Structures of the type Commercial
Chamber of Commerce (Makie) Building, Milwaukee Wisconsin
Date added:October 31, 2009
Imposing example of large commercial structure of of the 1870's, typical of Milwaukee's rapid growth and commercial development following the Civil War. It is also a good example of the prevailing style, which is described in a contemporary document as "simple Italian." It was built originally by Alexander Mitchell under contract with the Chamber of Commerce to occupy the exchange room for twenty years beginning May 1881 at a yearly rental of $3,000.00.
The building is constructed entirely of gray Ohio sandstone with 160' center tower with clock on four faces. Roof is of slate. Window surrounds are elaborate heavy projections with pediments, brackets, and various other motives from the eclectic vocabulary. The entrance door is flanked by granite pillars with figures of "commerce" "bear," and "bull." Actual entrance door has been modernized.
More...Empire Building, Denver Colorado
Date added:January 27, 2010
Located at 430 Sixteenth Street in downtown Denver, the Empire Building was constructed in 1906-07 by real estate developers Julius Myers, Horace Bennett, and Jerome Riche. The building was designed by Frank E. Edbrooke, one of Denver's most prominent and prolific architects, whose works include the city's Brown Palace Hotel, Masonic Temple, and Denver Dry Goods Store. In his 1973 book. Historic Denver 1858-1893, architectural historian Richard Brettell wrote that Edbrooke "was almost singlehandedly responsible for the architectural maturity of Denver's downtown in the late 1880s and 1890s. The Empire Building, a six-story, brick, steel frame, commercial building with Neo-classical ornament,_is representative of the mature designs of the later portion of the architect's career. The building also represents the low-rise office and retail buildings which characterized downtown Denver in the early part of the twentieth century.
Construction on the Empire Building began in 1906, at a time when Denver's economy was enjoying an economic upswing. During the depression of the 1890s, Colorado had experienced widespread business failures, unemployment, labor unrest, and agricultural distress. In 1906, however, seven million dollars were spent on new construction in Denver, and confidence in the city's growth was mirrored in the construction of the city's $250,000 Carnegie Library, YMCA Building, El Jebel Temple, and City Auditorium, which was aimed at attracting new business to Denver.
More...Institution for Savings, New Bedford Massachusetts
Date added:December 17, 2009
A commercial building erected at the peak of New Bedford's prosperity, which is a rare extant example of Italian Renaissance influence on mid-nineteenth century American architecture. Originally built for the New Bedford Institution for Savings. From 1897 to about 1940 or 1950 used by the Third District Court, presumably owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, then purchased by Johnson's Inc for use as a automobile parts and machine shop.
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Kremlin Building, Buffalo New York
Merchants and Mechanics Banks Building, New Bedford Massachusetts
Mitchell Building, Milwaukee Wisconsin
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company Home Office, Milwaukee Wisconsin
Prudential Building (Guaranty Building), Buffalo New York
Second Ward Savings Bank (now Milwaukee County Historical Center), Milwaukee Wisconsin
William Tallman Warehouse, New Bedford Massachusetts