I LL INO I UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BUL LETIN Vol. 45 January 2, 1948 No. 29 ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN SERIES No. 373 HISTORY OF BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN CHICAGO A REPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED BY THE ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN COOPmRATION WITR THE WESTERN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS AND THE ILLINOIS SECTION AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS BY RALPH B. PECK PRICE: FORTY CENTS PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA Published every five days by the University of Illinois. Entered as second-clas matter at the post office at Urbana, Illinois, under the Act of August 24, 1912. Office of Publication, 358 Administration Building, Urbana Illinois. Acceptance for mailing at the special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 8, 1917, authorized July 81, 1918. T HE Engineering Experiment Station was established by act of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois on De- cember 8, 1903. It is the purpose of the Station to conduct investigations and make studies of importance to the engineering, manufacturing, railway, mining, and other industrial interests of the State. The management of the Engineering Experiment Station is vested in an Executive Staff composed of the Director and his Assistant, the Heads of the several Departments in the College of Engineering, and the Professor of Chemical Engineering. This Staff is responsible for the establishment of general policies governing the work of the Station, including the approval of material for publication. All members of the teaching staff of the College are encouraged to engage in scientific research, either directly or in cooperation with the Research Corps, composed of full-time research assistants, research graduate assistants, and special investigators. To render the results of its scientific investigations available to the public, the Engineering Experiment Station publishes and dis- tributes a series of bulletins. Occasionally it publishes circulars of timely interest presenting information of importance, compiled from various sources which may not be readily accessible to the clientele of the Station, and reprints of articles appearing in the technical press written by members of the staff and others. The volume and number at the top of the front cover page are merely arbitrary numbers and refer to the general publications of the University. Above the title on the cover is given the number of the Engineering Experiment Station bulletin, circular, or reprint which should be used in referring to these publications. For copies of publications or for other information address THE ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA, ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN SERIES No. 373 HISTORY OF BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN CHICAGO A REPORT OF AN INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED BY THE ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATION UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS IN COOPERATION WITH THE WESTERN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS AND THE ILLINOIS SECTION AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS BY RALPH B. PECK RESEARCH PROFESSOR OF SOIL MECHANICS PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRICE: FORTY CENTS 3000--1-48-36081 o6 LL"Is 0 000 0000 3000 rE~r Bu/LOIN aS / Masonic Thinple 8 Pu//man 2 Ci,~y A'all B Board of Trade 3 County Building /0 Alonadnock 4 Public Library ii Auditorium S Stock txchange /2 Grand Central StatIon 6 Home Insurance /3 Pa/k Street Station 7 Federal BulldA'g /4 Illinois Central StatIon FIG. 1. MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF BUILDINGS IN AND NEAR LOOP AREA ABSTRACT The history of foundation engineering in Chicago is of more than local significance because many present-day practices stem from the ex- periences of Chicago engineers during the period from 1871 to 1915. As these engineers improved upon their invention the skyscraper, the necessity for providing adequate foundations beneath the new struc- tures in spite of unfavorable subsoil conditions led different engineers to different expedients. The success or failure of these attempts is of interest even to the engineer of today. In 1873, Frederick Baumann enunciated the principles of his "Method of Isolated Piers," probably the first statement in this country of a rational procedure for proportioning footings. Many Chi- cago structures designed according to these principles were eminently successful. As building heights and weights increased, settlements grew apace, but the movements were anticipated and were considered normal by most architects and engineers. By 1890, a few engineers recognized the possibility of-using long piles to provide less yielding support. A slow trend to pile foundations began, but it was cut short by the development of piers constructed in shafts excavated by the so-called "Chicago caisson" method. By 1900, the transition to deep foundations was virtually complete, and ac- counts of the activities of Chicago foundation engineers almost dis- appeared from contemporary literature. CONTENTS PAGE I. INTRODUCTION . 9 Scope of Study . 9 Acknowledgments . 10 II. SOIL CONDITIONS . 11 Original Topography . 11 Raising the Grade . 12 Subsoil Conditions . 13 III. FOUNDATION PRACTICE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GREAT FIRE (1871-1878) . 14 Primitive Practices . 14 The Contribution of Frederick Baumann . 14 IV. ERA OF DIMENSION STONE FOOTINGS (BEFORE 1874) . 18 Description of Stone Footings . 18 Polk Street Station . S. 18 Home Insurance Building . 19 V. GRILLAGE FOOTINGS (1878-1894) . S. 21 Drawbacks of Stone Piers . S.. 21 Timber Grillages . S. 21 Rail Grillages . .. 21 I-Beam Grillages . .. 23 Cantilever Footings . S. 25 VI. THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS, 1871-1894 S. 27 Federal Building . .. 27 City Hall . S. 28 County Building . S. 28 VII. THE PROBLEM OF SETTLEMENT . S. 30 Introduction . S. 30 Polk Street Station . .. 30 Old Board of Trade . .. 33 Auditorium . S. 35 Other Buildings . S. 40 VIII. RISE OF THE LONG-PILE FOUNDATION (1883-1903) . 48 Earliest Uses of Piles . 48 Pile Cut-off at Great Depth . 51 IX. THE "CHICAGO CAISSON" TO HARDPAN . 53 Limitations of Pile Foundations . 53 Foundations for Stock Exchange . 53 Later Applications . 55 X. THE CONTROVERSY OVER SHALLOW AND DEEP FOUNDATIONS . 56 APPENDIX A. SELECTED REFERENCES . 61 APPENDIX B. NOTES . 62 LIST OF FIGURES NO. PAGE 1. (Frontispiece) Map Showing Location of Buildings in and near Loop Area . 3 2. Typical Soil Conditions in Loop Area . 11 3. Application of Method of Isolated Piers to Outer Wall and Abutting Dwarf-W all . 16 4. (a) Typical Footing of Dimension Stone; (b) Rubble Stone Pier . 18 5. Sections Through Foundations of Polk Street Station (1883) . 19 6. Section Through Exterior Pier of Home Insurance Building . 20 7. Section Through Rail-grillage Footing of Monadnock Block . 23 8. Section Through I-beam Footing of Marquette Building . .. 24 9. Section Through Rail and I-beam Grillage of the Fair Store . 24 10. Section Through Combined Footings of Auditorium . 24 11. Section Through Cantilever Footing of Auditorium . 25 12. Cantilever Footing Supporting South Wall of Old Colony Building . 26 13. Section Through Portion of Mat Foundation of Federal Building . 27 14. Polk Street Station, Showing the Original Tower . 31 15. Foundation Plan of Front Portion of Polk Street Station, with Differential Levels Along Stone Base Course of North Wall (1943) . 32 16. Board of Trade Building, Showing Original Tower . .. 33 17. Settlement of Board of Trade from 1884 to 1889 .... .... 34 18. Auditorium . 36 19. Floor Plan of Auditorium . 37 20. Tower Foundation of Auditorium . 39 21. Time-Settlement Curve for Tower of Auditorium .... .... 40 22. Profile of Foyer Floor in Auditorium (1942) .. ... 41 23. Time-Settlement Curve for North Half of Monadnock Block . 44 24. Settlement Profile Along East Side of Monadnock Block (1900) . 44 25. Time-Settlement Curves for Masonic Temple . ...... .. 45 26. Curves of Equal Settlement for Masonic Temple (1913) . .. 45 27. Location of Buildings, Great Northern Group . 46 28. Pile Footing of Illinois Central Station . .. 50 29. Bearing-wall Foundation for Public Library . 51 30. Foundation Plan of Stock.Exchange . 54 31. Transition from Shallow to Deep Foundations. (a) Relation Between Height of Buildings and Time; (b) Relation Between Type of Foundation and Tim e . 60 LIST OF TABLES NO. PAGE 1. Buildings on Spread Footings, Nine Stories or Higher, 1884-1895 41-42 2. Allowances for Settlement . 43 3. Approximate Settlement of Buildings in 1892 .. 56 4. Approximate Settlement of Buildings in 1900 . 59 HISTORY OF BUILDING FOUNDATIONS IN CHICAGO I. INTRODUCTION Scope of Study The history of building foundations in Chicago between 1871, the year of the great fire, and 1915 epitomizes the development of founda- tion engineering throughout the world. Within less than half a century, and within the confines of the small area known as the Loop, the art of constructing building foundations grew to maturity by a process of trial, error, and correction. Seldom in any field of engineering has so much experience been concentrated in so little time and space. Many factors worked together to produce this unique experience. The most important, undoubtedly, was the presence of a deep bed of compressible clay which underlies the Loop, and without which no foundation problems would have arisen. Of almost equal importance, however, was the rapid growth of the city. At the time of the great fire, on October 9, 1871, the population was 300,000. By 1880 it was 500,000; by 1890, 1,100,000; and by 1900, 1,700,000. The phenomenal growth of the city after the fire was accompanied by the continual construction of new and larger buildings. The pro- gressive settlement of these structures on the soft clay bed became apparent, but the pace of new construction afforded little opportunity to observe the behavior of one structure before designing the next. Therefore, different architects and engineers diagnosed the difficulties differently, and many variations in foundation practice were intro- duced.