Architectural Digest Showcases Open Auditions: Michael Marienthal in Chicago

Michael Marienthal fell in love with this 1936 building by Andrew Rebori: Constructed in 1936 for a Marshall Field executive, the four-story Moderne building houses 12 duplexes and one triplex. Its curving walls and art-glass windows first caught the attention of photographer Michael Marienthal when he was a teenager. Fast-forward to 2000, when he saw an open-house listing for the property. Take a look inside below:

“I was not at all interested in buying something,” he recalls. “But I’d never forgotten the complex. How could I resist?”

The structure was in disrepair, but he found his way to the triplex at the rear and was immediately transported by its volumes and light. “It was kind of a ruin, but it was so magical,” he says. “I was struck by the play of light on the walls. I knew I’d never find another place like it.”

A curving stairwell connects all three floors.

Before

After: In the living room, “all the bones are original,” says Marienthal, who worked with architect Darcy Bonner. Photographs complement a WPA painting.

Before

After: Well-preserved art-glass windows by Edgar Miller and a painting by Abbott Pattison are in the library. Low table from B&B Italia. Ralph Lauren Home end table.

Elsewhere in the room is a Le Corbusier chaise by Cassina.

Before

After: A wall was re-moved and the ceiling raised in the master bedroom. A Oaxacan vase, an Inuit stone head and a Marienthal photograph from 1994 complete the space. The bed is from Poliform.

Read the full article here.

in a word, wow. a great story as well.

posted by JonathanB on August 19th 2008 at 11:26am
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So gorgeous. Just, wow.

posted by suziegoombs on August 19th 2008 at 11:33am
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Holy cow! Well done.

posted by whytephoenix on August 19th 2008 at 11:36am
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wonderful light indeed. must be a joy to live in.

posted by maike on August 19th 2008 at 11:38am
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wow, what a hidden treasure!

posted by kung fu grip on August 19th 2008 at 11:46am
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Really incredible.
The gorgeous wood staircase leading to the (presumed) original brickwork is so wonderful.

posted by theserovingeyes on August 19th 2008 at 12:16pm
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Swoon.

posted by Tobermory on August 19th 2008 at 12:18pm
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Truly spectacular!

posted by als1 on August 19th 2008 at 12:21pm
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I used to work next door to this building years ago. I could not be happier that someone fixed it up so beautifully!

posted by abigailm on August 19th 2008 at 12:23pm
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lucky lucky lucky..the light is just fantastic...color me jealous!

posted by balancingfoxes on August 19th 2008 at 1:29pm
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Beautiful work!

posted by LilyC on August 19th 2008 at 3:11pm
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This is really pretty. I'd never live there (I want to see through my windows, so the glass block would make me nuts) but it's very lovely.

posted by RQinGeorgia on August 19th 2008 at 3:48pm
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Great house--this is what I find so wonderful about being in Chicago, around every corner on every street seems to be yet another great building. They also go to what seems like great lengths to keep them around. Most cities would have torn this building down long ago.
Perhaps it is all do to the person who owns it now. I tend to like to think it is something more then just that.
Either way, it is just wonderful to see.

posted by poptart on August 19th 2008 at 4:21pm
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It actually made me catch my breath as the transformation. It's exquisite.

posted by Blandwagon on August 19th 2008 at 4:37pm
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I love it when people rehab great structures like this. very simple and subtle but very charming too.

posted by TheoJ on August 19th 2008 at 5:15pm
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really well done. honest. all those great bauhaus pieces as modern and current as ever.

posted by healthyhome on August 19th 2008 at 7:56pm
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Wow, and... wow again!

posted by crash on August 19th 2008 at 10:10pm
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Wow, something that is actually nicely designed in Architectural Digest. Who knew?

posted by Volvoguy on August 20th 2008 at 2:46am
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Oh, wow. I'm speechless; this is so great to see, especially the before/after comparison photos.

posted by visualingual on August 20th 2008 at 6:33am
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