Its green awnings offer shade in summer, shelter from autumn rainstorms, and from the snows of winter. The clock that hangs above the door at State and Randolph keeps time for commuters rushing down to City Hall or toward Michigan Avenue rail stations. The pouting mannequins poised on tiptoe in its windows make way, at the end of the year, for dancing puppets and red-nosed reindeer in animated holiday fairylands.
Generations of Chicagoans have gleefully ripped open birthday presents in boxes emblazoned with the store's signature clockface. Locals share childhood memories of Walnut Room luncheons, annual Field Days bargains, and a passion for the inimitable taste of its Frango mints. Marshall Field's is a bona fide cultural institution.
A self-made man, Marshall Field (1835-1906) came up through retail, establishing Marshall Field & Co. in 1881. He'd rebuilt one store with partner Levi Leiter after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; a conflagration in 1887 imposed another setback. But Field always rebuilt, and on a grander scale. His market was the carriage trade, whose numbers increased as Chicago grew and her importance as an industrial center expanded. The newly rich needed furnishings that matched the elegance of their new mansions, and they looked to Marshall Field to provide the greatest quantity and highest quality of domestic and imported products. Field's made a number of innovations, including free delivery service, securing its position in the retail landscape. A bi-monthly magazine, "Fashions of the Hour" once offered local news and gossip as well as fashion plates and advertisements.
Extensive renovations to the 1892 building were completed in 1992 and shoppers can once again experience the delightful giddiness inspired by the view down seven stories from the atrium railing. A food court in the basement offers fast food in tantalizing proximity to some of the world's most elegant chocolates. Here office workers can pick up a bottle of wine for dinner, a six-pack of socks, or a pair of diamond earrings. Lavish lingerie, king-size beds, tweedy jackets, and nonstick frying pans are available, along with personal shoppers, a bookstore, beauty salon, and philatelic counter.
With increasing development and renovation along State Street, this venerable institution faces competition from newcomers, however its place in the city's history will always be secure.
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