founded in chicago in 1877 by a group of former employees of the chicago terra cotta company, including john r. true, john brunkhorst, gustav hottinger and henry rohkam, the northwestern terra cotta works or company became a major producer of terra cotta trimmings used by the construction industry in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. by the early 1890s, when northwestern terra cotta employed approximately 500 men, annual sales approached $600,000. by 1910, its large plant at clybourn and wrightwood avenues had about 1,000 workers. the popularity of placing terra cotta moldings on building facades peaked in the 1920s, and northwestern terra cotta led the way, in chicago and around the country. around this time, the company opened plants in st. louis and denver. beginning with louis sullivan earlier in the century, prominent chicago architects like frank lloyd wright had extensive contracts with the company. included among the many landmark chicago buildings for which northwestern supplied extensive decorative moldings were the civic opera house, the chicago theater, the wrigley building, and the randolph tower. northwestern's operations in chicago declined alongside the construction industry during great depression and never returned to their 1920s levels. in 1965, northwestern terra cotta co.'s only remaining plant, in denver, closed.