Spiegel Office Building
A streamlined Art Moderne office building that consolidated a major mail-order company’s operations during its shift toward luxury retail and customer service innovation.
At a glance
Built for Spiegel Inc. in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, this 1936–37 office building represents a pivotal moment in American retail strategy. Designed by engineers Battey & Kipp, it enabled the company to centralize scattered operations and rebrand from easy-credit merchant to purveyor of quality goods.
History
Spiegel Inc. was established in Chicago in 1865 as a mail-order business. By the 1930s, the company undertook a strategic transformation, moving away from its signature easy-credit model toward higher-quality products aimed at wealthier customers. The new office building reflected this corporate reinvention, consolidating multiple dispersed offices into a single efficient facility. In the 1940s, engineer Abraham Epstein added an extension to accommodate continued growth and keep all company operations under one roof.
What you see
The building exemplifies Art Moderne design principles with clean, geometric lines and an emphasis on modernist simplicity. Its interior features an industrial loft plan with open floors, optimized for flexible workspace and improved workflow. This functional aesthetic reflected contemporary corporate thinking about efficiency and employee productivity.
Cultural significance
The Spiegel Office Building documents a crucial transition in twentieth-century American retail—from credit-driven marketing to quality-focused commerce. Its architecture embodies the design language of corporate modernism during the Depression and postwar eras, when companies invested in ambitious office spaces as symbols of stability and progress.
Key facts
- Country: United States
- City: Chicago
- Address: 1038 W. 35th Street, Bridgeport neighborhood
- Built: 1936–37
- Architects/Engineers: Battey & Kipp
- Style: Art Moderne
- Addition: 1940s, designed by Abraham Epstein
- National Register of Historic Places: February 18, 2009
- Coordinates: 41.831°N, 87.653°W
Practical information & getting there
The building stands at 1038 W. 35th Street in the Bridgeport neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. For current visiting hours and access, contact local cultural heritage organizations or the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
Sources & resources
- Spiegel Office Building – Wikipedia
- Cultural Heritage Online
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