In an earlier era, Printers Row was a bustling district. Workers, many of them newly arrived immigrants employed in the many publishing houses in the area, went about their daily business while scores of passengers arrived and departed at nearby Dearborn Street Station, creating a tempest of human activity.
Today, the hum of printing presses has long ceased, the pace is not quite so intense, the gait of the passersby not as determined. But people still make their way down to the south end of the Loop for many reasons: to admire the area’s many historic buildings, to eat in its restaurants, to shop in its stores. Printers Row is both a place to visit and, for an increasingly number of Chicagoans, a place to live.
Printers Row, or Printing House Row as it is sometimes called, consists roughly of a two-block area along Dearborn Street between Congress Parkway and Polk Street in the South Loop. Nearby Plymouth Court and Federal Avenue also are contained in the district. Printers Row is part of the greater Burnham Park area.
Between 1883 and 1912, most of the buildings along and in the immediate vicinity of South Dearborn Street accommodated the needs of the various printing and publishing businesses that thrived there. In fact, Printers Row was just one of several business “districts” in the central city. Farther north, State Street, with its grand department stores, had become Chicago’s retail center, while nearby LaSalle Street emerged as the financial hub.
The presence of the Dearborn Street railroad terminal at the foot of Dearborn and Polk Streets made the Printers Row area an ideal spot for commercial development.
In addition to printing and publishing businesses, there were also the subsidiary trades that employed scores of workers, each with a particular expertise, including typsetters, etchers, mapmakers and bookbinders, to name a few. Some of the more famous businesses in the area included the catalog printers R.R. Donnelley and Sons and the Lakeside Press, Rand McNally, which produced maps and atlases as well as railroad timetables and shippers’ guides, Fleming H. Revell, reportedly the largest publisher of religious works in the country, and Donohue and Henneberry, which published children’s books.
Technological advances and rapid changes in the social fabric of society, including the decline of the railroad industry, forced the printing companies to leave the area during the 1930s and 1940s. Many moved to the suburbs. By the 1960s, once thriving Printers Row was a veritable ghost town, populated by and abandoned buildings.
Conditions changed, however, in the 1970s and 1980s, as commercial buildings began to be converted into loft spaces or renovated into mixed retail and residential usage. Today, the Printers Row district has much to offer. Here is a guide to the district’s highlights, street by street:
On Dearborn Street:
– Prairie Restaurant, 500 S.; 312-663-1143. Prairie’s goal is to serve food from the American heartland-fish and meat-but in an elegant and upscale setting. Thus, entrees hover in the $15 to $24 range. It’s not cheap but it is a good place to start-or end-a memorable evening.
– Edwardo’s, 521-5 S.; 312-939-3366. If pizza is more to your liking, you can’t do much better than Edwardo’s, which is in the Old Franklin Building, a 19th Century gem that was constructed in 1886.
– Foley’s Printers Row Restaurant, 550 S.; 312-461-0780. Michael Foley opened Printers Row more than a decade ago when the neighborhood was still in transition and patrons had to ask themselves whether dining out in such surroundings was worth risking life and limb. Fortunately for us, the restaurant survived the rough years and has emerged as one of the city’s top dining spots. Like Prairie, Printer’s Row specializes in American fare. Midwestern culinary touches are especially strong.
– Terminals Building, 537 S. Completed in 1892, the 14-story-high Terminals Building is one of the last works of John M. Van Osdel, considered Chicago’s “first” architect.
– Morton Building, 538 S. Designed in 1896 by Jenney and Mundie, an important Chicago architectural firm. William LeBaron Jenney, in fact, is considered the father of the skyscraper. The building now houses the Hyatt on Printers Row.
– Pontiac Building, 542 S. Office building designed by the prolific Holabird & Roche, a firm renowned for their simple and straightforward designs. The 14-story Pontiac is no exception. It is also the oldest example of their work still standing in the city.
– Transportation Building, 600 S. Constructed in 1911 and designed by Fred V. Prather. Its name derives from its original purpose-it housed railroad company offices. At 22 stories high, the Transportation Building is the tallest building in Printers Row. In 1983, it was renovated for apartment usage by Harry Weese and Associates.
– Standing Room Only Chicago, 610 S.; 312-360-1776. Fast-food eatery with a sports theme that serves the usual American fare, such as burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs and submarine sandwiches but also salads, kabobs and falafels.
– Trattoria Peppino, 616 S.; 312-939-7606. Printers Row’s neighborhood Italian restaurant, complete with white tablecloths.
– Grace Place, 637 S. Two-story red brick structure that houses the Grace Episcopal Church (312-922-1426), Christ the King Lutheran Church (312-939-3720), the Center for Ethics and Corporate Policy (312-922-1512) and This-N-That Shop (312-939-6771), a thrift shop.
– Wines Plus Ltd., 705 S.; 312-554-9463. It stocks a nice variety of wines and other alcoholic beverages. There is also a wine-tasting session from noon to 5 p.m. every Saturday. Wines Plus Ltd. shares space with Paper Row (312-431-1222), which specializes in cards and gifts and other paper-related products.
– Donahue Building, 711 S. and Donohue Annex, 727 S. According to the Commission on Historical and Architectural Landmarks, printing presses were originally in the basement; the 2nd through 5th floors housed publishing offices; and the 8th floor was devoted to bookbinding. The Donohue Building was one of the first buildings in the area to be converted to residential living-way back in 1976.
The Prairie Avenue Bookshop (312-922-8311) is in the Donohue Building. The shop, appropriately enough, specializes in architecture and stocks new and out-of-print books on the subject. Proprietor Marilyn Hasbrouck and her staff have put together a handsome and mammoth biannual 96-page catalog, which lists books either already in stock or about to be published. Best of all, it’s free. Topics include architects (listed alphabetically by architect and/or firm), architectural history, interiors, drawing, technical, urban and periodicals. The shop also publishes a regular newsletter and the annual publication “Building a Professional Library.”
– Sandmeyer’s Bookstore, 714 S.; 312-922-2104. Sandmeyer’s is in the Rowe Building, which was completed in 1892. It’s a wonderful bookstore with a cheery, spacious atmosphere. Strong suits include travel books, children’s books, fiction, poetry, music and drama, business, cookbooks, home and garden and new releases.
– New Franklin Building, 720 S.; mixed-used building designed by Prairie School architect George C. Nimmons in 1912 that contains 65 luxury loft condos and retail space. The most striking feature of the 13-story structure is the tile panel above the main entrance, which depicts men at work on the first printing presses. Below the mosaic reads: “The excellence of every art must consist in the complete accomplishment of its purpose.”
– Deli on Dearborn, 723 S.; 312-427-3354. You can either eat in or eat out in this charming Printers Row eatery that has a surprisingly diverse selection of food items from salads and sandwiches to mouth-watering chocolate truffles and other sweets.
– Gourmand Coffeehouse, 728 S.; 312-427-2610. Small but cozy coffeehouse with small black tables, cherry wood chairs and light green walls. Unusual salads, including a very tasty chicken curry salad, Italian-style sandwiches, gelato, scones, muffins and breads as well as a nice assortment of coffees and teas.
– Moonraker’s Pub, 733 S.; 312-922-2019. Burgers, salads and pastas in this restaurant and tavern with a nautical theme.
And at the south end of Dearborn and Polk Streets stands:
– Dearborn Street Station, 47 W. Polk St.; 312-554-4400. Designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz in 1885. As the oldest surviving railroad station in the city, Dearborn Street evokes the glory days of the “Iron Horse.” It is minus a few of its original elements, including the original, more elaborate roof; a cupola; and a shed. Yet it is still a very impressive sight. Today the atmosphere is cheery and the beige decor tasteful. Banners of red, white, green and black decorated with the names of some of the great railway lines-from the Santa Fe to the Wabash-fly overhead.
Dearborn Street Station, which is 85 percent leased, is undergoing a major renovation, according to the building’s principal owner, Sam Roti, in order “to attract new tenants as well as to make our existing tenants more successful.” Roti, who bought the building two years ago, is trying to turn the former railway terminal into a “destination retail location”; that is, a place that is both practical and fun and can appeal both to neighborhood residents as well as visitors. The practical side is represented by such businesses as the South Loop Ace Hardware, Dearborn Station Dry Cleaners & Shoe Repair, the Chicago School of Professional Psychology as well as doctors’ offices, banking facilities and legal and financial services.
The other side of the coin refers to Merit Music Program (312-786-9428), which offers music programs, lectures and group and private lessons; Old Course Golf Shop & Golf School (312-987-GOLF), which specializes in custom golf clubs and also offers golf lessons; Euro Touch (312-986-8230), a nail boutique that is about to expand; Lindas Margaritas (312-939-6600), a Mexican restaurant; and the Fort Dearborn Camera Club (312-922-0770). Founded in 1895, meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. Fridays. Guests are invited. Among the club’s activities: spring and fall seminars, workshops, darkroom and studio facilities for members (available seven days a week, 24 hours a day), lectures, photo field trips, competitions and an annual awards banquet. The Fort Dearborn Camera Club photo gallery, which displays the work of members, is on the main level of the building. Membership dues are $12 per month; darkroom and studio access, $13 additional per month.
Coming soon to Dearborn Street Station is Light and Dark Places, a lighting and design company, and the Woman’s Yoga Center.
On Plymouth Court:
– Mergenthaler Building, 531 S.; 312-944-0589. Once the home of the Mergenthaler Linotype Co., this red brick former factory building was completed in 1886, renovated in 1917 and converted to residential living in 1979.
– Moser Building, 621-31 S.; 312-427-LOFT. Designed by Holabird and Roche in 1909 and currently being used as loft apartments that are available for either sale or lease. Originally the home of the Moser Paper Co.
– Pope Building, 633 S.; 312-427-7177. Designed in 1904 and renovated in 1986, the Pope Building is another example of an older structure-originally housing a printing company-remodeled for loft space.
– Lakeside Press Building, 731 S. Commissioned by the Donnelley company and designed by the renowned Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, his first nonresidential design, the Lakeside Press Building was completed in 1901 and is now called the Lakeside Loft Apartments. It is made of brick and cast iron with limestone decoration and is undoubtedly one of the more impressive buildings in the district. The 1st and 2d floors were devoted to showrooms and editorial offices, according to the Commission on Chicago Historical and Architectural Landmarks. The actual printing, though, occurred on the 4th to 6th floors. The logo of the press, an Indian head superimposed on a likeness of Ft. Dearborn, appears over the main entrance and elsewhere. A large color-tinted photograph of Donnelley workers (mostly young men and boys) dressed in their work-day best and standing outside the main entrance of the building, hangs in the main lobby.
The Lakeside Press building also contains:
Printers Row Printing Museum, 731 S.; 312-987-1059. Old printing presses and assorted printing paraphernalia. Limited hours, though: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.
Taste of Siam, 731 S.; 312-939-1179. Wonderful Thai restaurant in an equally wonderful setting; will be relocating to 600 S. Dearborn St. on July 8. The Plymouth Court address will close on July 1.
Side Pockets, 731 S.; 312-322-2244. The place to go for billiards, chess and backgammon in Printers Row. Also serves pizza and hot dogs.
On South Federal Ave.:
– Printer’s Square, 600-732 S. Contains a series of buildings, collectively known as the Borland buildings, that surrounds a small square and was adapted for reuse in 1983. During the Printers Row book fair (see accompanying story) the outdoor square is used for concerts and poetry readings.
