Alfred S. Alschuler (1876-1940) was one of Chicago's most prolific and versatile architects during the height of the city's architectural boom. His designs included warehouses, department stores, industrial buildings, synagogues, and offices. Alschuler's legacy lives on in the form of historically significant buildings such as The London Guarantee & Accident Building (1922-23) at the intersection of N. Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ... Michigan Avenue is a north-south road in Chicago, Illinois. ... All three levels of Wacker Drive, east of Columbus Drive, including a ramp between the upper and lower (middle) levels Wacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the downtown side of the Chicago River. ...

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Building (1927), another of Alschuler's acclaimed commercial buildings, suffered a less fortunate fate; The Merc was demolished in 2003,despite a spirited set of protests organized by local preservation groups. The silver lining of The Merc's demolition was the creation of a new Chicago law which provides the Landmarks Commission a 90-day period to review and potentially save historically significant buildings. President George W. Bush at the CME (March 6, 2001). ...

Other significant industrial and commercial works by Alschuler include the Bull Dog and Whistle Restaurant, Brach’s Candy Factory, the Florsheim Shoe Factory, the Garment Center Building, and the Benson-Rixon Department Store. Brachs Confections is 101 year old (as of 2005) a candy/sweets company, which produces and/or invented many modern icons of the sugary world. ...

Alschuler was also an accomplished designer of Jewish synagogues in the Chicago area, including K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Synagogue, Agudath Achim Bikur Cholim Synagogue, B'nai Sholom, Anshe Emet Synagogue, and Am Echod in Waukegan.

References

• Alfred S. Alschuler, profile from Columbia College, Chicago.

External links

• "Alfred S. Alschuler", list of Chicago buildings designed by Alschuler.
• Images of Alschuler buildings, University of Minnesotia digital library. (search on "Alschuler")