820 South Michigan Ave
July 22, 2020 11:27 AM   Subscribe

Photographer Barbara Karant's project "820 Ebony/Jet" is a visual time capsule of the "core essence of the Johnson Publishing Company, the most influential African American–owned corporation of its day, and home to Ebony and Jet magazines. The 11- story building in downtown Chicago was designed by Black architect John Moutoussamy and the custom interiors showcased in the September 1972 issue of Ebony.

Following the company's filing for bankruptcy in 2019, National Association of Black Journalists president Sarah Glover said “For 70 years, Johnson Publishing provided black families with a piece of history to call their own. Ebony and then Jet were coffee-table mainstays sharing stories from black communities often under-served by their local mainstream media organizations.”

820 South Michigan was sold to developers in 2017. As a historic landmark, the facade was kept but a complete interior renovation resulted in 150 residential rental units and retail space.
posted by spamandkimchi (8 comments total) 28 users marked this as a favorite
 
I demand that AMC begin a historical dramedy series set in the offices at The Johnson Publishing Company immediately.
posted by Keith Talent at 11:39 AM on July 22, 2020 [7 favorites]


That interior was incredible. I glad it was documented.
posted by noiseanoise at 1:03 PM on July 22, 2020 [4 favorites]


Slate had a feature awhile back about the interiors. According to them, they were largely the work of Arthur Elrod. There are more pictures, and they are GLORIOUS.
posted by minervous at 6:04 PM on July 22, 2020 [4 favorites]


For a look at 820 South Michigan in its full glory, see this previously. The photos from the The Cut article, largely taken from Arthur Elrod: Desert Modern Design, are magnificent. The Ebony test kitchen is now at MOFAD's African/American exhibit.
posted by zamboni at 6:06 PM on July 22, 2020 [2 favorites]


I absolutely love this building. The interior I've only known is from photos, but even the modest 'pizazz' from the exterior, the 1970s Stylish font on "Jet" plus the loopy "JP" (Johnson Publishing) logo, along the stately and stuffy Michigan avenue is wonderful. Every time I drive that section of Lake Shore Drive I risk swerving across a lane as I sneak a peak at the building. Haha, kidding, there's always traffic so I have time to appreciate it.

I did have a co-worker once whose mother worked in the building during its 'glory days'. Me: "wait, so did you..." Her: "That building is wild."

And my appreciation for the building also cuts a bit more personal. I used to teach at Malcolm X College in Chicago. As a relatively recent transplant to Chicago, I needed a bit of a history lesson to understand why a Chicago public institution that was re-named after Malcolm X in 1969 was a big deal (google '1968 dnc' or 'west side chicago riots'). As I pulled these historical threads together, I anticipated a working in building that, architecturally, might have captured that significance more. Nope. Save the doors to the college, the physical environment was part Mies van der Rohe modernism and part Cold War institutional building. Altogether, 99% cold and efficient, 1% those doors!

And I guess that personal experience makes me envious of how, during the same time period, the Jet Building went all in on boldness, colors, patterns, textures. You gonna do it, do it! So what if they sold off most of their assets in the 2010s and Malcolm X College is still going (although in a new, sleeker building from the one I remembered). Within 5 seconds of walking into Malcolm X College you feel like you're in a well-funded, generic civic institution. Within 5 seconds of glancing at the facade of 820 S Michigan (man I wish I coulda gone in there) you know you're looking a building standing apart from the rest.

(ok MXC did have the old Oldsmobile 88 Malcolm X used to drive on display in the lobby and I remember sitting on its bumper waiting for the rain to end so I could bike home after class. Still, the vibrancy of 820 S Michigan!!)
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 9:33 PM on July 22, 2020 [3 favorites]


This was great, thanks for posting!
posted by soundguy99 at 7:51 AM on July 23, 2020


Oh my god, the 70s!

That test kitchen alone!!
posted by Naberius at 10:58 AM on July 23, 2020


I used to read Jet magazine in the late 70s to mid 80s. I enjoyed it.
posted by Gadgetenvy at 7:25 PM on July 24, 2020


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