A powerful work of utilitarian architecture, a pioneering use of reinforced concrete and a postcard featuring a never-built tower–this is a good one. Chicago’s old Montgomery Ward Catalog House is a potent symbol of industrial and labor history, connecting warehouse workers fulfilling orders for the US’ oldest mail order company to frazzled Millennials working their first post-grad office job at Groupon.
Finished in 1909 and designed by Schmidt, Garden, & Martin, critic Carl Condit said this was “one of the most powerful works of utilitarian architecture that our building art has produced”. It was the largest reinforced concrete building in the world when completed, and Hugh Garden’s design accentuated the building’s monumental horizontality, drawing the eye along the length of the building as it follows the bend in the river. Not everyone appreciated its immense size–an article in Architectural Record in 1908 described it as “a monotony truly appalling”.