Chicago Landmarks
 

Printing House Row District

Block of 500 S. Dearborn St.     Address: 500- through 800-blocks of S. Dearborn, S. Federal and S. Plymouth streets
Year Built: 1883 - 1928
Architect: Various
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: May 9, 1996

528 S. Plymouth Ct. Morton Building 600 S. Dearborn St. Block of 600 S. Dearborn St. Once occupied by small-scale, post-Fire of 1871 buildings, this area was redeveloped in the late-19th and early-20th centuries by printing and publishing firms who constructed facilities near the Dearborn Street railroad station (built 1885). The area's unusual street pattern of long narrow blocks resulted in buildings that admitted a maximum amount of light, which was necessary for engraving and typesetting. Some of the city's best-known architects designed structures in the district, including Holabird & Roche and Howard Van Doren Shaw. After the printing businesses began relocating in the 1960s, the structures were rehabilitated for commercial and residential uses.