By Annie Delfosse
In 1882, Henry Ives Cobb partnered with Charles Sumner Frost to create Cobb and Frost- an architectural firm that led to the creation of some of Chicago’s most signature looks.
Henry Ives Cobb
Cobb, originally born in New England, studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as Harvard University, eventually graduating as an engineer. His career began there, at the Boston architecture firm Peabody and Stearns. What brought him to Chicago was a need for a new clubhouse for the established Union Club in 1881. After overseeing the project, Cobb began a career in the Windy City.
Clubhouse of the Union Club, designed by Cobb and Frost Courtesy of St. Croix Architecture
With an accomplishment like the Union Club clubhouse under his belt and an undoubtedly bustling career on the horizon, Cobb asked Frost to partner with him. Frost had also coincidentally worked for Peabody and Stearns.
Charles Sumner Frost
Cobb’s role was creating the foundation for the designs Cobb and Frost brought to life. Frost contributed to design, but functioned prominently as a supervisor of the actual construction, drawing on his own engineering experience.
The partnership between the two architects ended just before 1889, as Cobb wanted to dedicate himself entirely to the commission for the Newberry Library. While Cobb received incredible and significant commissions after his partnership with Frost had come to an end, the firm Cobb and Frost undoubtedly laid the groundwork for his career- and the legacy they both left behind through design.
Palmer Mansion
Potter Palmer, a prominent businessman known for being the wealthiest man in Chicago at the time, and his wife Bertha spent nearly a million dollars on a mansion to reside in. Cobb and Frost took on the task, creating the stunning residence that resembled a German castle, right on Lake Shore Drive. The area was one in which Palmer planned to turn into a popular and stunning residential area.
Once completed, the mansion ended up being host to many prominent figures- including President Ulysses S. Grant. It lived through the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and served as an exquisite place to stay for visiting royalty.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Palmer Mansion interior Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
The mansion was lush with spiral staircases, turrets, a grand central hall situated beneath a glass dome, a ballroom, murals, a library, and more.
Bertha Palmer’s grand collection of paintings
When the Palmers died, the lavish mansion was passed onto their sons. Eventually, the Palmer sons sold the mansion, and it was subsequently demolished by 1950. Built in its place were two high-rise apartment buildings, twenty-two stories high.
Chicago Opera House
Built in 1885, the Chicago Opera House was the first American theater that was built from steel and lit by electricity. Cobb and Frost designed it as a multi-use building, boasting at its center with the grand theater. Beside the theater, along the sides of the building, were offices that were completely unrelated to the theater. The offices contributed to the funding of keeping such a large theater open. The building stood ten stories high.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
The Chicago Opera House presented many entertaining musicals that drew large crowds, as well as more somber plays such as Hamlet. Alternately, the National Weather Service utilized some of the building’s offices to regularly record the weather in the city.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
The building survived one fire with only minimal damage to its roof. After housing a lively audience for its last show, a performance of Paul Armstrong’s The Escape, the theater was demolished in 1913. Now, standing in its place, is the Burnham Center.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Cable House
One of Cobb and Frost’s most notable buildings still stands today at the southwest corner of Erie Street and Wabash Avenue. The Cable House, described as Richardsonian Romanesque-style, was built for Ransom Cable, a socialite and president of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, in 1886.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
The Cable House holds official Landmark status.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
The exquisite, inviting home attracted noteworthy tenants in the years after Cable resided there. After Cable, it was purchased by Robert Hall McCormick, an inventor, in 1902. McCormick had bought the home for his son, head of the McCormick Estate. He lived there with his family until 1926.
After McCormick, Cable House provided business space to John Carroll, an early Chicago undertaker who had driven the carriage carrying Abraham Lincoln during the former president’s funeral procession to Springfield. For nearly the remainder of the twentieth century, Cable House served as a funeral home, John Carroll Sons, and provided funeral services to many prominent Chicago residents.
Today, the Cable House is home to the offices of Driehaus Capital Management LLC, formerly operated by Richard H. Driehaus. The Driehaus Museum sits just across the street.
Dearborn Observatory
Cobb and Frost designed the Dearborn Observatory, located on the campus of Northwestern University. Also a Richardsonian Romanesque building, it was constructed out of limestone. George Washington Hugh was the first astronomer to utilize and direct the observatory. Its telescope is still used by students today.
Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Courtesy the Daily Northwestern
Harriet F. Rees House
The Harriet F. Rees House is another residence Cobb and Frost designed and built for Harriet, a widow of James H. Rees, real estate developer. Something to note about the Rees house is that its most noticeable architectural features are located on the front, as the house used to be situated between two other buildings. The house is brick, apart from its limestone stairs and limestone front side. It has since been moved one block north on South Prairie Avenue to prevent demolition. The Rees house is recognized as a Chicago Landmark. Like many of Cobb and Frost’s buildings, the house boasts features that align with the Romanesque Revival.
Harriet F. Rees House Courtesy Bulley & Andrews
The Harriet F. Rees House as it was being moved a block north Photo courtesy McGuire Igleski & Associates, Inc
More Noteworthy Cobb and Frost Buildings
First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Joseph G. Coleman House Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Joseph G. Coleman House Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Owings Building Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
Ferry Hall, Lake Forest College Courtesy the Art Institute of Chicago
