| Commercial
Style is known both as The Chicago School and Twentieth Century
Commercial. A small group of architects working in Chicago
pioneered this style, which was popular for office buildings and
department stores. Features include large rectangular windows,
bay windows, flat roofs, liberal use of terra-cotta, and a
sometimes skeletal appearance due to the large expanse of glass
and narrow expanse of brick or terra cotta. Locally, the former
Bon-Ton Department Store is an adaptation of this style. This
building was designed by J.A. Dempwolf, who also designed the
Bears Department Store on the northwest quadrant of
Continental Square. This structure also contains elements of
Commercial Style, though it is a hybrid design. Of note, famed
architect Louis Sullivan took this style one step further, and
the resulting style is referred to as Sullivanesque. Many
historians use the term interchangeably with Commercial Style.
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© 1991, 2002 by Scott D. Butcher
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