for Labor Day: The Architecture of Chicago's Unionville

(from 2010): Chicago has always been a strong union town. The story's told that it was a wildcat bricklayer's strike that sent William Le Baron Jenney home so early one day that his shocked wife absent-mindedly parked the heavy book she was reading atop a birdcage. The major saw the weighty volume supported on that minimal skeleton of thin metal, and - voila! - the idea of the steel frame skyscraper was born. (When the legend becomes fact, print the legend . . . )

In the early decades of the last century, a section of the West side north of Jackson and on either side of Ashland became home to a large number of union . . . (read the rest and see all the photo's, here.)

For Labor Day: some architecture from Unionville . . . and a Temple to Painters

Chicago has always been a strong union town. The story's told that it was a wildcat bricklayer's strike that sent William Le Baron Jenney home so early one day that his shocked wife absent-mindedly parked the heavy book she was reading atop a birdcage. The major saw the weighty volume supported on that minimal skeleton of thin metal, and - voila! - the idea of the steel frame skyscraper was born. (When the legend becomes fact, print the legend . . . )

In the early decades of the last century, a section of the West side north of Jackson and on either side of Ashland became home to a large number of unions. Nearly thirty still make their headquarters there today. Some of the buildings are pretty basic, such as the United Electrical Workers, with it's 1997 mural "celebrating solidarity with Mexican workers" . . .

click images for larger view

Some are more grand, such as the UNITE! Hall at 333 S. Ashland. As recounted by the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters website, it was "built in 1929 with a library, bowling alley, gymnasium and dental clinic . . . and was the original home of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America . . ."

There's the Plumbers . . .

.  . . and the Truck Drivers . . .

The Teamsters have their own Teamsters City, in mid-century modern . . . 

despite the fact that their logo continues to feature a pair of horses, alluding to the time of the union's founding when a "teamster" was someone who drove a "team" of horses pulling drayage carts.

some union buildings have been decommissioned . . .

But perhaps the most interesting could be called Art Deco meets the Vienna Secession, the headquarters of Painters District Council 14, at Adams and Laflin, constructed in 1956 to the designs of the architectural firm of Vitzthum and Burns.

Built of limestone and polished granite it's one of the most distinctive structures in the district.

. . . and, as the AIA Guide to Chicago notes, there's "not a painted surface in sight."

Happy Labor Day!

Major Jenney Garners a Salute

On June 15th, 1907, William Le Baron Jenney suffered twin indignities. The first, he found himself in Los Angeles, the second, he died. He has remained dead now, give or take a week or so, for one hundred years.

Celebrating the anniversary of someone's death is something you'd think you'd wish only on an enemy, but we're always looking for any excuse for a good party. If a birthday isn't available in a large round number, a death can be made to make do.

So over the next few weeks, we're saying a big, "Here's to you, WLJ," with a series of events that commemorate the 100th anniversary of Jenney's passing, including a Saturday symposium at the Chicago History Museum, the dedication of a new Jenney monument at Graceland Cemetery, and a series of lectures at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Jenney's major claim to fame is as "The Father of the Skyscraper." Leroy Buffington may have been the first to patent the idea of a metal-frame building, but Jenney was the one who got it done, in the 1884 Home Insurance Building. Read all about Jenney - and see the pictures - here.