ORDINANCE
Spiegel Administration Building 1038 West 35th Street
WHEREAS, pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Municipal Code of Chicago (the "Municipal Code"), Sections 2-120-630 through -690, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks (the "Commission") has determined that the Spiegel Administration Building, located at 1038 West 35th Street, as more precisely described in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein (the "Building"), meets three criteria for landmark designation as set forth in Section 2-120-620 (1), (4), and (5) of the Municipal Code; and
WHEREAS; the Building is the best remaining building from the substantial complex of warehouses, administrative and office buildings that served as the national headquarters of Spiegel, Inc., one of the country's most innovative and successful mail-order businesses from the founding of the company's mail-order division in 1907 until the early 1990s; and
WHEREAS, the Building exemplifies Chicago's development as a nationwide center for mail-order retail during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chicago's central location and unparalleled access to national railroad networks allowed goods to be delivered cheaply and efficiently to far-flung rural communities, and the city was home to the three largest mail-order companies in the world—Montgomery Ward; Sears, Roebuck & Company; and Spiegel. By the end of World War II, Spiegel employed over 10,000 workers and boasted annual sales of $133 million; and
WHEREAS, the Building, located on 35th Street in the heart of the original east tract of Chicago's Central Manufacturing District (CMD), is a tangible reminder of the CMD's importance as one of the first planned industrial districts in the United States. During the 1910s and 1920s, many of the city's major manufacturing concerns, including the William Wrigley, Jr. Company, the Ford Motor Company, United (Rexall) Drug Company, Pullman Couch Company, Pacific Lumber Company, and Westinghouse Electric and Manufact...
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