tall. The building is five bays long and one bay wide. Flanking these bays The oriel windows of the Old Colony Building are ornamented with simple foliate motifs.”

“Purdy further demonstrated his ingenuity by virtually inventing a new system of wind bracing for the Old Colony. Up until the time of tall buildings, wind bracing had not been necessary, because the solid masonry walls of older buildings were rigid enough for their limited height to withstand the forces of the wind.”

“Their early designs readily took advantage of Jenney's revolutionary system of steel framing. Holabird and Roche's first major commission, the Tacoma Building, was an auspicious beginning for the firm.”

“Holabird and Roche rarely repeated this feature in their subsequent work, and the Old Colony remains one of the best designs of this type. The Old Colony is organized horizontally into three parts, corresponding to the base, shaft, and capital of a classical column, as was popular in architectural design at the time.”

“Outside the fireproofing of the exterior columns, there is an additional foot of solid brick. The Old Colony was constructed with the latest amenities available at the end of the nineteenth century.”