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legal description <br />JMS Building <br />historical notes <br />The JMS Building, dating from 1910, is an eight story structure which was executed <br />in the commercial style of the Chicago School. The facade, comprised of six bays <br />to the west and three to the south, is covered with white terra cotta with classical <br />detailing. The design clearly reflects the impact of the Columbian Exposition of <br />which the architect, Solon S. Beman, was a major participant. The frank expression of the <br />steel fram, which allows maximum admission of light and open interior space, links <br />the building to Chicago School skyscraper construction. The facade is clearly divided <br />into three registers, thus contributing to a strong horizontal emphasis. The three <br />registers are separated by strong projecting intervening cornices. The bottom of each <br />cornice is punctuated by volutes and anthemions which were placed between each bay. <br />The middle section of the structure is articulated with a three bay system which <br />continues to the second intervening cornice, once again embellished with classical <br />detailing. The top floor is further distinguished by the use of arched bays which <br />are topped by elaborate keystones. Between the bays are voluted brackets surmounted <br />by an elaborate egg and dart moulding. <br />The JMS Building was constructed by John Mohler Studebaker, vice president and treasurer <br />of the Studebaker Mfg. Co. He was the brother of Clement, the president of the company. <br />John Mohler's architect for the building was Solon S. Beman, from Chicago. Beman is the <br />best known for his design of Pullman, Illinois, a model industrial city, as well as <br />major office and industrial buildings throughout the midwest. Beman was raised in <br />New York City, and early in his career he worked for Richard Upjohn. He moved to <br />Chicago at the age of twenty-six upon the request of Pullman, first to design his <br />residence, then to design the town of Pullman, which was built in 1891. Beman de- <br />signed the JMS Building in 1910, as well as several other buildings in South Bend, <br />including "Sunnyside," the famous residence of John Mohler, a hotel for Studebaker Mfg., <br />the Studebaker theatre, as well as a gothic -styled Christian Science Church. <br />source of information <br />South Bend Public Library Clipping File <br />