documenting destruction of von holt's historically important south side chicago 40th street substation

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This entry was posted on January 8 2020 by Eric

unfortunately, i didn't have the bandwidth to continually document von holst's 40th street commonwealth edison substation, including its demolition, which is all but complete. when i arrived yesterday afternoon, all that remained were slabs of concrete and a partially exposed basement.

i was told that the site was essentially on "lockdown," which meant nothing could leave the site during demolition (i.e., salvaged ornament). thankfully, commonwealth edison's contract with the wrecker stipulated that the custom-designed exterior tile panels (a signature design element of von holst' substations) be carefully extracted and saved.

from a previous post:

i documented von holst's doomed 40th 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 20th 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 40th street building was an unmanned relay station, given its size and location, but i need to research further when time permits.