Wholesale Florists Exchange

The Wholesale Florists Exchange is a historic building at 1313 W. Randolph Street in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The building was constructed in 1927 to serve as a central market for several of Chicago's largest florists. Before the building opened, the city's floral industry was based at a crowded market on Wabash Street that lacked proper facilities for processing flowers. The new building, designed by architecture firm Fox & Fox, included amenities such as modern refrigeration and improved elevators and loading areas to facilitate efficient transport of flowers. It also featured an Art Deco design that incorporated floral themes, such as the lotuses atop its fluted concrete piers. The building served as the nexus of Chicago's floral industry until the 1950s, when the industry largely left Chicago for warmer regions of the country.[2]

Wholesale Florists Exchange
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1313 W. Randolph St., Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°53′03″N 87°39′34″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1927
Architect	Fox & Fox
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	11000849[1]
Added to NRHP	November 22, 2011

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 22, 2011.[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. Ramsey, Emily (December 20, 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Wholesale Florists Exchange" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved July 5, 2019.