Can anyone shop at the Merchandise Mart?
It is the world’s largest commercial building. For years, those who wanted to shop at the Mart for furniture had to go through an interior designer to get inside a showroom or prove to the showroom that you were working with a particular designer. Now, the Merchandise Mart is open to the public.
What is inside Merchandise Mart?
theMART is home to hundreds of tenants including manufacturers’ showrooms displaying everything from the finest home and outdoor furniture to luxury kitchen and baths to inventive office furniture solutions.
What is the Merchandise Mart used for?
The Mart housed Field’s wholesale showrooms and manufacturing facilities and leased floor space to retail tenants. Amenities included restaurants, parking facilities, a bank, a post office, and a telegraph office.
How many floors does the Merchandise Mart have?
25
The Merchandise Mart/Floors
How do you get into Merchandise Mart?
The building is easily accessible through the following travel options:
- CTA bus stops.
- CTA elevated train “L” stop on the second floor.
- Taxi stand on the South Drive.
- Walking distance to Ogilvy and Union Stations.
- Quick, easy driving access to major expressways.
Who owns the Chicago Merchandise Mart?
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc
Vornado Realty Trust
The Merchandise Mart/Owners
How much is Merchandise Mart worth?
The Merchandise Mart has more than doubled in value, to $917 million, since Vornado Realty Trust bought it from the Kennedy family in a blockbuster transaction nine years ago.
What is the square footage of the Merchandise Mart?
4 million square feet
The Merchandise Mart, situated on the Chicago River, occupies more than 4 million square feet (approximately 372,000 square meters) or the equivalent of two-and-a-half city blocks.
How long is the Merchandise Mart?
Referred to as “business boulevards”, two wide 650 feet (200 m) long corridors with terrazzo floors in the upper levels featured six and one-half miles of display windows.
When was Merchandise Mart built?
August 16, 1928
The Merchandise Mart/Construction started
How much is the Merchandise Mart worth?
Who bought merchandise mart?
Kennedy bought Chicago’s Merchandise Mart for $13 million, less than half what it cost to build the colossal limestone and terra-cotta landmark. For the next half a century, its rents funded the public lives of his children and grandchildren, and it remains today the single most valuable Kennedy family asset.
When did the shops at the Mart open?
The retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, news stands and bookstores, financial services, travel services, telecommunications services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand and food court.
How big is the Merchandise Mart in Chicago?
Encompassing some 4,200,000 square feet (390,000 square metres) of floor space, the Merchandise Mart spans two city blocks along the Chicago River, rises 25 stories, and was the largest building in the world when it opened in 1930. Today it features retail shops, boutiques, radio and television studios, 10 floors of office space,…
What kind of building is the Merchandise Mart?
The Merchandise Mart’s design combines Art Deco characteristics with elements of three building types: the blockiness of a warehouse, the oversized windows on the ground level typical of a department store, and a tall central tower reminiscent of a skyscraper.
Who are the owners of the Merchandise Mart?
It once was owned by Joseph P. Kennedy of the famous Kennedy clan, which included President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Senator Edwin Kennedy. Renovated between 1986 and 1991, the Merchandise Mart now contains a public shopping arcade on the first two floors, which contains retail stores and restaurants.
The retail shopping area, named The Shops at the Mart, opened in 1991 and includes apparel shops, beauty services, news stands and bookstores, financial services, travel services, telecommunications services, specialty food and wine stores, photo services, a dry cleaner, shoe shine stand and food court.
Encompassing some 4,200,000 square feet (390,000 square metres) of floor space, the Merchandise Mart spans two city blocks along the Chicago River, rises 25 stories, and was the largest building in the world when it opened in 1930. Today it features retail shops, boutiques, radio and television studios, 10 floors of office space,…
The Merchandise Mart’s design combines Art Deco characteristics with elements of three building types: the blockiness of a warehouse, the oversized windows on the ground level typical of a department store, and a tall central tower reminiscent of a skyscraper.
It once was owned by Joseph P. Kennedy of the famous Kennedy clan, which included President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy and Senator Edwin Kennedy. Renovated between 1986 and 1991, the Merchandise Mart now contains a public shopping arcade on the first two floors, which contains retail stores and restaurants.
