Trude Building

A. S. Trude had the building constructed in 1897. It was designed by the firm Jenney & Mundie.[1] It stood between either fourteen or sixteen stories tall.[2][1] The site had previously been occupied by a six story building that had been lost to a fire.[3]

The building sat at the southwest corner of the intersection of Wabash Avenue and Randolph Street. It was located on a site 104 feet (32 m) long along its Wabash Avenue face and 75 feet (23 m) long along its Randolph Street face.[3] It was expanded to occupy this full site several years after the original portion of the building was built, as its neighboring building was lost in a fire. The new tower was considered to be of high-quality "fireproof" construction .[3]

The building housed the headquarters of Lord & Thomas, a notable advertising agency.[1]

Marshall Field & Co. acquired the building and its land in a ninety year lease agreement that saw them agree to pay Trude an annual rent of $60,000 for ninety years, beginning in July 1911. At the time, the Cook County Board of Review evaluated the building at $125,000 and its land at $597,630, making the property worth $722,630. The lease permitted Marshall Field & Co. to, at any time before August 1, 1919, replace the building with a new high-grade "fireproof" building so long as it cost no less than $750,000.[3]

After acquiring the site, Marshall Field & Co. demolished the tower in order to expand the Marshall Field and Company Building. This is considered to have been one of the first demolitions, if not the first, of a high-rise skyscraper.[2]