Powhatan Apartments

“From its opening and continuing through the present day, residents of the building have included a number of business, professional, and civic leaders. Prior residents include Walter Buettner, vice-president of the Bendix Aviation Corp.; Robert Frank Newhall, vice-president of the First National Bank of Chicago; jeweler Walter Clarence Peacock; structural and civil engineer Abraham Epstein, founder of A. Epstein and Sons, Inc.; and Maurice Goldblatt, chairman of Goldblatt Bros., Inc.”

“The result was a strong vertical emphasis in which ornament became a became a subordinate and subdued aspect of the overall design. The Powhatan is among a handful of buildings in Chicago, and certainly the only apartment building of its scale, to reflect the subtleties of this important movement in American architecture.”

“Advancements in the technology for coloring and glazing terra cotta during the mid-1920s broadened the decorative potential of the material. The panels on the Powhatan are representative of the innovations in this important industry in Chicago building.”

“Unlike the derivative architecture of the apartments built during this period, the Powhatan is striking in its expressionism, a design that adheres to the precepts of modern architecture first enunciated by Louis Sullivan almost a half century before.”

“During this pre-construction phase, modifications to the original plan occurred, the most notable being the reduction of the number of apartments per floor, from three to two. In addition, according to the papers of architect Robert DeGolyer, another building was contemplated by the same developers, as late as July 1928, to be built immediately to the north of the Powhatan.”

“The architects for the project, Robert DeGolyer and Charles Morgan, brought considerable talents to bear on the development. Their responsibilities were divided, DeGolyer in charge of the overall layout of the buildings as well as the structural and mechanical systems, and Morgan supervising the aesthetic aspects of the edifice, including the design of the principal facades, the terra-cotta ornamental panels, and interior mosaics.”

“Structurally, these piers and mullions have no purpose; their function is aesthetic, evoking the loftiness of the skyscraper form. The building is distinguished as well by its extraordinary and prolific use of color and by the highly original images found on the terra-cotta panels.”

“The project was a twenty-five-story, multi-colored, terra-cotta clad, combination bridge and office tower. Morgan's artistic skills, combined with his architectural experience, gave him unique abilities which he exploited to their fullest in the Powhatan to give it both a distinct image and a high degree of artistic craftsmanship.”

“From 1935 to 1943, DeGolyer practiced with Walter T. Stockton. During this time, when private construction virtually came to a halt, DeGolyer received a commission from the federal Public Works Administration to head a temporary association of fifteen architects planning the Julia C. Lathrop Homes at Diversey Avenue and the North Branch of the Chicago River which opened in 1938.”