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Click on an event for additional information
 • Construction of the Transportation Building in 1911
• Load testing of concrete
• Construction of thet the P.M. Sharples Building, in 1912
• Buildings for charitable
organizations, 1915
• Women in Construction, 1916
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Bulley and Andrews Through The Years:
1910-1919
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Construction of the Transportation Building in 1911
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Bulley & Andrews constructed the Transportation Building in 1911. The architect, Fred Prather designed this 22-story building on rock caissons. The new high-rise was built on Dearborn, a growing area of Chicago. Unlike the other buildings in this district it was not built to house the functions of the printing industry. Intended to serve as offices for small companies, it was one of the first speculative office buildings constructed. It is believed that the construction cost was just over $2,000,000 and the building took nearly two years to complete. It was difficult to find and keep skilled laborers to work on the upper floors, as this was one of the tallest buildings of its time being built. The protective rails were little more than a slack rope tied from post to post.
One of the most frequently told company stories took place during the completion of the building. It seems Fred Bulley paid the men at the jobsite, in cash, from a cigar box full of money. One day, Mr. Bulley noticed a man standing around talking to some workmen for quite awhile. Mr. Bulley walked over to the man and asked how long he had been talking, when he had arrived at the jobsite, and whether he had done any work. When the man indicated he hadn't been working, Mr. Bulley fired him saying, as he handed him some money, that this was his last payment for the job. The man left with his money. Mr. Bulley later learned that the man had not been employed at the job but rather had been there inquiring about work
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Load testing of concrete
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Load testing of concrete was a practice used in the early 1900’s to prove a new method of construction. Reinforced concrete was still evolving and load testing confirmed its ability to withstand extreme building stress. The testing method was a time consuming process. It was usually done when the outer shell of the building was completed along with each floor that was to be tested. Sandbags weighing up to 100 lbs would be piled in a systematic fashion until the ‘test load’ weight was achieved. The test load for the Sharples Building was 344,000 lbs, which meant 3,440 sandbags had to be carried and hoisted into the building. The sandbags would be left in place for 24 hours and then removed. After another 24 hours, the building would be checked again to see how it “recovered”. After each successful load test a photograph was usually taken to prove the validity of the new method or material, and that the building was “safe and sound”.
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Construction of thet the P.M. Sharples Building, in 1912
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The P.M. Sharples Building, a 10-story brick office and warehouse building was built at 35-41 N. Jefferson Street, near Washington in 1911-1912. The construction cost registered on the building permit was $117,000. This 74'x90'x 128' structure was designed by William D. Mann, Architect, with T.L. Condron Engineers. The wood tower shown in the photos was designed by Alfred Andrews to expedite the placement of concrete on upper floors. Material was hoisted up the tower by means of ropes and pulleys then transferred to a chute. The concrete was then transferred to the location of the pour.
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Buildings for charitable organizations, 1915
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Throughout our history, Bulley & Andrews has constructed several buildings for charitable organizations. One such building is the Chicago Nursery & Half Orphan Asylum at the northwest corner of Foster and California in Chicago. Blueprints from the architects Holabird & Roche still exist for this 1915 undertaking.
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Women in construction, 1916
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Women in construction in 1916? Yes! During World War I there was a shortage of carpenters and Bulley & Andrews employed women at the Robertson Farm project near Lynchburg, Virginia. Multiple buildings were constructed including private residences, barns and stables. Thomas Sleeman was the Superintendent for the project. Photos taken by Mr. Sleeman illustrate the horse-drawn wagon transportation, the on-site sawmill that provided the project with sized lumber and the women carpenters utilizing the transit and pounding in the first stake. In his memoirs, the late Barrett Sleeman, Thomas' son, remembered the farmers were very fond of his father. After Thomas had returned back to Illinois, “they shot a possum and sent it Highland Park, IL for us to cook. My mother cooked it and it turned out to be as greasy as a snakepit. My father told us, ‘you eat it or you don't eat’.” Barrett explained that the possum arrived without spoiling because it had been shipped “express”.
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