The History of Printers Row, the Publishing Capital of the Midwest

If you’re visiting the South Loop, take our Printers Row Landmark District adventure. It takes you to 12 stops that have contributed to the architectural and cultural history of the neighborhood.

By Dave Lifton (@daveeatschicago)

Located in the South Loop, Printers’ Row has served as a microcosm for the triumphs and troubles that have defined Chicago throughout its history.

On Nov. 26^th, 1833, three months after Chicago was incorporated as a town, John Calhoun published the inaugural issue of the Chicago Democrat, its first newspaper, from a shop near what was the southern boundary. Calhoun ran the paper for three years before selling it to John Wentworth, who owned it for 25 years, a period that included five terms in Congress and a pair of one-year stints as Chicago’s mayor.

By the time Wentworth shut down the Democrat in 1861, there were 29 publishing houses in the area bordered by Van Buren St. (north), State St. (east), Polk St. (south) and Clark St. (west). Much of it was unaffected by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and it became a convenient location for businesses to rebuild in the aftermath, as well as a home for Chicago’s small-but-growing Chinese community.

But the real catalyst for the neighborhood was the opening of Dearborn Station in 1885. The depot became the transportation hub for the nearby businesses—with paper and other materials coming in and books and magazines going out—and the district thrived.

At the same time, the steel-framed skyscraper was being birthed in Chicago. The structures allowed for more natural light and, coupled with the long, narrow blocks, proved ideal for typesetters and bookbinders in the days before automation. From 1886 until 1922, more than 40 buildings for the printing industry were constructed in the shadow of Dearborn Station, and Chicago quickly became the publishing capital of the Midwest. In 1907, an article in the Chicago Tribune named the neighborhood “Printers Row.”

Arguably the most famous publisher located on Printers Row was Rand McNally, which was founded in 1856 in Chicago and opened its fourth headquarters in 1912 at 536 S. Clark. But perhaps the most-read publications came from Lakeside Press, a division of R.R. Donnelley & Sons. The company printed both the Montgomery Ward and Sears catalogs, as well as the Encyclopedia Britannica, Time and Life magazines, at 731 S. Plymouth.

At 608 S. Dearborn stands the 22-story Transportation Building. Opened in 1911 as the Heisen Building, it held the Chicago offices of Charles Scribner’s Sons, but in 1919, the third floor was occupied by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Prohibition. It was there that Eliot Ness and his group of “Untouchables” worked to take down Al Capone.

However, the golden era for Printers Row would come to an end midway through the 20^th century. The growth of the interstate highway system in the mid-1950s deindustrialized cities across America, with as-yet undeveloped suburbs providing more land at cheaper prices to build modern plants, while still offering access to major transportation routes.

As the publishing houses left, some of those old buildings were demolished, and the neighborhood turned seedy starting in the 1960s. Then, Dearborn Station shuttered when Amtrak routed all its Chicago lines into Union Station upon its formation in 1971.

But the neighborhood soon sprung back to life. Printers Row was named a National Historic Landmark District in 1976, expanding the area a block north to Jackson Blvd. so that a few other skyscrapers not connected to the publishing industry could be protected. The old print shops were converted to residences, and Dearborn Station became an office/retail complex in 1986, with a park replacing the old railyards. The transformation spurred the revitalization of the South Loop, and Printers Row was designated a Chicago landmark in 1996.

Throughout all this change, a few of the old publishing houses stayed in Printers Row, but by 2007, only Palmer Printing remained. In 2018, the company sold its building to a residential developer and relocated to Elk Grove Village. 

Printers Row is now a stylish address that provides the quaint feel of a neighborhood walking distance from the Loop, with several remnants of its past. A sculpture of a hand-cranked printing press sits at the corner of Federal and Harrison. Above the entrance to the Franklin Building (720 S. Dearborn) is Oskar Carl Gross’ terra cotta mural called “The First Impression,” which depicts men working on Gutenberg’s Bible, and other tiles show printing from back in the days of Benjamin Franklin.

But the biggest symbol of its glory days is the Printers Row Lit Fest, which has been held on Dearborn St. since 1985. This free festival features more than 100 booksellers and 75 programs, panels and discussions with approximately 200 authors. It’s estimated that 100,000 people visit the festival annually during its two days.