Chicago architecture and urban design

Chicago Architecture

Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building: form, function, structure, and history

The Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building was designed in 1914 by the architect George C. Nimmons, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, and an earlier adapter of Wright's Prairie and Chicago philosophies of architectural design. Because of its history it was designated a Chicago Landmark on November 15, 1976. The Prairie style of architecture is considered to be one of the most unique forms of Chicago architecture. It "was developed in the early 20th century as a modern architectural movement to reflect the needs of the common man," by Frank Lloyd Wright ("Prairie School Tour," City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division, 2003) it is characterized by "proportional, often brick-and-stucco, constructions" ("Prairie School Tour," City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division, 2003).

Although the Prairie style was supposed to bring Midwestern simplicity and functionalism to the design of the city, it was initially used in residential buildings and smaller structures. The Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building is an example of how larger commercial buildings of the era also eventually came to exemplify this style. The Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building combines elements of the Prairie style as well as the beginnings of what would later be called Wright's Chicago style, and thus it is of great significance in the history of Chicago architecture. Today, "this is one of the city's finest examples of industrial design and a rare reminder of the type of buildings that once lined the Chicago River"("Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building," City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division, 2003). The buildings showed that even ordinary warehouses and commercial structures could be pleasing to the eye as well as spacious inside and functional.

The building was originally intended to be a warehouse and office building for a wholesale grocery company. It was the first building to include a docking facility, in response to the city-wide mandate that designers include the Chicago River into building design to enhance Chicago's beauty as well as to make better commercial use of the river ("Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building," Chicagolist, 2005). The outside of the building has a modern, Chicago-style steel-and-concrete supporting frame. The brickwork and terra-cotta details mark it as being a part of the Prairie style. Its clock tower is one of the most distinguishing features of its structure. "The building was originally built as a food processing company and warehouse, and where the clock now stands there used to be signs that said 'Finer Foods'("Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building," Chicagolist, 2005). The clock tower was originally included as part of a water tower that supplied the sprinkler system in the building for safety purposes.