Printers Row

Printers Row’s proximity to the Loop, Lakefront and Grant Park makes it one of Chicago’s fastest growing neighborhoods, much like the railroads’ proximity made it a former printing and publishing hub. Factories and warehouses have been turned into loft condominiums since the early 1980s, bringing plenty of restaurants and bars to the area. A popular annual book fair and street festival touches on the area’s publishing past and attracts thousands each June.

Printers Row: One-Time Printing District Becomes a Popular Residential Area

Written by Alan Solomon, with research assistance from the Chicago Neighborhood Tourism Project. 

The story of Printers Row, a southern slice of the Loop community, can be found at the Franklin Company Building, on Dearborn Street.

A bronze plate near the entrance identifies the builder's name (The Franklin Company) and its function: "Designing. Engraving. Electrotyping."

Above the entrance is a full-color terra cotta illustration ("The First Impression") showing the Gutenberg print shop and the people within it: a typesetter setting wooden type, businessmen making some sort of deal, an onlooker reviewing a newly printed page and, near the actual press, an idle worker in full yawn.

The building, completed in 1916 and without a printing press within it since 1983, is now loft condos.

There you have it.

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