A huge complex spanning two city blocks, the Merchandise Mart is the largest wholesale design center in the world. The brainchild of James Simpson of Marshall Field & Company, it was planned to house Field's huge wholesale division and prop up sagging sales. Executed by the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White--of Opera House and Field Museum fame--the Mart was the world's most complex mixed-use structure: a warehouse, a department store, and a commercial office tower. All this was presented in a successful blend of elements from the Chicago School, classicism, and Art Deco, built on former Chicago & North Western Railway property and air space over the tracks. Unfortunately, Field's suffered from the Great Depression, and so the Mart stood almost empty during World War II. In 1946 Joseph P. Kennedy purchased the Merchandise Mart for $16 million (it had cost $32 million to build). Under Kennedy's managerial flair; the Mart thrived. Renovations between 1986 and 1991 injected new life into the building and today the Marchandise Mart is an enduring monument to the brash, inventive, and successful Chicago spirit.

A detailed tour, inside and out, of Chicago's distinctive towers from an earlier age For more than a century, Chicago's skyline has included some of the world's most distinctive and inspiring buildings. This history of the Windy City's skyscrapers begins in the key period of reconstruction after the Great Fire of 1871 and concludes in 1934 with the onset of the Great Depression, which brought architectural progress to a standstill. During this time, such iconic landmarks as the Chicago Tribune Tower, the Wrigley Building, the Marshall Field and Company Building, the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Palmolive Building, the Masonic Temple, the City Opera, Merchandise Mart, and many others rose to impressive new heights, thanks to innovations in building methods and materials. Solid, earthbound edifices of iron, brick, and stone made way for towers of steel and plate glass, imparting a striking new look to Chicago's growing urban landscape. Thomas Leslie reveals the daily struggles, technical breakthroughs, and negotiations that produced these magnificent buildings. He also considers how the city's infamous political climate contributed to its architecture, as building and zoning codes were often disputed by shifting networks of rivals, labor unions, professional organizations, and municipal bodies. Featuring more than a hundred photographs and illustrations of the city's physically impressive and beautifully diverse architecture, Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871–1934 highlights an exceptionally dynamic, energetic period of architectural progress in Chicago.

Starting with a look at Chicago’s architectural history, the author examines the contemporary skyline and the structures that have earned the city such fame. Among them: the Sears Tower, Chicago’s tallest skyscraper; Bruce Graham and Fazlur Kahn’s John Hancock Building, the Frank Lloyd Wright House; Chicago Temple, and Tribune Tower.

The Secrets of Retailing, by retailing expert Marc Joseph, is filled with the practical, "been there, done that" advice that has made Joseph so successful-from the Psychology of Buying to Working with Vendors. This invaluable book leads readers step-by-step through the process of opening a retail store, and then building it into a success.

Wal-Mart is under attack--from labor unions, urban planners, globalization critics, and community activists. Looking at Wal-Mart, the authors review conditions before and after Wal-Mart entered a local market and look more broadly at Wal-Mart's impact on wages, productivity growth and inflation. Vedder and Cox show that the retailer has been a force for good.

An encyclopedic sourcebook for camouflage enthusiasts in all research areas who want to explore the history and development of camouflage (artistic, biological and military) since the 19th century. Richly illustrated with historic photographs, diagrams and drawings. Includes subject timeline, bibliography and index.

Fascinated by change, architectural historians of the modernist generation generally filled their studies with accounts of new developments and innovations. In her book, Sally A. Kitt Chappell focuses instead on the subtler but more pervasive change that took place in the mainstream of American architecture in the period. Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, one of the leading American firms of the turn of the century, transformed traditional canons and made creative adaptations of standard forms to solve some of the largest architectural problems of their times—in railroad stations, civic monuments, banks, offices, and department stores. Chappell's study shows how this firm exemplified the changing urban hierarchy of the American city in the early twentieth century. Their work emerges here as both an index and a reflection of the changing urban values of the twentieth century. Interpreting buildings as cultural artifacts as well as architectural monuments, Chappell illuminates broader aspects of American history, such as the role of public-private collaboration in city making, the image of women reflected in the specially created feminine world of the department store, the emergence of the idea of an urban group in the heyday of soaringly individual skyscrapers, and the new importance of electricity in the social order. It is Chappell's contention that what people cherish and preserve says more about them than what they discard in favor of the new. Working from this premise, she considers the values conserved by architects under the pressures of ever changing demands. Her work enlarges the scope of inquiry to include ordinary buildings as well as major monuments, thus offering a view of American architecture of the period at once more intimate and more substantial than any seen until now. Richly illustrated with photographs and plans, this volume also includes handsome details of such first-rate works as the Thirtieth Street Station in Philadelphia, the Cleveland Terminal Group, and the Wrigley Building in Chicago.

Twenty-four stories including: a man carried safely through the ugly harshness of the world by his own Polaroid-enabled brand of narcissism ; the sadistic make-believe of two little boys and the laid-back cruelty of their grandfather ; a factory drone discovers his creative side with the help of the toilet ; and vehicular manslaughter turns to out be okay if there are no witnesses.

Every industry has its standard professional directory -- advertising has its Black Book, manufacturing its Thomas's Register -- except, that is, for architecture...and design...and construction. While there are dozens of smaller directories, each addressing a specific market niche, none speak to all three industries in a comprehensive way. And larger product directories, like Sweets, are advertising driven and therefore incomplete. Felder's Comprehensive is the first pan-industry guide of its kind, and it is many times more comprehensive than the nearest competitor. It is an annual desk reference, directory, and product source guide with more reference information than any other title currently available. It contains thousands of listings of time-sensitive and timeless reference information for anyone involved in the business or practice of architecture, design, design/build, construction, interior design, facility management, and real-estate development. For example, readers can find listings for more than 12,000 manufacturers of furnishings, fixtures, equipment, and materials listed alphabetically, and, most importantly, by product category. Felder's also lists design competitions, domestic and international trade shows, trade publications and other media, trade associations, professional organizations, and more. Most sections are indexed and cross-referenced for easy referral and identification. Felder's is the first truly comprehensive reference guide of its kind for the A/E/C marketplace and is certain to become the industry standard.