The Dexter Building was a landmark building located at 630 South Wabash Avenue, in the South Loop area of

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 Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The building was designed by the firm of Dankmar Adler and

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

, and built in 1887.Dexter Building
Chicago Landmarks, City of Chicago, retrieved October 4, 2011.Ron Grossman, Michelle Keller and Tony C. Yang
"Fire guts historic building: 2nd Louis Sullivan structure destroyed this year in Chicago,"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' October 25, 2006. Prior to its destruction in 2006 it was one of the earliest surviving Louis Sullivan buildings, and was considered a precursor of the nearby

Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building is a structure at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive in the Chicago Loop, Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1889, it is o ...

. It was designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1996 and was described by the Landmarks Division of the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development as an "irreplaceable link in the chain of work of one of the nation's most important architectural partnerships". It was distinctive in its use of exterior perforated girders, prefiguring designs of seven decades later.

History

Architects Dankmar Adler and

designed the Wirt Dexter Building as a warehouse and a furniture store for Wirt Dexter Walker, a prestigious lawyer in 1887, twelve years before his death. This building housed many businesses all around the years, from 1967 it was the home of the George Diamond Steak House, and the upper floors later housed the Sawyer Secretarial College.

Fire

On October 24, 2006, workmen were cutting up a

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

in the basement for scrapping with acetylene torches that sparked a large fire. The fire was allowed to get out of control and gutted the building.Ron Grossman and Josh Noel
"Woman's dream now lies in ruins,"
''Chicago Tribune'' October 26, 2006. At its peak, the fire, which started in the basement at around 3 pm, was a five-alarm fire, the

Chicago Fire Department The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides firefighting services along with emergency medical response services, hazardous materials mitigation services, and technical rescue response services in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, un ...

's highest level of alert, with over 250 firefighters responding. Following the fire, the surviving shell of the building was too unstable to save and was demolished. At the time of the fire there was no insurance on the building.

In popular culture

The Wirt Dexter Building can be seen in the near background of one scene in the 2001 movie ''Just Visiting'' and 1997 movie My Best Friend's Wedding.

References

External links

Article about the fire
by Lynn Becker

Landmarks Illinois: Article about the fire and use of acetylene torches in rehabilitating historic buildings, with pictures {{Louis Sullivan Industrial buildings completed in 1887 Former buildings and structures in Chicago Chicago Landmarks Louis Sullivan buildings Burned buildings and structures in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago