Media Contact: Elizabeth Burke-Dain, 312-344-8695 or eburkedain@colum.edu
Dave Jordano's Photographs Document Early 20th Century Industrial Town
Dave Jordano, a well-known Chicago commercial photographer, will exhibit his series of work, Marktown, at Columbia College Chicago’s City Gallery at the Historic Water Tower Place located at 806 N. Michigan Avenue. This free exhibition will run from February 14 – May 4 with an opening reception on February 14 at 5pm. The gallery is open seven days a week, Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6:30pm and Sundays from 10am to 5pm. For more information visit www.colum.edu/photoweb.
In 1913, Chicago industrialist Clayton Mark Sr., hired Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw to design a worker community housing development for a steel mill he planned to build in East Chicago, Indiana. The original plan for Marktown was to include housing for more than 8,000 workers and supervisors, a Market Square, Post Office, grade school, high school, theater building, a recreational center and an expansive park that would serve as a buffer between the community and nearby industry.
During World War I, the U.S. Government took over the newly built steel facility at Indiana Harbor in order to produce armor plate for the war effort. Because the government was not required at that time to honor their contract for materials ordered, Clayton Mark was left with an enormous unmarketable amount of government refuse and he sold the steel mill to an Ohio firm. Clayton Mark’s vision of a community housing development for his employees was only partially realized. By 1923, Marktown consisted of 3 commercial buildings, three supervisor homes and 97 white stucco buildings which divided into single, duplex and quad structures.
What makes the Marktown Historic District unique is the concept and execution of the plan itself. Much like Chicago’s Pullman District, the town was based upon the Garden City Concept of the late 19th and early 20th century. The closeness of the buildings provides a sense of community seldom found in neighborhoods today. Jordano’s photographs honor the community’s history and evolution.
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