The Wrigley Building
The Making of an Icon
Published on 8. April 2025
Book
Hardback
392 pages
978-0-8478-4336-7 (ISBN)
Description
This is the captivating story of the century-old Wrigley Building its design, construction, and enduring significance as one of Chicago s most emblematic buildings. Through meticulous research and spectacular photography, the book unearths a century s worth of architectural, social, and business history, shedding light on many aspects of the Wrigley Building for the first time. The Wrigley represents the high-water mark of Beaux Arts Classicism in the city, a gleaming white palazzo at the head of Chicago s grandest boulevard, Michigan Avenue. With lavish terra cotta ornamentation, it was Chicago s tallest building when it opened in 1921. The book focuses on the intertwined stories of William Wrigley Jr., the larger-than-life founder of the chewing gum empire, and Charles Gerhard Beersman, the relatively unknown architect who, mentored by architect Julia Morgan, brought the building to life. With stunning new photography alongside archival images, renderings, and original architectural drawings, this volume unveils a fresh perspective on this architectural marvel as well as a wealth of fascinating social history illuminating the building s significance as more than just a structural landmark but as a nexus of Chicago s cultural, social, and business evolution. The book incorporates multiple paper stocks.
Reviews / Votes
"Sharoff, an architectural writer, and Zbaren, a photographer, offer fresh perspectives on Chicago's Wrigley Building, a high mark of Beaux-Arts classicism in America, in this rich social history focusing on the two men behind its construction." - New York Times Book Review"This time, from alchemy emerged a rarity: a genuinely fun book on architecture." - Chicago Tribune
"A celebration of family and design, Jeffrey Alan Marks' latest release explores 10 homes, including his own West and East coast homes, that reflect the unique perspectives and personalities of the inhabitants. Each project showcases the designer's layered yet comfortable style while highlighting his tips to mixing antiques and contemporary pieces." - Veranda
"The Wrigley Building: The Making of an Icon succeeds as an authoritative chronicle and a visual love letter to Chicago's most recognizable tower. Scholars will value its archival revelations; architects will study its technical drawings; photography enthusiasts will linger over Zbaren's golden-hour compositions. Most of all, general readers will finish the book with renewed appreciation for a skyscraper that has welcomed generations of visitors with its luminous facade and steadfast clock." - Art Daily
"A faulty clock. An aerial shortcut. Second floor jam-sessions. Here's what we learned from a new book about the history of the iconic Wrigley Building" - Chicago Magazine
"Blending over 400 rare images with untold stories of designers, dreamers, and cultural revolutionaries, this definitive volume traces how the Wrigley Building became a hub for everything from modernist art and jazz to groundbreaking advertising and broadcast media." - Better Magazine
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Illustrations
450 COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS
Dimensions
Height: 333 mm
Width: 261 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
2140 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8478-4336-7 (9780847843367)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Robert Sharoff is a Chicago-based architectural writer and author. William Zbaren is an architectural photographer for the New York Times, Architectural Record, and other publications. John Vinci is a Chicago-based American architect.