The Delaware Building
Address: 36 W. Randolph Street
Architects: Wheelock & Thomas, with 1889 addition by Julius Huber
Date: 1872-1874
Neighborhood: Chicago Loop
Style: Italianate
Overview
After the devastating Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the city’s Central Business District quickly sought to rebuild. The Delaware Building, originally known as the Bryant Block and located at 36 W. Randolph Street, is one of the few remaining buildings from the Loop’s period of early reconstruction and a significant example of Italianate style architecture. It is further believed to be one of the oldest commercial buildings within the Loop, along with the Lake-Franklin Group (1872-1875), The Washington Block (1873-1874), the Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings (1875-1877), all designated Chicago Landmarks, and the Berghoff Restaurant Buildings (1872), which are not designated Chicago Landmarks at this time.
The Delaware Building was listed on the National Register in 1974 and designated a Chicago Landmark in 1983. That same year, noted preservation architect Wilbert R. Hasbrouck oversaw a restoration of the building, with special attention to the lower floors and historic ground floor entrances. Despite its recognized significance and optimal location, plans to reuse the building have long been stalled in part by long-term lease holder, the McDonald’s Corporation, which operated a McDonald’s restaurant on the lower two-floors of the Delaware Building. The McDonald’s location closed amid the pandemic with no apparent plans to reopen, but the parent company reportedly has declined to sever its lease in past negotiations, with approximately 50 years remaining of a 99-year lease. Several preliminary proposals, including a planned residential conversion of the upper floors of the building and replacement tenant for the ground floor commercial space, would require updated zoning compliance and additional means of egress, and much is effectively stymied while the long-term lease remains in place.
History
Buildings constructed in the years immediately following the Great Fire of 1871 were often similar in appearance, design, construction and use, to those that had been lost to the Fire. These buildings were primarily commercial, four-to-six-stories, and constructed with party walls, often to form continuous streetscapes with architecturally refined facades, and most commonly in the Italianate and Renaissance styles. The Delaware Building, originally constructed as the Bryant Block, was among these early post-Fire buildings and stands as one of the few last surviving examples of Chicago’s “Great Rebuilding.”
The Bryant Block, later known as the Delaware Building, after an 1889 remodeling and expansion, was designed by the Chicago firm Wheelock & Thomas (1872-1874) and constructed between 1872-1874. Otis Leonard Wheelock (1816-1893), is among the luminaries of Chicago’s early architectural practice. In addition to partner William Thomas, Wheelock would go on to work with other noted Chicago-based practitioners, namely, W.W. Boyington (1818-1898), W.W. Clay (1849-1926), and his own adopted son, Harry Bergen Wheelock (1861-1934). The Delaware Building, however, remains one of Wheelock’s most notable and celebrated works.
The building was originally five stories with a basement level. Stairways located at the corner of Randolph and Dearborn Streets led to the ground floor and lower level retail spaces. The main entrance to the building is located on the Randolph Street side of the building and connects to an eight-story enclosed open stairway and light court. The two lower floors of the building housed retail businesses, some accessed by three exterior staircases, while the upper floors served primarily as offices. The Bryant Block’s first tenants included real estate and insurance companies, but throughout its 150+-year history housed a variety of businesses.
In 1889 the building was remodeled by Chicago architect Julius H. Huber (1852-1939) and renamed the Real Estate Board Building, in deference to its new tenants, the Chicago Real Estate Board. While the 1889 remodeling included a number of modifications, they remained sympathetic to the overall design of the original building. Exterior alterations included the removal of three bays from the eastern end of the Randolph St. facade, the removal of three exterior staircases, and the addition of two stories constructed of artificial stone atop the building. Also included, the addition of a wrought iron balustrade and corner projection at the roofline, which is no longer extant. The two lower storefront levels were also remodeled at this time, in addition to the construction of a beautiful enclosed interior light court and ornamented open stairwell which was incorporated into the building.
The cast-iron facade; alternating square- and round-arch lintels featuring inset keystones and Corinthian capitals; and alternating Doric and Ionic pilasters rising to the upper floors are among the building’s character defining features. A modest but handsomely bracketed cornice is also highly visible from the street and extends the full width of the building’s facades along Randolph and Dearborn Streets.
The two lower storefront levels were periodically remodeled after 1889, but presently remain largely iron and glass following a 1983 restoration of those features, under the direction of Chicago architect Wilbert Hasbrouck (1931- 2018) and the firm of Hasbrouck Hunderman Architects. Despite these and other alterations, the building remains a fine example of Italianate architecture and early post-Fire reconstruction. The upper stories of the building retain a high level of integrity; the bracketed and denticulated cornice still remain today. The significance of the building has been recognized through designation as both a Chicago Landmark and listing on the National Register. Unfortunately, this remarkable building remains underutilized. McDonald’s Corporation, which continues to hold a lease on a large portion of the two lower commercial floors of the building, which has slowed the building owners’ efforts to reuse and repurpose the building.
Threat
McDonald’s Corporation holds a long-term, 99-year lease on the lower two floors of the Delaware Building, with approximately 50 years remaining on the lease. The fast food restaurant operated out of the building for decades before closing down during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the building’s owners have considered plans to revitalize the building by converting the upper floor offices into new residences, or even offering it for sale, McDonald’s lease includes space that would be required to add a second means of egress. Its large, currently vacant, footprint on the majority of the first-and-second-floor space likewise poses challenges to future reinvestment. Although the restaurant has closed, leaving the building vacant for nearly four years without plans to reopen the location, the parent company has yet to agree to turning over or releasing the space. Currently, the lower levels of the building are requiring maintenance and looking forlorn.
Recommendations
The Delaware Building already benefits from some of the highest and most protective recognition available for a historic property. Its status as a National Register-listed property makes any future rehabilitation potentially eligible for state and federal historic tax credits. Its further status as a formal Chicago Landmark protects it against demolition and insensitive alterations.
Amid a deeply challenging context for downtown commercial spaces, it is vital that the lower floor space be released and made available for renewed investment and adaptive reuse.
The upper floors could likewise accommodate a small hotel, multi-family residential, or continued office space, all of which are in alignment with recent Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Historic Preservation Division’s initiatives. Reactivating a highly visible and active corner of the Loop likewise promises to help the slow but steady economic recovery out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a recognition of evolving needs in Chicago’s Central Business District.
The Delaware Building was constructed in response to one of the greatest urban disasters of the nineteenth century–the Chicago Fire of 1871. Alongside its neighbors, it was intended as a beacon for future commercial investment and a demonstration of the city’s resilience amid ruin. In 2025, the Delaware Building can again signal a response to devastating change, and again demonstrate the value and utility of Chicago’s historic downtown spaces.