Calumet Plant, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
historic place
The Calumet Plant of R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company is a historic place located in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. This significant industrial building was constructed in stages between 1912 and 1929. Howard Van Doren Shaw served as the primary architect for the initial sections, with Charles Z. Klauder later designing the prominent corner tower. As one of Chicago's leading printing houses, the R. R. Donnelley plant became the largest building in the United States devoted to printing. It produced a vast array of materials, including Time and Life magazines, mail-order catalogs for Sears, and telephone books. The building's design incorporated reinforced concrete and featured intricate stone and metal ornamentation depicting symbols from printing history. The plant ceased printing operations in 1993 after the Sears mail-order catalog was discontinued. In 1999, the structure was retrofitted and repurposed, becoming the Lakeside Technology Center, which functions today as a carrier hotel and data center. This site remains a notable example of Chicago's industrial heritage.