111 North State Street (at Randolph)
Marshall Fields is a Chicago Main
Stay. 
Its green awnings offer shade in summer, shelter from autumn
rainstorms and 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. You could say that it’s just a
store. But in many ways, it’s the store.
Generations of Chicagoans have gleefully ripped open birthday
presents in boxes emblazoned with the store’s signature
clockface. We 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 you may 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 with which to
surprise a skeptical spouse. Lavish lingerie, king-size beds,
tweedy jackets and nonstick frying pans are available, along
with personal shoppers, a bookstore, beauty salon, and
philatelic counter.
Marshall Fields is now owned by Minneapolis retailing
giant Dayton/Hudson. Plans for a new retail complex, including a
Lord & Taylor department store, are rumored to be near
completion for the long-vacant lot across State Street. With
competition from both this new kid on the block and historic
rival Carson Pirie Scott, Marshall Field’s may have to fight
for its future. Its place in the city’s history, however, will
always be secure.
Hours:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday
9:45am - 7pm
Thurs 9:45am to 8pm
Saturday 9:45am to 6pm
Sunday 11am to 6pm
