In 1899, Sullivan began the Schlesinger & Mayer warehouses remodelling, placed in the called “World’s Buisiest Corner”. The construction of the warehouses was divided finally in three stages: the first one in 1899, the second between 1903 and 1094, and the last one in 1906.
At the beginning, Sullivan had a proposal of nine and twelve levels for the building, although in 1902, Schlesinger & Mayer came to Sullivan to propose that the building should have a twenty level height, but finally the building had twelve storeys. One of the most important characteristics of the metallic framework was that it allows another kind of shop: instead of using the traditional shop windows, big glass screens were used for the pedestrian transit.
The Company Carson, Pirie, Scott purchased the building in 1904, whereby Sullivan was not able to finish the project that fell to Daniel Burhhan & Company, although this company did not make significant changes in Sullivan’s original proposal.
Sullivan impregnats a big expressive force, which turns into continuous storeys, clear interiors and a façade that has an essential function: provides light to the interior. The called ¨Chicago windows” are the basic elements that shaped the façade of the Carson, Pirie, Scott’s Warehouse. These windows are horizontally elongated, homogeneous and coincide with the structural framework of the building. At the same time, the windows connect each other with a fine terracotta lines that allows highlighting the horizontality of the building. The framework of Sullivan’s buildings, in general, shapes a regular grid, without intrinsic direction and with a total impartiality, although over the time, Sullivan emphasized the vertical corner elements in his buildings.
In the XIX Century, the traditionalism, in many occasions, restrained the architects that share the same Sullivan’s generation that is way, Giedion talked about the double personality that the have: locked between the new and the traditional. This situation is perfectly shown in the Carson, Pirie, Scott’s warehouses, where the incoherent rounded tower, in the corner of the building, was a request of the clients that wanted to evoke the Au Bon Marché and Boileau’s warehouse, built in 1876.
Around 1948, the twelve level of the building was redesigned and the adornment that crowned the building was replaced, supposedly for its coherence with the rest of the building. In February of 2006, the first stage of the remodeling of the façade of the Carson’s Warehouse was completed, coming back to the original Sullivan’s proposal. The Carson, Pirie, Scott’s parent company closed in 2007, allowing that the building changed its name to Sullivan Centre. In 2008, the works to restore the three inferior storeys started, which included the façade and the building back. The façade works finished in August of 2009 and the street ones at the end of 2010.
Finally, Sullivan left us in bequest this magnificent building that describes an epoch, a tendency and a way of thinking, even though it still remained tided to the pass by some of its characteristics, is a wonderful example of what the Chicago’s School was in the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX Century.
At the beginning, Sullivan had a proposal of nine and twelve levels for the building, although in 1902, Schlesinger & Mayer came to Sullivan to propose that the building should have a twenty level height, but finally the building had twelve storeys. One of the most important characteristics of the metallic framework was that it allows another kind of shop: instead of using the traditional shop windows, big glass screens were used for the pedestrian transit.
The Company Carson, Pirie, Scott purchased the building in 1904, whereby Sullivan was not able to finish the project that fell to Daniel Burhhan & Company, although this company did not make significant changes in Sullivan’s original proposal.
Sullivan impregnats a big expressive force, which turns into continuous storeys, clear interiors and a façade that has an essential function: provides light to the interior. The called ¨Chicago windows” are the basic elements that shaped the façade of the Carson, Pirie, Scott’s Warehouse. These windows are horizontally elongated, homogeneous and coincide with the structural framework of the building. At the same time, the windows connect each other with a fine terracotta lines that allows highlighting the horizontality of the building. The framework of Sullivan’s buildings, in general, shapes a regular grid, without intrinsic direction and with a total impartiality, although over the time, Sullivan emphasized the vertical corner elements in his buildings.
In the XIX Century, the traditionalism, in many occasions, restrained the architects that share the same Sullivan’s generation that is way, Giedion talked about the double personality that the have: locked between the new and the traditional. This situation is perfectly shown in the Carson, Pirie, Scott’s warehouses, where the incoherent rounded tower, in the corner of the building, was a request of the clients that wanted to evoke the Au Bon Marché and Boileau’s warehouse, built in 1876.
Around 1948, the twelve level of the building was redesigned and the adornment that crowned the building was replaced, supposedly for its coherence with the rest of the building. In February of 2006, the first stage of the remodeling of the façade of the Carson’s Warehouse was completed, coming back to the original Sullivan’s proposal. The Carson, Pirie, Scott’s parent company closed in 2007, allowing that the building changed its name to Sullivan Centre. In 2008, the works to restore the three inferior storeys started, which included the façade and the building back. The façade works finished in August of 2009 and the street ones at the end of 2010.
Finally, Sullivan left us in bequest this magnificent building that describes an epoch, a tendency and a way of thinking, even though it still remained tided to the pass by some of its characteristics, is a wonderful example of what the Chicago’s School was in the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX Century.
