charles sumner frost-designed public life insurance building faced with the wrecking ball

a gargantuan early twentieth century neoclassical style commercial building, originally built for the public life insurance company and last occupied by the plumbing council of chicagoland, was recently handed a death sentence in the form of a demolition permit that virtually came out of nowhere. despite its landing in the public domain for a day or two, the greenlighted demolition permit seemingly flew under the radar of local and state preservationist groups since it was not listed on the horribly outdated chicago historic resources survey (chrs). why a structurally sound and heavily ornamented limestone structure bedecked with neoclassical decorative elements designed by chicago architect charles sumner frost (perhaps best known for designing navy pier) was not included in the survey is deeply disconcerting to say the least.

when i was notified of the building's fate, i quickly made my way over to begin documenting it before the green fence and/or scaffolding was put into place. from afar, i didn't notice any immediate signs indicating its impending doom. upon closer inspection however, i was taken aback over the fact that the power to the building had already been cut and the placement of a bright orange "building closed" notification which clearly provided evidence that preparation for demolition was well on its way. despite this, i managed to capture photographs of the facade, with its carved "bedford" or indiana limestone facade containing massive cylindrical columns topped by ionic capitals accentuated with high-relief egg and dart and anthemion design motifs wrapped beneath the protruding volutes.

among the more interesting decorative elements is a round plaque near the roofline, featuring the figurative design of an eagle holding a shield and surrounded by laurels. according to public record, the building was designed in 1921, as a 3-story, 70 x 135 foot steel, brick and stone structure with reinforced concrete flooring and a concrete foundation. the public life insurance company commenced business in 1920 and the business offices at 1400 w. washington boulevard were constructed in the next two years at a cost of $360,000.

as for the architect, charles s. frost was born in maine in 1856, and arrived to chicago in 1882 after graduating from mit and then working as a draftsman in boston for several years. once in the midwest, frost partnered with henry ives cobb and went on to design the potter palmer mansion on lake shore drive, among a number of other historically important buildings.

frost worked on his own between 1889 and 1898 before starting a partnership with alfred h. granger. granger had studied in paris and brought a beaux-arts sensibility that harmonized well with other architectural visions in chicago around the turn of the century. together, frost and granger designed monumental buildings, including train stations in omaha, st. paul, and montreal, besides two in chicago. frost would go on to design navy pier, which incorporated elements of daniel burnham's chicago plan, and met the interests of the harbor and subway commission. the pier, opened in 1916, featured neoclassical style buildings at the head and east end of the pier, and designs were rich with terra cotta ornamentation. the public life insurance building was completed just 7 years before frost would retire, and a decade before his death.

update as of 4-26-2016:

the public life insurance building's interior (plumbers' local union 130) had been heavily modified to fit their needs. a carved marble mantel and ornamental iron staircase are the only original elements dating back to the building's construction in 1921.