original historically important polychromatic terra cotta date shield or plaque salvaged from the r.r. donnelley printing plant (extant). the blue and cream-colored polychromed glazed terra cotta building facade plaque was fabricated by the midland terra cotta (chicago, ills.). the shield features a ornate pillar with initialed scroll. the printing plant facility was considered the largest of its kind upon completion in 1929. r.r. donnelley & sons company, was founded in 1864 by richard robert donnelley, who first came to chicago when offered a partnership by publishers goodman and church. at the time of the great chicago fire of 1871, the new firm, which had become the largest publishing house in the west, lost nearly everything in the inferno. subsequent financial troubles delayed donnelly’s return to prominence by nearly a decade, but in 1883, he regained prominence in printing when he founded r.r. donnelley & sons. the firm's operations grew steadily until well into the 20th century and by 1922, necessitated the commission of a massive west side chicago structure that was the largest printing facility in america at the time of its completion, with over 1 million square feet of floor space and daily production reaching hundreds of thousands of books, magazines, and journals. the building, which was designed by architects howard van doren and charles klauder, remained operational until 1991, when the sears mail order catalog, its last client, went out of business. in 1993 the building was bought and converted into a data hotel - a virtually unmanned building filled entirely with supercomputers that continue to host some of chicago’s, and the world’s, largest and most complex data networks, including the chicago mercantile exchange .the r.r donnelley printing plant was built between 1912 and 1929 to house the operations of the r.r. donnelley printing company. the building supported printing operations for the company and remained donnelley's headquarters until 1991 when they moved the headquarters to 77 west wacker drive. the building was to be a fireproof design of poured reinforced concrete columns and an open-shell concrete floor. although considered to be expensive by the standards of that time, t.e. donnelley agreed that the support would be needed for the many tons of paper they used and large presses they operated. supported by 4,675 steel-reinforced concrete columns, this type of construction not only served donnelly well, but also provided the perfect infrastructure for future tenants. to further the building’s support structure, reinforcing bars, normally laid perpendicular, were laid at various angles enabling the floors to bear loads of at least 250 pounds per square foot. the brightly colored polychromatic exterior ornaments terra cotta shields, exhibit symbols of printing history. the terra cotta shield were fabricated by the midland terra cotta company, chicago, ills. examples, featuring date of construction contain a 24-karat gold finish. portions of the building, including the interior memorial library, were designed by architect charles klauder.