another early 20th century south side chicago von holst-designed substation faced with demolition

shortly after learning a demolition permit was pulled for the destruction of the gaitain building, a south side chicago commonwealth edison substation designed by hermann valentin von holst in 1924, i dedicated a great deal of time in the winter months of 2018 researching and photo-documenting the colossal substation with a facade bedecked with carved bedford limestone rondels representing power and/or electricity (e.g., light bulbs and lightning) and cast iron window surrounds accentuated with with strongly geometric design motifs. 

nearly two years later, the gaitain substation still stands, but continued abandonment and neglect has made the building virtually impossible to save - it's only a matter of time before a new demolition permit is issued and it too will succumb to the wrecker's ball. what's worse however, is yet another smaller, but equally important prairie style substation designed by von holst located nearby on 40th street has been issued a demolition permit that i fear will be carried out quickly in the coming weeks. yesterday afternoon, after returning from a grueling trip in st. louis documenting louis sullivan architecture, i managed to make my way to the 40th street station and carefully document the facade, including the richly colored tiled panels often found on other existing von holst stations. 

the building's ornament, although somewhat sparse, was von holst's attempt to beautify an otherwise unsightly utilitarian complex that public utilities magnate samuel insull hired him to repeatedly build in residential neighborhoods across the city of chicago. the early 20th century station 40th street station is smaller and more restrained than gaitain, including a facade accentuated with modest ornament in the form of glazed tiles configured in geometric patterns. the station was likely a relay station with far less equipment installed. i'm in the process of gathering information on the pedigree of von holst's stations to better understand what function they served based on their location and architectural design. 

the geometrically configured glazed tiles with or without patterns are often attributed to the mosiac tile company, zanesville, oh. a 1929 product catalog is show below (courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum archive).

about the architect:

herman von holst is perhaps best known for taking on the responsibility of heading up frank lloyd wright's architectural practice when wright went to europe in 1909, however it would be remiss to allow this event to eclipse the varied and prolific career of this notable architect.

von holst was born in germany and came to the united states at the age of 17 in 1891 when his father accepted a position to head the department of history at the university of chicago.  he earned a bachelor of arts from the university of chicago and then a bachelor of science in architecture from the massachusetts institute of technology. 

after returning to chicago he spent his formative years as a draftsman with the firm of shepley, rutan & coolidge, but by age 31 had established his own office in the rookery building in 1905.

in 1909 he moved his office to the non-extant steinway hall, 64 e. van buren, which during the late 1800s and early 1900s housed the offices of a number of important prairie school architects on the 11th floor including dwight h perkins, robert c. spencer, frank lloyd wright, and myron hunt.

von holst ran wright’s office with marion mahony as head of design and the team completed an impressive portfolio of buildings attributed to the prairie school. von holst also wrote a number of architecture books and taught architecture at the art institute of chicago and at the armour institute of technology which would later become iit.

from 1907 until 1932 he was a also a designer for the public service company of northern illinois and the commonwealth edison company and it was during this period that a large number of prairie style comed substations and peoples gas neighborhood stores were designed, the latter of which were frequent collaborations with george grant elmslie.

alfonso iannelli also performed work for some of von holst's powerhouses, but i cannot confirm whether iannelli was involved on this particular building.

further reading:

HERMAN V. VON HOLST'S SOUTHSIDE CHICAGO PRAIRIE STYLE GAITAN BUILDING (1924) THREATENED WITH DEMOLITION

THE DEATH OF A SOUTH SIDE CHICAGO COMED SUBSTATION IS ON THE HORIZON

HERMAN V. VON VOLST'S COMED SUBSTATION STILL STANDS, BUT CONTINUES TO DIE A SLOW DEATH THROUGH DEFERRED MAINTENANCE

i documented von holst's doomed 40^th street commonwealth edison substation shortly after returning from st. louis late last week. this is the second south side chicago substation designed by the architect facing the wrecking ball.

the larger station, with a more elaborate facade still stands, but is rapidly deteriorating from deferred maintenance and abandonment. i've included a few images of the station’s façade (also known as the gaitain building 1924) which is bedecked with carved bedford limestone rondels with lightbulbs and ornamental cast iron window surrounds.

public utilities magnate samuel insull commissioned von holt to design several stations in residential neighborhoods across the city of chicago during the early 20^th century. the use of distinctive ornament was von holt’s solution to beautify these otherwise unsightly utilitarian complexes for greater curb appeal to appease neighborhood residents.

his earlier prairie style buildings were often accentuated with richly colored tiled panels arranged in simple geometric patterns. i’ve studied a few salvaged panels from demolished stations, but given the tiles are deeply embedded in concrete, it’s difficult to ascertain the manufacturer without damaging the tiles.   

i suspect the 40^th street building was an unmanned relay station, given its size and location, but i need to research further when time permits.