Adler and Sullivan Oakland Passenger Station Drawings, 1893 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains twelve drawings of architectural plans for the Oakland Passenger Station, an Illinois Central Railroad Company passenger station located on 39^th street, in Chicago, drafted by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. The plans were prepared in May 1893, and signed by Adler and Sullivan, architects, and by E. T. Jeffrey, general manager. Only item 12 lacks any signatures, and items 7 and 9 lack Jeffrey’s name. The drawings feature floor plans and construction for the Oakland, or 39^th St., Passenger Station and surrounding area. The Illinois Central Railroad Company passenger station was intended to provide train transport for local passengers attending the World’s Columbian Exposition. 

Biographical/Historical Context:

Dankmar Adler (1844-1900) was born in Stadtlengsfeld, Germany, and emigrated with his family to the United States in 1854. In 1861 he moved from Detroit to Chicago, where he worked as a draftsman for the architect E. Willard Smith. After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Adler returned to Chicago, and there began his career as an architect. Louis Sullivan (1856-1924), the "father of modernism" and a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, was born in Boston to an Irish-born father and Swiss-born mother. In 1872, Sullivan enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Architecture. He dropped out after one year and moved to Philadelphia, where he worked as an apprentice draftsman for the firm of Furness and Hewitt. Within a year, Sullivan moved to Chicago, where he continued to work for architectural firms. In 1880, Sullivan became a partner in Adler's firm, beginning a productive period for each architect.

Acquisition Source: This collection was acquired by the Illinois Historical Survey, the predecessor of the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, circa 1977.