McLean County Courthouse and Square
Encyclopedia
The McLean County Courthouse and Square is located in downtown Bloomington, Illinois
. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places
and encompasses the old McLean County
Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was built around 1900. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1832, the second in 1836 and the third was built shortly before the present building but was destroyed by fire.
The McLean County Courthouse housed the McLean County Circuit Court from 1900 to 1976. The building itself was designed by William Reeves and John M. Baillie of the Peoria
firm Reeves and Bailey. The original construction was completed in 1900 at a cost of $
461,640. Shortly after its completion, a fire destroyed many of the buildings in the square and the courthouse. The courthouse was rebuilt in 1903 as before following the fire. The rebuild of many buildings in the downtown was executed through the designs of several local architects, George Miller, Paul Moratz and A.L. Pillsbury.
In the 1980s the McLean County Historical Society moved to put its museum in the Old Courthouse. Today the museum operates out of the courthouse building as it has since 1990. Until 1990, general county offices were still housed in the courthouse though the courts had moved to new facilities a few blocks away. In 2002 McLean County approved $1.2 million for renovation following a historic structures report. Other funding came through a Public Museum Capital Grant from the Illinois State Museum
, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
. The project included restoration of the 100-year old courthouse dome. Original copper
was salvaged and reused and the clock restored to working order. On December 24, 2004 the tower bell
was rang for the first time in nearly fifty years. The dome was restored from its oxidized copper green to the original copper color. The reflective dome can be seen for miles.
On October 15, 2006 the Landmark Preservations Council of Illinois presented the "Outstanding Restoration" award to McLean County for its efforts to restore the dome of the old courthouse.
. A local loan broker, Henry Capen & Sons, occupied the second floor from 1886 until 1926. The building's longest tenant, however, was W.B. Read and Co., a stationary and book company that started on the first floor and 1895 and later moved to occupy the entire building until the owner, William Read's, death in 1951. In 1952 Osco Drugs took over the building and the pharmacy later expanded into the connected Marblestone Building next door.
, who pioneered the insanity defense for accused criminals. The building got its name, Dewenters, from the time when it housed the Dewenter and Co. men's clothing store for more than a century of its existence. Dewenter and Co. was founded by Herman Dewenter and William Krietzer in 1847 and moved to the Dewenter Building in 1870 where it stayed until 1988. The Dewenter family owned the store until 1946 but it retained its name even after its sale to new owners.
" to be built in Bloomington because of its status as the first steel frame construction
building in Illinois outside of Chicago. The building was built at a cost of $36,000. The building was home to the Livingston and Sons department store for the first eleven years of its history until the store was relocated just down the block. Between 1927 and 1969 a Walgreens Drug Store and a number of legal and insurance businesses occupied the building. The Livingston was well known for its roof garden during the early 1900s which was the site of many dances and musical performances.
Block was so dubbed by the Daily Pantagraph as a remark on how quickly the buildings rose from the ashes after a fire in 1855. Originally, the buildings' upper floor served as offices for lawyers who tried cases in the original wood frame courthouse. The Kersey H. Fell Building of 1856 is one of downtown Bloomington's oldest structures. The Fell Building housed the office of local attorney Kersey Fell. His second floor office is the place where it is claimed that Jesse Fell
first suggested to Abraham Lincoln he should run for president. Aside from the law offices the third floor once housed the Illinois Natural History Museum, in 1857, which was one of the first museums in Illinois. The storefronts have been home to numerous merchants over the years. From 1905 to 1922 Homuth Jewelry had a location along the block and Sorg's Jewelers had a location on the Phoenix Block from 1946 until 1988. In addition five other jewelers have had businesses along this block at some point in its past.
The Old McLean County Courthouse is an example of high style architecture and is well preserved. The architecture conveys strong messages of stability, antiquity and importance. The courthouse is built in the American Renaissance
style. The exterior is clad in limestone
and of solid masonry construction. The plan is rectangular and symmetrical and is executed in the Corinthian order
. From the roof rise a limestone drum
and a copper dome which are said to be modeled after St. Peter's Basilica
in Rome. The east and west faces of the building are home to the principal elevations. They feature three story portico
s, a Corinthian pediment
, balustrade
caps and the cornice
. The building's windows are decorated with Doric
surrounds.
The architects wanted the building to give Bloomington residents the feeling that the courthouse belonged to them. To encourage this feeling the entrances on all four sides of the building are identical, a way to welcome people from all directions. Wanting to balance the feeling of symmetry with a sense of power Bailey and Reeves created an identical hierarchy in each facade through the use of an entrance arch, enhanced vertically by columns and topped off with a pediment. The exterior also makes use of many balustrades in the roof and other levels on the exterior. Also included are detailed egg-and-dart molding, and hood molding.
The Old Courthouse interior is composed of quadrants which are set apart by broad hallways which meet at the building's center. There they form a large, open three story rotunda
. The rotunda is the dominating feature of the interior. It rises over 100 feet into the air and at the top features an allegorical
painting representing peace and prosperity. The halls have mosaic floors and wall treatment composed of white marble dado
which is capped with antique verde serpentine stone. Marbleized plaster, scagliola
, panels complete the walls. The building's ceilings are decorated with plaster cornices and molded leaf and rosette compliments. The Honduras mahogany
doors have a rail and panel design and bevel
ed glass is used for decorative side lights and panels.
The courthouse's upper stories are reached by a broad white marble
stairway. It features bronze fish-scale screens which are decorated with laurel wreath
s, the same type of screen closes the rails around the rotunda opening. Inside the rooms are sand cast plaster cornices and a variety of floor finishes which include mosaic, marble and maple
. The original stenciling in the rooms has been lost to the past. The three original courtrooms are decorated with fresco
es, marble dadoes and scagliola. Only one of the original frescoes remain. Other notable architectural features include many beveled and leaded glass
panels, scagliola door surrounds, solid bronze
wall partitions, a number of original bronze, combination gas and electrical light fixtures and marble counters.
Style a has a pressed brick facade, arched windows and a dentil
crown.
building style and utilizes flat stone lentils and sills on the windows. The building is topped by dentils near its roof line. Also known as Crothers & Crew Building. In the early 1990s the building was restored by Russell Francios for use as an architectural office. During this renovation the third floor was converted into a contemporary apartment and studio.
Style. It was to be the last building designed by Pillsbury and one he would never see open as he was killed in an automobile accident in October 1925. The building included a six room, fully furnished Spanish-style bungalow
on the seventh floor when it opened in 1926. The bungalow had white stucco
walls and arched windows and doorways. The original design of the building include gothic
spire
s on the roof which gave the building a much less Art Deco appearance than it has today. The spires were removed in 1941 to give the building a more modern feeling. At one time there were plans to replace the terra cotta
panels on the east facade with stainless steel
panels. The WWII steel shortage stopped those plans and the terra cotta panels remain one of the building's most prominent features.
"skyscraper" was designed by Bloomington architect George Miller and is an example of Chicago Style
architecture. The design incorporates many elements which would later be connected to what is now called the Sullivanesque Style, after Louis Sullivan
. Sullivan concentrated on many of design elements seen in the Livingston Building. On its north and east side the building is decorated with pressed metal oriel
s. The lower base of the building makes use of column
s and is top is ornamented by a detailed cornice. The Livingston Building's oriels are arranged in a curtain wall where they are located on the building. Above the first story the windows are flanked by pressed metal spandrels and the third through sixth floors are clad in red brick. One of the oriels faces Washington Street and two face Main Street. The windows are supported by terra cotta brackets and the upper spandrels are ornamented with terra cotta paneling.
style of architecture. They share a common wall and use simple stone lentil
s and sill
s in the windows. The storefronts are accented by columns. The common wall helped to increase the speed which the Phoenix Block was constructed at. So eager were merchants to occupy the storefronts that several stores opened for business while workers were still constructing the second and third floors of the buildings.
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and encompasses the old McLean County
McLean County, Illinois
McLean County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. McLean County is included in the Bloomington–Normal, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 169,572, which is an increase of 12.7% from 150,433 in 2000. Its county seat is...
Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was built around 1900. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1832, the second in 1836 and the third was built shortly before the present building but was destroyed by fire.
Courthouse
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
firm Reeves and Bailey. The original construction was completed in 1900 at a cost of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
461,640. Shortly after its completion, a fire destroyed many of the buildings in the square and the courthouse. The courthouse was rebuilt in 1903 as before following the fire. The rebuild of many buildings in the downtown was executed through the designs of several local architects, George Miller, Paul Moratz and A.L. Pillsbury.
Illinois State Museum
The Illinois State Museum is the official museum of the natural history of the U.S. state of Illinois. The headquarters museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets, one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, the state capital...
, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a cabinet-level department of the state government of Illinois. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield...
. The project included restoration of the 100-year old courthouse dome. Original copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
was salvaged and reused and the clock restored to working order. On December 24, 2004 the tower bell
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
was rang for the first time in nearly fifty years. The dome was restored from its oxidized copper green to the original copper color. The reflective dome can be seen for miles.
On October 15, 2006 the Landmark Preservations Council of Illinois presented the "Outstanding Restoration" award to McLean County for its efforts to restore the dome of the old courthouse.
Square
The historic sides of the square are on the west, south and north sides of the courthouse, respectively. The east side of the public square was destroyed in a 1985 fire and today a contemporary office building occupies the area. The remaining historic sides are littered with historic commercial buildings which originate from the 1850s to the 1920s. The Corn Belt Bank Building at 101 W. Jefferson St. was completed in 1903, and was designed by George Miller who also designed the nearby Livingston Building, 102–104 W. Washington St.Buildings on the Courthouse Square
- Benjamin & Shermerhorn Building: 210 N. Center St., completed 1857.
- Corn Belt Bank Building: 101 W Jefferson St., completed 1903.
- Dewenters Building (Crothers & Crew Building): 118 W. Washington St., completed c. 1856.
- Ensenberger Building: 212 N. Center St., completed 1926.
- Livingston Building: 102–104 W. Washington St., completed 1903.
- People's Bank Building:
- Phoenix Block (Kersey H. Fell Building): 106–108 W Washington St., buildings completed c. 1856.
Benjamin & Shermerhorn Building
The Benjamin & Shermerhorn building was built in 1857 by contractor S.G. Rounds. The building was originally built as a dry goods store which was operated by Edward Benjamin and John Shermerhorn. Their store occupied the first floor of the three-story building. The store was the beneficiary of excellent basement storage conditions resulting from a well that was struck during construction which provided a natural cooling system for the perishables the store carried. The building has had other notable tenants during its history as well. The Bloomington newspaper, The Pantagraph, was housed on the building's third floor until 1868. The paper, during this period in its history, was known as a radical "black republican" paper because of its stance on slavery and support for Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. A local loan broker, Henry Capen & Sons, occupied the second floor from 1886 until 1926. The building's longest tenant, however, was W.B. Read and Co., a stationary and book company that started on the first floor and 1895 and later moved to occupy the entire building until the owner, William Read's, death in 1951. In 1952 Osco Drugs took over the building and the pharmacy later expanded into the connected Marblestone Building next door.
Dewenters Building
This building, on West Washington Street, is one of three buildings built by Dr. Eli Crothers around the year 1856. During their early years the buildings, including the Dewenters building served as offices for prominent Bloomington doctors and lawyers, including William Ormes and Leonard SwettLeonard Swett
Leonard Swett was a civil and criminal lawyer who advised and assisted Abraham Lincoln throughout the president's political career.-Early life:...
, who pioneered the insanity defense for accused criminals. The building got its name, Dewenters, from the time when it housed the Dewenter and Co. men's clothing store for more than a century of its existence. Dewenter and Co. was founded by Herman Dewenter and William Krietzer in 1847 and moved to the Dewenter Building in 1870 where it stayed until 1988. The Dewenter family owned the store until 1946 but it retained its name even after its sale to new owners.
Ensenberger Building
The seven-floor Ensenberger Building, at 212 N. Center St., was completed in 1926 at a cost of $250,000. The building was the home of Bloomington icon Ensenberger Furniture from its opening until the time it closed in 1995. The furniture store was started in 1879 by Gustave A. Ensenberger and operated by his descendants until its closure. An estimated 40,000 visitors toured the building during the week following its grand opening with people coming from as far away as New York and California.Livingston Building
The 1903 six-story Livingston Building is considered the first "skyscraperSkyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
" to be built in Bloomington because of its status as the first steel frame construction
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
building in Illinois outside of Chicago. The building was built at a cost of $36,000. The building was home to the Livingston and Sons department store for the first eleven years of its history until the store was relocated just down the block. Between 1927 and 1969 a Walgreens Drug Store and a number of legal and insurance businesses occupied the building. The Livingston was well known for its roof garden during the early 1900s which was the site of many dances and musical performances.
Phoenix Block
The Phoenix Block is a collection of buildings at 106–108 West Washington St. Today, only two of the original four buildings that made up the Phoenix Block remain. The PhoenixPhoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
Block was so dubbed by the Daily Pantagraph as a remark on how quickly the buildings rose from the ashes after a fire in 1855. Originally, the buildings' upper floor served as offices for lawyers who tried cases in the original wood frame courthouse. The Kersey H. Fell Building of 1856 is one of downtown Bloomington's oldest structures. The Fell Building housed the office of local attorney Kersey Fell. His second floor office is the place where it is claimed that Jesse Fell
Jesse W. Fell
Jesse W. Fell was a Bloomington, Illinois businessman and land owner instrumental in the establishment of communities throughout Central Illinois and for the founding of Illinois State University. A close friend of Abraham Lincoln it was Fell who urged him to challenge his opponent, Stephen A...
first suggested to Abraham Lincoln he should run for president. Aside from the law offices the third floor once housed the Illinois Natural History Museum, in 1857, which was one of the first museums in Illinois. The storefronts have been home to numerous merchants over the years. From 1905 to 1922 Homuth Jewelry had a location along the block and Sorg's Jewelers had a location on the Phoenix Block from 1946 until 1988. In addition five other jewelers have had businesses along this block at some point in its past.
Courthouse
American Renaissance
In the history of American architecture and the arts, the American Renaissance was the period in 1835-1880 characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance humanism...
style. The exterior is clad in limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and of solid masonry construction. The plan is rectangular and symmetrical and is executed in the Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
. From the roof rise a limestone drum
Tholobate
A tholobate or drum, in architecture, is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism....
and a copper dome which are said to be modeled after St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in Rome. The east and west faces of the building are home to the principal elevations. They feature three story portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
s, a Corinthian pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
, balustrade
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
caps and the cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
. The building's windows are decorated with Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
surrounds.
The architects wanted the building to give Bloomington residents the feeling that the courthouse belonged to them. To encourage this feeling the entrances on all four sides of the building are identical, a way to welcome people from all directions. Wanting to balance the feeling of symmetry with a sense of power Bailey and Reeves created an identical hierarchy in each facade through the use of an entrance arch, enhanced vertically by columns and topped off with a pediment. The exterior also makes use of many balustrades in the roof and other levels on the exterior. Also included are detailed egg-and-dart molding, and hood molding.
The Old Courthouse interior is composed of quadrants which are set apart by broad hallways which meet at the building's center. There they form a large, open three story rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
. The rotunda is the dominating feature of the interior. It rises over 100 feet into the air and at the top features an allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
painting representing peace and prosperity. The halls have mosaic floors and wall treatment composed of white marble dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
which is capped with antique verde serpentine stone. Marbleized plaster, scagliola
Scagliola
Scagliola , is a technique for producing stucco columns, sculptures, and other architectural elements that resemble inlays in marble and semi-precious stones...
, panels complete the walls. The building's ceilings are decorated with plaster cornices and molded leaf and rosette compliments. The Honduras mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
doors have a rail and panel design and bevel
Bevel
A beveled edge refers to an edge of a structure that is not perpendicular to the faces of the piece. The words bevel and chamfer overlap in usage; in general usage they are often interchanged, while in technical usage they may sometimes be differentiated as shown in the image at right.-Cutting...
ed glass is used for decorative side lights and panels.
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
stairway. It features bronze fish-scale screens which are decorated with laurel wreath
Laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...
s, the same type of screen closes the rails around the rotunda opening. Inside the rooms are sand cast plaster cornices and a variety of floor finishes which include mosaic, marble and maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
. The original stenciling in the rooms has been lost to the past. The three original courtrooms are decorated with fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es, marble dadoes and scagliola. Only one of the original frescoes remain. Other notable architectural features include many beveled and leaded glass
Leaded glass
Leaded glass may refer to:*Lead glass, potassium silicate glass which has been impregnated with a small amount of lead oxide in its fabrication...
panels, scagliola door surrounds, solid bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
wall partitions, a number of original bronze, combination gas and electrical light fixtures and marble counters.
Benjamin & Shermerhorn Building
The Bejamin & Shermerhorn Building was designed by Rudolph Richter and completed in 1857. It is designed in the ItalianateItalianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
Style a has a pressed brick facade, arched windows and a dentil
Dentil
In classical architecture a dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect Vitruvius In classical architecture a dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect...
crown.
Dewenters Building
This building is cast in the Greek RevivalGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
building style and utilizes flat stone lentils and sills on the windows. The building is topped by dentils near its roof line. Also known as Crothers & Crew Building. In the early 1990s the building was restored by Russell Francios for use as an architectural office. During this renovation the third floor was converted into a contemporary apartment and studio.
Ensenberger Building
The Ensenberger Building was designed by local architect Arthur Pillsbury in an eclectic interpretation of the Art DecoArt Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Style. It was to be the last building designed by Pillsbury and one he would never see open as he was killed in an automobile accident in October 1925. The building included a six room, fully furnished Spanish-style bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
on the seventh floor when it opened in 1926. The bungalow had white stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
walls and arched windows and doorways. The original design of the building include gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
s on the roof which gave the building a much less Art Deco appearance than it has today. The spires were removed in 1941 to give the building a more modern feeling. At one time there were plans to replace the terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
panels on the east facade with stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
panels. The WWII steel shortage stopped those plans and the terra cotta panels remain one of the building's most prominent features.
Livingston Building
This steel structuredSteel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
"skyscraper" was designed by Bloomington architect George Miller and is an example of Chicago Style
Chicago style
Chicago style may refer to several things:*The Chicago Manual of Style, a guideline for writing documents and news reports*Chicago school , a style of commercial buildings...
architecture. The design incorporates many elements which would later be connected to what is now called the Sullivanesque Style, after Louis Sullivan
Louis Sullivan
Louis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
. Sullivan concentrated on many of design elements seen in the Livingston Building. On its north and east side the building is decorated with pressed metal oriel
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
s. The lower base of the building makes use of column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s and is top is ornamented by a detailed cornice. The Livingston Building's oriels are arranged in a curtain wall where they are located on the building. Above the first story the windows are flanked by pressed metal spandrels and the third through sixth floors are clad in red brick. One of the oriels faces Washington Street and two face Main Street. The windows are supported by terra cotta brackets and the upper spandrels are ornamented with terra cotta paneling.
Phoenix Block
The two remaining original buildings on the Phoenix Block, one of which is the Kersey H. Fell building, are done in the Greek RevivalGreek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style of architecture. They share a common wall and use simple stone lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
s and sill
Sill plate
A sill plate or sole plate in construction and architecture is the bottom horizontal member of a wall or building to which vertical members are attached. Sill plates are usually composed of lumber. It usually comes in sizes of 2×4, 2×6, 2×8, and 2×10. In the platform framing method the sill plate...
s in the windows. The storefronts are accented by columns. The common wall helped to increase the speed which the Phoenix Block was constructed at. So eager were merchants to occupy the storefronts that several stores opened for business while workers were still constructing the second and third floors of the buildings.