ephemera, photographs, drawings, and books from the architectural offices of jenney & mundie acquired by bldg. 51 museum

the following images offer a glimpse at a sizable jenney & mundie archive containing architectural records previously believed to have been lost or destroyed. the archive -which is by no means comprehensive - was acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection in july of 2017. we are currently working to digitize it, for unabridged access to researchers and/or scholars alike.

william le baron jenney built the first skyscraper in 1884, and is known far and wide as the father of the american skyscraper. in 1867 at the close of the civil war, jenney relocated to chicago and began a successful architectural office specializing in commercial buildings and urban planning. early on, jenney’s firm relied mostly on park planning commissions, including the creation of humboldt park, douglas park and garfield park. however after the chicago fire, when chicagoans replaced their largely wooden city with structures of stone and iron, the load-bearing masonry designs typical of the era posed problems for commercial businesses looking to grow. one of jenney’s earliest solutions came in 1879, with the first leiter building. specifying cast-iron columns for the interior, jenney’s design allowed for more windows, which would provide light to the building’s interior. it greatly reduced the building’s weight without sacrificing strength, eventually allowing for the introduction of towering skyscrapers.

william bryce mundie apprenticed under charles mulligan in hamilton ontario, where he developed his skills as a delineator and draftsman. after moving to chicago in april 1884, he was immediately hired to work as an assistant in jenney's offices. it wasn't long before jenney asked him to become a full partner, and the firm existed as jenney & mundie from 1891-1904.

elmer jensen began as an office boy with jenney in 1884. against the demands of his father, he eschewed a college education in lieu of real world- experience, and had designed several apartment buildings on his own by the time he was 18. in 1905 he was made a partner in the newly named firm of jenney, mundie  & jensen, active until late 1906. upon jenney's passing in 1907, the firm became mundie & jensen until 1935.

that is where the material that i have  gleaned abruptly stops. the firm continued on, though, and is still active to this day. archival material exists both at saic (ryerson and burnham libraries) and the firm itself (now known as jensen, mcclurg & halstead) as well as with bldg 51. until i stumbled across it, the contents of this archive remained unknown to even the foremost scholars focusing on these pivotal architectural figures.