The Franklin Building is a 14-story brick building on
Printer's Row in
Chicago, Illinois, located at 720 South Dearborn Street. It is one of the historic buildings in the City of Chicago Printing House Row landmark district.
["Printing House Row District"]
City of Chicago Landmark website The building was designed by
George C. Nimmons for the Franklin Printing Company and built in 1916 following on the company's previous building at 523 Dearborn, which was constructed in 1886. The current building is an example of
Chicago School architecture.
Oskar Gross
Oskar Gross (1871 - 1963) was an artist in Germany and the United States. Born in Vienna, he worked in Munich before moving to the United States. His work included decorative murals in buildings for Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan and George C. N ...
, a painter from
Vienna, Austria, did a mural over the main entrance and painted tiles for the building
["Bldg History"]
The Franklin Building website depicting an artist, engraver, typesetter, bookbinder, and other artisans involved in the printing process.
The decentralization of the printing process led to many buildings in the area, including the Franklin Building, being abandoned from their original uses. The building housed presses until 1983 and was converted into 65
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
loft apartments in 1989. It was the last major building on Printer's Row to be converted.
Architecture
The building is topped by a parapet with unusual
gables accommodating large skylights, and has
polychrome terra cotta tiles adorning it on its east façade, including the inscription: "The excellence of every art must consist in the complete accomplishment of its purpose." Gross' mural over the entry is entitled "The First Impression" and depicts men working on a
Gutenberg press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the c ...
, printing the first edition of the
Gutenberg Bible. Other tiles illustrate other aspects of the printing industry.
The top three floors were originally a loft space with a glass ceiling (skylight).
The autumn leaf tile was made by the Wheatley Pottery Company of Cincinnati.
Gallery
File:Franklin Building, Chicago, IL, USA, inscription over entrance.jpg, Inscription over entry doors
File:Franklin Building, Chicago, IL, USA, roofline gable.jpg, Roofline gable
File:Franklin Building, Chicago, IL, USA, mural over entrance.jpg, Mural over entrance: "The First Impression" by Oskar Gross (a depiction of the first edition of the Gutenberg Bible)
References
External links
*{{Commons category-inline, Franklin Building 720 South Dearborn Street (Chicago)
Chicago school architecture in Illinois
Buildings and structures completed in 1916
1916 establishments in Illinois