Merchandise Mart or the Mart opened in 1930, located in Chicago, Illinois, was the largest building in the world with 4,000,000 square feet (372,000 m²) of floor space. Previously owned by the Marshall Field family, the Mart centralized Chicago’s wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors and trade under a single roof. Massive in its construction, and serving as a monument to early 20th century merchandising and architecture, the art deco landmark anchors the daytime skyline at the junction of the Chicago River branches. With upper levels bathed in colored floodlights, the structure stands out against darker downtown buildings in night views. The building continues to be a leading retailing and wholesale destination, hosting 20,000 visitors and tenants per day.
The Merchandise Mart was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White to be a “city within a city”. Second, only to Holabird & Root in Chicago art deco architecture, the firm had a long-standing relationship with the Field family. Started in 1928, completed in 1931, and built-in the same art deco style as the Chicago Board of Trade Building, its cost was reported as both $32 million and $38 million. The building was the largest in the world in terms of floor space but was surpassed by The Pentagon in 1943, and now stands sixth on the list of largest buildings in the world. Once the largest commercial space in the world, the Aalsmeer Flower Auction is now recognized by Guinness World Records as holding the record.
These Good Design displays were mounted in conjunction with the Chicago Merchandise Mart and supported and advertised by retail stores that also utilized the ‘Good Design’ labels that manufacturers attached to selected products. Like Modernism, ‘Good Design’ was characterized generally by an emphasis on pure form rather than decoration, a restrained palette, and appropriate use of materials.