Anchor Plate from the Pullman-Jennings Building, Chicago, Illinois

Art Historical Context

This painted cast iron anchor plate once formed part of the structural and decorative framework of Chicago’s Pullman-Jennings Building, designed by architect Solon Spencer Bemen between 1882 and 1883. Anchor plates like this one helped tie together masonry walls while also serving as visible ornaments on the building’s exterior. Though the structure itself was demolished in 1978, the fragment survives as a tangible reminder of late-nineteenth-century Chicago architecture, when rapid urban growth encouraged inventive combinations of engineering and ornament. Cast iron was prized during this pe...