Crane Company Building (Chicago)

The Crane Company Building is a skyscraper located at 836 S. Michigan Ave. in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The twelve-story building was designed by Holabird & Roche and built in 1912. The steel frame skyscraper was designed in the Classical Revival style, and its exterior design is split into three sections. The first and second floors are faced in limestone and feature piers supporting a cornice; the third floor is also covered in limestone. The fourth through eleventh floors are constructed in red brick; windows on these floors feature terra cotta keystones and sills, and the eleventh floor is capped by a terra cotta cornice. The twelfth floor is decorated in terra cotta panels which incorporate Crane Company valves in their design; this floor is also topped by a cornice.[2]

Crane Company Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	836 S Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°52′14″N 87°37′28″W
Area	less than one acre
Architect	Holabird and Roche
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.	01001538[1]
Added to NRHP	January 28, 2002

The building originally housed offices for the Crane Company, which manufactured plumbing and heating equipment. The Crane Company played a significant role in both the Chicago economy, where it was a major employer of industrial workers, and the national manufacturing landscape, where it was considered "the United States' leading manufacturer" of iron and brass plumbing and heating fixtures. Due to the demolition of the Crane Company's factories and its early leaders' homes, the Crane Company Building is now the most significant landmark in Chicago associated with the company. After the Crane Company left the building in 1960, it was converted to a residential property.[2]

The Crane Company Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 28, 2002.[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Bluestone, Daniel. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Crane Company Building" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2013.