Benjamin Howard Marshall (May 5, 1874 – June 19, 1944) was an American architect based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois. He is known for his designs of luxury hotels, apartment buildings, and country estates. His firm,

Marshall and Fox Marshall and Fox was a United States architectural firm based in Chicago from 1905 to 1926. The principals, Benjamin H. Marshall and Charles E. Fox, designed a number of significant buildings of many types in Chicago and other cities, but they we ...

, was responsible for many of Chicago’s landmark buildings, including the Drake Hotel and the

Edgewater Beach Hotel The Edgewater Beach Hotel was a resort hotel complex on Lake Michigan in the far-north neighborhood community of Edgewater in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Benjamin H. Marshall and Charles E. Fox. The first multi-story building was built ...

, and was known for its pioneering work in poured concrete construction.

Early life and education

Marshall was born in Chicago to Caleb H. and Celia F. Marshall. He attended the Harvard School for Boys in Kenwood, but did not pursue formal architectural education.

Career

At the age of 19, he became an apprentice in the firm of Marble and Wilson and two years later, at the time of Marble's death, he was named a full-fledged partner. One of his earliest commissions was destroyed a month after its completion in an event remembered as one of Chicago's worst disasters, the Iroquois Theater Fire of 1903. In 1905, Marshall co-founded the firm

with Charles E. Fox, a graduate of MIT. Their firm specialized in designing opulent hotels and apartment buildings in classical revival styles. His work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Major works

Some of Marshall's most important buildings include: *

The Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Natio ...

(1908–1910) – A Beaux-Arts hotel located on South Michigan Avenue, known for hosting numerous U.S. presidents. *

and Edgewater Beach Apartments (1916–1928) – A Spanish Colonial Revival resort complex. The hotel was demolished in 1971, but the adjacent apartments remain. *

South Shore Cultural Center The South Shore Cultural Center, in Chicago, Illinois, is a cultural facility located at 71st Street and South Shore Drive, in the city's South Shore neighborhood. It encompasses the club facility, grounds, and beach of the former South Shore C ...

(originally South Shore Country Club) – A Mediterranean Revival club built around 1919. * Mayslake Peabody Estate, Oak Brook, Illinois (1919–1921) – A Tudor Revival mansion built for coal magnate Francis Stuyvesant Peabody. * Marshall/Goldblatt Mansion, Wilmette, Illinois (1922–1924) – A flamboyant pink stucco residence that doubled as Marshall’s studio and social hub. It was demolished around 1950. * Cuneo Mansion, Vernon Hills, Illinois (1914) – A lavish estate for

Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a British American business magnate. He was an innovator and investor based in Chicago who helped create an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull created hold ...

, later the residence of the Cuneo family. *

Hillside Farm Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia * Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia * Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada * Hillside, Nova Scotia United Ki ...

, Northport, Maine (1914) – A country estate for Ira M. Cobe and the largest home in the state of Maine.

Style and influence

Marshall’s work incorporated Beaux-Arts and revivalist styles with modern amenities. He favored French-inspired designs, and some of his apartment buildings featured floorplans labeled in French. His projects often included entire floors dedicated to a single residence, with separate rooms for staff. Following the 1903

Iroquois Theatre fire The Iroquois Theatre fire was a catastrophic building fire in Chicago, Illinois, that broke out on December 30, 1903, during a performance attended by 1,700 people. The fire caused 602 deaths and 250 non-fatal injuries. It ranks as the worst ...

—in which flawed design contributed to hundreds of deaths—Marshall shifted toward safer poured concrete construction.

Personal life

Marshall married Elizabeth Walton in 1905 and had three children.

Later years and death

Marshall continued to design buildings and interiors after his partner Charles Fox’s death in 1926. He lived at the Drake Hotel, one of his firm's own commissions, until his death in 1944. Financial hardship during the Great Depression curtailed his later career.

Legacy

In 2002, the Benjamin Marshall Society was founded to preserve his legacy. In 2024, Chicago declared May 5 “Benjamin Marshall Day” to celebrate his 150th birthday. The 2015 book ''Benjamin H. Marshall: Chicago Architect'' by John Zukowsky and Jean Guarino further advanced his scholarly recognition.

References

External links

Benjamin Marshall Society

Chicago Architecture Center

WTTW: The Great Gatsby of Chicago