Another Chicago Suprise
You never know what you’ll find wandering around Chicago. This time, I found an Egyptian-appearing building on North Clark Street. So, what’s the story?
In 1880, William C. Reebie founded a moving company with an assistant and a two-wheeled cart. Reebie Storage and Moving quickly went on to become a well-known and respected mover in Chicago.
Reebie designed and built Chicago’s first motorized moving van to replace his horse drawn carts. Reebie and his van, “The Moving King,” become the city’s most reliable moving company.
In 1922, architect George Kingsley designed a new Reebie storage warehouse located on North Clark Street. It is one of the country’s finest examples of academic-style Egyptian Revival architecture. William Reebie and his brother John are represented by the twin statues of Pharaoh Ramses II keeping guard at the entrance.
Accurate hieroglyphics and ancient Egyptian imagery add to the building’s appeal. The terra cotta ornaments were crafted by sculptor Fritz Albert.
In 1928, Reebie Storage and Moving became one of the five original Allied Van Lines’ charter agents. It still ranks as Allied’s single largest consumer sales agency. And it ranks in Allied’s top 10 booking agencies for household goods revenue.
In 2001, Reebie Storage and Moving opened corporate headquarters in suburban Franklin Park. It now owns and operates four Chicagoland facilities and offers more than 400,000 square feet of storage space. And the Reebie fleet has grown to include over 100 local moving units and 30 interstate tractor-trailers.
The North Clark Street storage warehouse was named to the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 1979. In addition, Mayor Richard M. Daley named it an official Chicago landmark in 1999.
The Shot
The Chicago Streets and Beyond (CS&B) Meetup Group recently held a photo walk with a dozen photographers on North Clark Street. Meetup is a social media platform designed to help you meet new people who share your interests through online and in-person events. CS&B is run by friend and fellow photographer Rich Kolar.
Our starting location was the Reebie Storage and Moving Company building. I didn’t find anything that interested me as much as Reebie did for the rest of the walk.
I was fascinated by the building. I hope you enjoy the architecture as well.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Chuck Derus