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Friday, October 20, 2017

The History of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Marshall Field and Company State Street Store Clocks beginning in 1891.

Marshall Field & Company, State and Washington Streets, Chicago, showing the one and only Field clock at that time. (c.1891)
Marshall Field & Company, State Street Store, Chicago, looking northeast from State and Washington Streets. Note the original clock. (1904)
1st clock on the corner of State and Washington Sts.
Marshall Field & Company, State Street Store, Chicago, Illinois - The 13-story granite building (the North portion) was constructed in stages between 1891-1892 and 1914 on a partitioned block with sections that were added to the building in 1902, 1906, 1907, and 1914. The south building was razed and replaced in 1907. 

The first Marshall Field clock was installed in 1897 on the building's corner of State and Washington streets (the old south building).

A second, fancier clock was added at the corner of State and Randolph streets in 1902. For five years the designs of the clocks didn’t match, but in 1909 the original clock at State and Washington was replaced with one that was identical to the second clock on State and Randolph streets when the south building was built to match the north building.
Marshall Field & Company, State Street Store, Chicago, looking northeast from State and Washington Streets. Note the New Clock (1912)
State and Washington Streets looking North. July 9, 1916.
NOTE: Time on two faces is a little off.
NOTE: The two faces show different times.
Marshall Field’s 1960s.


The Boston Store and its clock are on the corner of State and Madison Streets, which is one block SOUTH of Marshall Field's.
Looking west on Madison Street from State Street, Chicago. 1928
Above is a picture of the BOSTON STORE CLOCK at the corner of State and Madison Streets. Boston Store's clock, often misidentified as the Marshall Field clock, is one block south of Marshall Field. 

The Field's clock at State and Washington streets can be seen in the distance in many pictures and postcards looking north from the Boston Store.

MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY ARTICLES


Copyright © 2017, Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

5 comments:

  1. I know the clocks are still there, but I really miss MF&Co.

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  2. LOVE LOVE LOVE ANY AND ALL FIELD'S STORIES!!!!! Thank you SO much Neil. That place still brings back so many good memories as a child, teen, adult and parent of my own. Luckily I had both kids to see Santa on the last "I saw Santa at Field's" holiday complete with their souvenir button when my daughter was 10 months and my son just 4. My parents always brought me to see Santa their, and my mom and I shopped their and Oak Park, then Oak Brook until they retired to San Diego. There was a Field's here in Dallas in the Galleria when I first transferred her with AA 25 years ago but that too went away and became Saks. The Christmas Floor (7 I think) was always decked out, with the Walnut Room, thank goodness they kept that at least. And the ice cream parlor. I remember rest rooms looking like mini dressing rooms, in dark walnut with big heavy doors on the "stalls" if that is what you want to call them and a matron with hand lotions, etc. keeping the sink area tidy. My mother always gave me money to put in their tray to thank them and taught me to always be especially kind to those that work to serve. The attendants on the elevator and at each section on each floor were almost what Harrod's still has for customer service and the window displays were spectacular. Going from Fields' to Carson's and I think Wiebolt's. My parents said the whole entire street decorated windows but I don't remember that. The deli section of Field's always had special treats and since we are a blended extended family of Christians and Jewish my Mom would always find special treats to use when celebrating with everyone that came over. Loved growing up in the late 50s and through the 60s. Wish Macy's didn't have to be so greedy and did a DBA for Macy's and just kept the name Field's for the people of Chicago.

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    Replies
    1. Your memories of Marshall Fields in Chicago were very much the same for me including the Loop store all the way forward to their stores in Oak Park and Oak Brook. Will never forget the annual holiday trip on the Burlington train with my mother and my aunt to the city to see the Marshall Field Christmas windows, the lunch in the Walnut Room and the shopping. That same tradition continued with my daughter. She moved to St. Louis after college so the tradition came to a close. One thing my daughter and I added was the evening performance of The Nutcracker at McCormick Place. Wonderful, wonderful memories.

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  3. Thank you for succinctly describing the history of the two clocks. I was getting confused and disoriented in my research when trying to identify what intersection I was looking at.

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