Benjamin H. Marshall

{{Short description|American architect based in Chicago (1874–1944)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Benjamin H. Marshall

| image = Benjamin H Marshall 001.jpg

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1874|5|5}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1944|6|19|1874|5|5}}

| death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| nationality = American

| occupation = Architect

| notable_works = Drake Hotel, Blackstone Hotel, Edgewater Beach Hotel, South Shore Cultural Center

| spouse = Elizabeth Walton (m. 1905)

| children = 3

}}

Benjamin Howard Marshall (May 5, 1874 – June 19, 1944) was an American architect based in Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his designs of luxury hotels, apartment buildings, and country estates. His firm, Marshall and Fox, was responsible for many of Chicago’s landmark buildings, including the Drake Hotel and the Edgewater Beach Hotel, and was known for its pioneering work in poured concrete construction.

Early life and education

Marshall was born in Chicago to Caleb H. and Celia F. Marshall.{{cite web|url=https://www.jbachrach.com/blog/2022/7/1/under-the-radar-works-of-the-talented-and-prolific-benjamin-h-marshall |title=Under the Radar Works of the Talented and Prolific Benjamin H. Marshall|date=July 5, 2022 }} He attended the Harvard School for Boys in Kenwood, but did not pursue formal architectural education.

Career

At the age of 19, he became an apprentice in the firm of Marble and Wilson and two years later, at the time of Marble's death, he was named a full-fledged partner.{{Cite web|title=BENJ. H. MARSHALL, LEADIN6 ARCHITECT; Designer of Many We!l-Known Buildings in Chicago and New York Dies at 70|work=The New York Times |date=June 20, 1944 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/06/20/archives/benj-h-marshall-leadin6-architect-designer-of-many-welknown.html |access-date=June 28, 2025}}{{Cite web |last=Bachrach |first=Julia S. |title=Under the Radar: Works of the Talented and Prolific Benjamin H. Marshall |url=https://www.jbachrach.com/blog/2022/7/1/under-the-radar-works-of-the-talented-and-prolific-benjamin-h-marshall |website=Julia Bachrach Consulting |date=July 5, 2022 |access-date=June 28, 2025}} One of his earliest commissions was destroyed a month after its completion in an event remembered as one of Chicago's worst disasters, the Iroquois Theater Fire of 1903.{{cite magazine|author=Jason Zasky |url=http://failuremag.com/feature/article/burning_down_the_house/ |title=Burning Down the House |magazine=Failure Magazine |access-date=2007-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018181446/http://www.failuremag.com/arch_history_iroquois_theatre.html |archive-date=2006-10-18 |url-status=dead }}

In 1905, Marshall co-founded the firm Marshall and Fox with Charles E. Fox, a graduate of MIT.{{cite web |author= |url= http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utaaa/00003/aaa-00003.html|title= Marshall and Fox, Drawings and records, 1900-1959, Chicago |publisher= Alexander Architectural Archive |year= |access-date=2007-01-27 }} Their firm specialized in designing opulent hotels and apartment buildings in classical revival styles.

His work was also part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/921571 |title=Benjamin Marshall |work=Olympedia |access-date=25 July 2020}}

Major works

Some of Marshall's most important buildings include:

The Blackstone Hotel (1908–1910) – A Beaux-Arts hotel located on South Michigan Avenue, known for hosting numerous U.S. presidents.{{Cite news |title=A Chicago Hotel's New Life in a Rising Area |work=The New York Times |date=February 13, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/realestate/commercial/13hotel.html |access-date=June 28, 2025 |last1=Sharoff |first1=Robert }}
Edgewater Beach Hotel and Edgewater Beach Apartments (1916–1928) – A Spanish Colonial Revival resort complex. The hotel was demolished in 1971, but the adjacent apartments remain.
South Shore Cultural Center (originally South Shore Country Club) – A Mediterranean Revival club built around 1919.{{Cite news |title=Meet the 'Great Gatsby of Chicago,' an Architect Who Designed Classical Comforts |url=https://news.wttw.com/2024/09/05/meet-great-gatsby-chicago-architect-who-designed-classical-comforts-early-20th-century |work=WTTW News |access-date=June 28, 2025}}
Mayslake Peabody Estate, Oak Brook, Illinois (1919–1921) – A Tudor Revival mansion built for coal magnate Francis Stuyvesant Peabody.
Marshall/Goldblatt Mansion, Wilmette, Illinois (1922–1924) – A flamboyant pink stucco residence that doubled as Marshall’s studio and social hub. It was demolished around 1950.{{cite web |last1=Castle |first1=George |title=The Great Depression Doomed Wilmette's Most Eccentric Mansion |url=https://patch.com/illinois/wilmette/architect-marshall-s-home-at-wilmette-harbor-was-like32b38b3128 |website=Wilmette-Kenilworth, IL Patch |access-date=28 August 2022 |language=en |date=30 January 2012}}
Cuneo Mansion, Vernon Hills, Illinois (1914) – A lavish estate for Samuel Insull, later the residence of the Cuneo family.{{Cite news |title=Civilizing the Prairie |work=The New York Times |date=July 12, 1998 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/12/travel/civilizing-the-prairie.html |access-date=June 28, 2025 |last1=Crawford |first1=Susan }}
Hillside Farm, Northport, Maine (1914) – A country estate for Ira M. Cobe and the largest home in the state of Maine.{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=83003684}}|title=NRHP nomination for Cobe Estate|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2015-08-30}}

Style and influence

Marshall’s work incorporated Beaux-Arts and revivalist styles with modern amenities. He favored French-inspired designs, and some of his apartment buildings featured floorplans labeled in French. His projects often included entire floors dedicated to a single residence, with separate rooms for staff.{{Cite news |title=Meet the 'Great Gatsby of Chicago' |url=https://news.wttw.com/2024/09/05/meet-great-gatsby-chicago-architect-who-designed-classical-comforts-early-20th-century |work=WTTW |access-date=June 28, 2025}}

Following the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire—in which flawed design contributed to hundreds of deaths—Marshall shifted toward safer poured concrete construction.{{Cite news |title=THEATRE'S ARCHITECT TALKS.; Says He Will Never Allow Wood in Another Theatre -- Declares There Were Plenty of Exits. |work=The New York Times |date=December 31, 1903 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/12/31/archives/theatres-architect-talks-says-he-will-never-allow-wood-in-another.html |access-date=June 28, 2025}}{{Cite web |title=Benjamin Marshall – Flashy Chicago Architect |url=https://www.iroquoistheater.com/benjamin-marshall-flashy-chicago-architect.php |access-date=June 28, 2025}}

Personal life

Marshall married Elizabeth Walton in 1905 and had three children.{{Cite web |title=The Private Life of Benjamin Marshall |url=https://www.benjaminmarshallsociety.com/press/the-private-life-of-benjamin-marshall |access-date=June 28, 2025}}

Later years and death

Marshall continued to design buildings and interiors after his partner Charles Fox’s death in 1926. He lived at the Drake Hotel, one of his firm's own commissions, until his death in 1944. Financial hardship during the Great Depression curtailed his later career.

Legacy

In 2002, the Benjamin Marshall Society was founded to preserve his legacy. In 2024, Chicago declared May 5 “Benjamin Marshall Day” to celebrate his 150th birthday.{{Cite web |title=Benjamin Marshall Society |url=https://www.benjaminmarshallsociety.com |access-date=June 28, 2025}} The 2015 book Benjamin H. Marshall: Chicago Architect by John Zukowsky and Jean Guarino further advanced his scholarly recognition.

References

External links

[https://www.benjaminmarshallsociety.com/ Benjamin Marshall Society]
[https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/ Chicago Architecture Center]
[https://news.wttw.com/2024/09/05/meet-great-gatsby-chicago-architect-who-designed-classical-comforts-early-20th-century WTTW: The Great Gatsby of Chicago]