Ever wonder why the Oliver Building has typewriter motifs? It is no accident. The Oliver Building stands at 159 N Dearborn Street in Chicago. This building once housed the Oliver Typewriter Company.
Built from 1907 to 1908, Holabird & Roche designed it. The Oliver Typewriter Company commissioned the building. In 1920, two floors were added. Holabird & Roche also handled this expansion. The cast iron exterior is special. It features typewriter-related motifs. Look closely at the details.
The Oliver Building was designated a Chicago Landmark on May 9, 1984. The windows above the second floor are unique. They are known as Chicago windows. Wide window panes sit between narrower double-hung windows. Below the central pane, the company name appears on some windows.
The Oliver Typewriter Company was founded by Methodist minister Thomas Oliver in 1894. Oliver sought a patent for his typewriter design. His “down-strike” typewriter let typists see what they typed. This differed from other typewriters. Those used a “front-strike” method.
From 1896 to 1926, Oliver Typewriter Company became a leader. It developed over a dozen models of typewriters. Its “No. 9” model sold over 400,000 units from 1915 to 1926. The company even built a factory in Woodstock, Illinois. This made Woodstock the “typewriter capital of the world.”
By 1920, the Oliver Building had six branches in the U.S. and London. In 1997, the Oriental Theater sought to expand. It planned to demolish the Oliver Building. However, a compromise was reached. The theater gutted most of the building. It renovated it for use as its backstage. But the Dearborn Street facade remained.
Today, the Oliver Building is part of the James M. Nederlander Theatre. The theater expanded in 1997. It tied its theater into the historic Oliver Building. Only a portion of the original building remains. Yet the legacy lives on. The Oliver Building stands as a testament to innovation. It also highlights Chicago’s architectural history. It is a unique blend of commerce and art. The Oliver Building shows how the past can be preserved.