Wrigley Lodge is a building at 509 N. Union, Chicago, Illinois. Owned by the Salvation Army since 1931, it most recently housed a Salvation Army Thrift Store and adult rehabilitation center.[1][2]

Wrigley Lodge
Map
General information
Location509 N. Union, Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°53′30.3″N 87°38′43.9″W / 41.891750°N 87.645528°W / 41.891750; -87.645528
Completed1891
OwnerThe Salvation Army
Technical details
Floor count6
Design and construction
Architect(s)C.J. Furst
Charles Rudolph

History

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Early uses

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The building was designed by the architectural firm of Furst & Rudolph and was built in 1891 by Biemolt & Carter at a cost of between $40,000 and $50,000.[1][3][4][5] The building was originally the Braun & Fitts Butterine Factory.[1][3][4] In 1897, a law was enacted in Illinois prohibiting the coloring of butterine.[6][7] In response, Braun & Fitts and Chicago's other butterine manufacturers threatened move their operations out of the state.[6][7] However, Chicago's butterine producers decided to continue manufacturing and coloring butterine until arrests would be made, so the constitutionality of the law could be tested.[8][9] The company's name was changed to John F. Jelke Company in 1906.[10]

In 1912, the Dairy Farm Products Company purchased the building from the John F. Jelke Company.[11] The Dairy Farm Products Company opened its plant in the building on October 17, 1912, manufacturing butter.[12] In 1916, the building was sold to William Wrigley Jr. for approximately $125,000.[13][14] The building would house the factory and offices of the Downey-Farrell Company, a margarine manufacturer that Wrigley was affiliated with.[14][15][16] An addition was built in 1917, designed by Postle & Fischer, at a cost of $40,000.[1][17] In 1923, the building was purchased by the Duz Company, a manufacturer of soap powder, for $384,000.[18] Wrigley re-purchased the building in 1929.[19]

Salvation Army ownership

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William Wrigley Jr. gave the Salvation Army use of the building on October 11, 1930 to use as a lodging house for the unemployed.[20][21] It was named the New Start Lodge and was formally opened at 3:30 pm on October 23, 1930.[22][21][23] It contained 2,020 beds, and facilities to feed a similar number.[24] Wrigley donated the property to them outright the following year, and it was re-named Wrigley Lodge.[21][25] Following World War II, it served as a rehabilitation center for veterans.[26][27]

In 1946, the Salvation Army began raising funds for the remodeling of Wrigley Lodge and the construction of new buildings.[26][27] It was remodeled in the Streamline Moderne style, designed by Albert C. Fehlow, at a cost of $400,000, and was re-dedicated at 2 pm on January 18, 1951.[28][1][29][30] A new one-story warehouse was also built behind the north half of the building.[29] The building replaced the Central Social Service center, which was demolished to make way for the construction of the Congress Expressway, and served as a rehabilitation center for homeless and disabled men, with housing accommodations for 150 men.[29][30] The thrift store, located in the building, funded the center's operations and employed some of the men residing in the building.[29]

In the following years, the building has served the Salvation Army in similar roles, and continues to house a thrift store as part of a multi-building complex owned by the Salvation Army.[1][31][32][33] The building's rooftop water tower was restored in 2017.[34] The Salvation Army announced their intention to sell the complex in August 2019.[33] In February 2021, Preservation Chicago listed Wrigley Lodge as one of Chicago's most endangered buildings.[35][36] The Salvation Army closed the adult rehabilitation center and thrift store in March 2022.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f American Institute of Architects Chicago (2014) AIA Guide to Chicago. Third Edition. University of Illinois Press. p. 170. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Myers, Quinn. "Near Tribune Printing Plant Being Considered For Casino", Block Club Chicago. March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  3. ^ a b The Real Estate and Building Journal. Vol. 33, No. 1. June 27, 1891. pp. 918, 920. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Meyer, Henry C. (1891). The Engineering Record. Vol. 24. p. 227. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Chicago Real Estate", Chicago Tribune. August 30, 1891. p. 25.
  6. ^ a b "Hit at Butterine Trade; Vast Chicago Industry Depends on Governor Tanner's Pen", Chicago Tribune. June 8, 1897. p. 9.
  7. ^ a b "Kills a City Industry; Tanner Ends Butterine Making Here, Manufacturers Say", Chicago Tribune. June 16, 1897. p. 9.
  8. ^ "Will Continue to Make Butterine", Chicago Tribune. July 11, 1897. p. 13.
  9. ^ Farmers' Review. Volume 28, No. 30. July 28, 1897. p. 465. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  10. ^ The Book of Chicagoans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of Chicago. A.N. Marquis & Company. 1911. p. 429. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  11. ^ "Butter Concern Buys Plant Here; Dairy Farm Products Company Gets Jelke Site for Big Establishment", Chicago Tribune. March 23, 1912. p. 13.
  12. ^ "Factory at 509 North Union Street, of Dairy Farm Products Company Is in Operation", Chicago Daily Produce. October 22, 1912. p. 16. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  13. ^ "Wrigley Buys Former Jelke Butter Plant", Chicago Tribune. October 31, 1916. p. 20.
  14. ^ a b "Wrigley Purchases Plant for Butterine Company", Chicago Tribune. November 5, 1916. p. 19.
  15. ^ Service and Regulatory Announcements. United States Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal Industry. June 1917. p. 62. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  16. ^ Poor's and Moody's Manual Consolidated, Industrial Section. Vol. 1. Blair & Co. 1921. p. 537. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  17. ^ The Iron Age. Vol. 99. January–June 1917. p. 294d. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  18. ^ "Latest News of Chicago Industrial Plans", Chicago Commerce. September 8, 1923. p. 40. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  19. ^ "Wrigley Buys 2 Buildings at 509 North Union", Chicago Tribune. November 27, 1929. p. 20.
  20. ^ "New West Side Lodging House for Unemployed is Opened", Chicago Tribune. October 14, 1930. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c "William Wrigley Jr. Gives Buildings Used by Salvation Army", Chicago Tribune. June 22, 1931. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  22. ^ "Wrigley Officially Presents Building to Salvation Army", Chicago Tribune. June 23, 1931. p. 19.
  23. ^ "Dedicate Home for Chicago's Homeless Today", Chicago Tribune. October 27, 1930. p. 4. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  24. ^ "Shelters to Bar Those Coming to the City for Relief", Chicago Tribune. October 2, 1931. p. 7.
  25. ^ "Chicago Relief Fund Is Past 3 Million Mark", Chicago Tribune. October 22, 1931. p. 19.
  26. ^ a b "Salvation Army Seeks $1,500,000; Strategy Set", Chicago Tribune. March 12, 1946. p. 5. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Salvation Army Enlists North Siders in Drive", Chicago Tribune. April 21, 1946. Part 3, p. 5.
  28. ^ "Wrigley Lodge", Rosin Preservation. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  29. ^ a b c d "Salvation Army Will Dedicate Center Today", Chicago Tribune. January 18, 1951. Part 3, p. 3.
  30. ^ a b "Salvation Army Dedicates New Center Today", Chicago Tribune. January 18, 1951. Part 4, p. 9.
  31. ^ Fawcett, Adrienne. "It's Time to Move It… Or Donate It to Charity", Chicago Tribune. March 31, 1996. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  32. ^ "Salvation Army's Canteens Ready to Roll at Alarm's Ring", Chicago Tribune. January 9, 1966.
  33. ^ a b Kozlarz, Jay. "Salvation Army lists River West complex, opening near downtown site for development", Curbed. August 9, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  34. ^ "A Rooftop Water Tank is Saved!", Preservation Chicago. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  35. ^ "West Loop Industrial Lofts Chicago 7 2021 Archived 2021-03-15 at the Wayback Machine", Preservation Chicago. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  36. ^ Keilman, John. "Chicago lakefront, Catholic churches top newest list of city’s most endangered historic buildings", Chicago Tribune. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.