The Marshall Field and Company building fills an entire city block, defined by its massive granite columns and the ornate bronze clock perched over the corner of State and Washington. Marshall Field opened his dry goods store here in the…
Historic Loop Department Stores
This walk traces the rise of America's great retail empires along State Street, showcasing the grand architecture, glamorous window displays, and fierce rivalries that shaped modern consumer culture.
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1. Marshall Field and Company Building
2. 1 N State St
The corner of State and Madison features a massive, terra-cotta building with a central rotunda that reaches deep into the structure. This is the former Marshall Field and Company store. In nineteen oh two, owner Marshall Field…
3. Sullivan Center
The Sullivan Center stands out on State Street because of the intricate, cast iron ornamentation wrapping its lower levels. Louis Sullivan designed the facade in eighteen ninety-nine to draw shoppers into the Schlesinger and Mayer…
4. Mallers Building
The Mallers Building rises sixteen stories above the corner of Wabash and Madison, its terracotta facade still adorned with the ornate details added when it opened in nineteen twelve. For decades, this address served as the center of…
5. Palmer House a Hilton Hotel
The Palmer House lobby features a ceiling covered in twenty-four-karat gold leaf, centered around murals painted by French artist Louis Pierre Rigal. Potter Palmer built the original hotel as a wedding gift for his bride, Bertha, in…
6. 14 E Jackson Blvd
The Lytton Building features a series of distinctive, white terra cotta oriels that project over the sidewalk along Jackson Boulevard. Built in nineteen thirteen, this structure once served as the flagship store for Henry Lytton’s Hub…
7. DePaul University - DePaul Center
The DePaul Center rises as a broad, fourteen-story mass of terra cotta and glass on the corner of Jackson and State. Before it became the university’s downtown hub, the building served as the flagship store for Goldblatt’s, a family-run…