Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Firms Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource American Furniture Mart Description An account of the resource Built in 1924, the American Furniture Mart was a leader in home furnishings and innovative marketing in Chicago. Providing record square footage for the display of furniture manufactured by hundreds of factories from across the nation, the American Furniture Mart facilitated connections between producers, retailers, and consumers. By offering a space dedicated to the meeting of manufacturers, distributors, and clients, the American Furniture Mart bridged the gap between offer and demand that had arisen in an economy increasingly based on mass production. Designed by architects George C. Nimmons (1865–1947), Max Dunning (1873–1945), and Henry Raeder (d. 1943), the American Furniture Mart building reached a height of seventeen stories and was celebrated as the largest building in world at the time its completion. (Consisting of two parts, the east end of the building was constructed in 1924 and the west end in 1926.) Strategically built on a prestigious lakefront lot in downtown Chicago, the American Furniture Mart at 666 Lake Shore Drive offered two million square feet of modern exhibition spaces enclosed in a Gothic-inspired shell. The American Furniture Mart was created exclusively for members of home furnishings businesses and prohibited the public from admission. Its grandiose scale and lavish ornamentation not only expressed the prominence of Chicago in the furniture industry, but also the centrality of Chicago within a national network of design and manufacturing. The sumptuous interiors of the Furniture Club of America attracted leaders in the furniture industry, and its restaurant provided members with a convenient place to hold business meetings. The American Exposition Palace, also located at 666 Lake Shore Drive, hosted fairs and expositions organized for wholesale buyers. Chicago gradually experienced a downturn in its dominance in the furniture industry, in part due to internal competition, such as the completion of the Chicago Merchandise Mart in 1931. Furniture production also declined during World War II, when the United States government prioritized military needs and issued restrictions on the use of lumber by civilians. The activities of the American Furniture Mart ended in 1979. Since then, the building was converted into residential condominiums and offices. In 1988, it was renamed Lake Shore Place and issued a new address, 680 North Lake Shore Drive. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived “Am. Furniture Mart Obtains 333 Building: Control Gained by Stock Purchase.” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 23, 1954. “American Furniture Mart Reorganization Approved by Court.” Chicago Daily Tribune, July 19, 1935. “American Furniture Mart—‘World’s Largest Building.’” Chicago Daily Tribune, February 8, 1925. “Attendance Up in Chicago: More Buyers at Furniture Mart Than Year Ago—Buying Brisk Furniture Stores to Expand Buying.” New York Times, July 13, 1949. Chase, Al. “Furniture Mart Will Be World’s Largest Building.” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 3, 1923. Chase, Al. “Furniture Mart Site Is Changed to Shore Drive.” Chicago Daily Tribune, December 15, 1922. “Chicago Housefurnishing Exposition.” Crockery & Glass Journal 100, no. 24 (June 11, 1925): 19. “Chicago’s Furniture Mart, $10,000,000 Building, Bombed.” New York Times, December 9, 1930. Darling, Sharon. Chicago Furniture: Art, Craft & Industry 1833–1983. Chicago and New York: The Chicago Historical Society in association with W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. Diesenhouse, Susan. “New 15-Year Lease Keeps Playboy Based in Chicago.” Chicago Tribune, August 23, 2006. Dombrowski, Louis. “Chicago Industries: Wind City Dynamic Leader in Home Furnishing Field.” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 29, 1961. Douglas, Anne. “Furnishings Mart Yields Many an Interesting Item.” Chicago Tribune, June 24, 1972. Douglas, Anne. “Summer Furniture Plays Bigger Year ‘Round Role.” Chicago Daily Tribune, October 20, 1957. “Exhibitor’s List for Mart Given.” Furniture Manufacturer and Artisan 86, no. 2 (August 1, 1922): 62. “Files Furniture Plan: Chicago Mart Would Reorganize Under Bankruptcy Act.” New York Times, April 3, 1935. Fuller, Ernest. “Famous Chicago Buildings: MART.” Chicago Daily Tribune, February 28, 1959. “Furnishings Sales Set New All-Time Peak.” Chicago Daily Tribune, March 23, 1951. “Furniture Mart to Be Built: Building Project for Chicago Is Assured—Work to Begin June 15 and Building Completed in May 1923.” Furniture Manufacturer and Artisan 23, no. 5 (May 1, 1922): 175. “Furniture Mart to Observe 25th Birthday at July Show.” Chicago Daily Tribune, March 14, 1949. “Furniture Shows Open: Record Number of Buyers Attend at Chicago’s Marts.” New York Times, July 7, 1936. “Furniture Trade Flocks to Chicago: 43,000 Buyers and Sellers Expected at 2-Week Show Opening There Today.” New York Times, January 9, 1956. Gantz, Carroll. Founders of American Industrial Design. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2014. Goodenough, Louis. “Home Goods Market Opens to Cautious Buying: Buyers Continue Demand for Lower Prices, Better Quality and Design—Few Allocations Needed.” Women’s Wear Daily 78, no. 2 (January 4, 1949): 2. Heise, Kenan. “Irving Rosenberg, 89; Owned Furniture Firm.” Chicago Tribune, October 24, 1986. “Home Goods Market Off to Brisk Start: Thousands Crown Chicago Opening.” Women’s Wear Daily 92, no. 6 (January 10, 1956): 1. Ibata, David. “Mart Gets New Name, Address, Outlook.” Chicago Daily Tribune, March 3, 1988. “Illinois Ready to Tell World Why It Prospers.” Chicago Daily Tribune, September 23, 1924. Jentz, John B. “Furniture.” In Encyclopedia of Chicago, edited by James R. Grossman, Ann Durkin Keating, and Janice L. Reiff, 49. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. Johnson, Abbey. “Trends in Furniture Styles Analyzed by Top Designers.” Chicago Daily Tribune, June 26, 1960. Knoch, Joanne. “Furniture Industry Polishes Its Display.” Chicago Daily Tribune, January 3, 1963. Korom, Joseph J. The American Skyscraper, 1850–1940: A Celebration of Height. Boston: Branden Books, 2008. Lewis, Caroline. “The Home Furnishings Show: What Does It Mean to You Homemakers?” Chicago Tribune, June 9, 1963. Markoutsas, Elaine. “Playboy Goes for Classic Lines.” Crain’s Chicago Business 13, no. 14 (April 2, 1990): 20. McLennon, C.M. America’s Greatest Furniture Mart. Chicago: Wells Company, 1925. “New Plastic Chair Made to Fit Body.” Chicago Daily Tribune, September 19, 1948. “‘New World Kitchen’ Is Introduced by G.E.” New York Times, January 4, 1951. Pulos, Arthur J. The American Design Adventure, 1940–1975. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1990. “Registration for American Furniture Mart Breaks All Records.” Crockery & Glass Journal 103, no. 2 (July 15, 1926): 23. “Reports Rise in Furniture Growth Plan.” Chicago Daily Tribune, June 24, 1958. “Retail Furniture Reported on Rise: Home Goods Industry Survey Finds Refills Difficult for Some Merchants.” New York Times, September 14, 1949. “Retailers Shop as Home Goods Markets Open: Initial Activity Light at Chicago and Grand Rapids, with Optimism Shown on Future Business.” Women’s Wear Daily 82, no. 119 (June 19, 1951): 10. Scranton, Philip. Endless Novelty: Specialty Production and American Industrialization, 1865–1925. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. Scranton, Philip. “Multiple Industrializations: Urban Manufacturing Development in the American Mid-West, 1880–1925.” Journal of Design History 12, no.1 (1999): 45–63. Sherlock, Barbara. “Thomas J. Lyman, 83; Leasing Executive Filled Furniture Mart Showrooms.” Chicago Tribune, May 5, 2005. Smythe, J.H. “The Chicago Market: American Furniture Mart.” Crockery & Glass Journal 104, no. 26 (June 30, 1927): 18. “Stetson China Company Makes Marked Progress: Chicago Concern Has Grown from Small Business with Five Employees to Large Manufacturing Organization Employing Eighty-Five People—Recently Opened Showroom in American Furniture Mart.” Crockery & Glass Journal 104, no. 1 (January 6, 1927): 13. Taylor, Lynn. “Home Furniture Market Begins.” Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1969. “Vaughn Lee Alward: Retired President of American Furniture Mart Was 65.” New York Times, July 6, 1938. Weigle, Edith. “Furniture Show Defines Spring Styles: Manufacturers’ Exhibit at American Furniture Mart Will Give Advance News to Retail Buyers.” Chicago Daily Tribune, January 3, 1932. “William H. Wilson Dies in Virginia: Official American Furniture Mart Was on Business Trip Began Work at 16.” New York Times, April 19, 1935. home furnishings Lake Shore Drive Merchandise Mart