The Merchandise Mart: The Building Kennedy Bought for Pocket Change

When the Merchandise Mart opened in 1930 along the Chicago River, it was the largest building in the world by floor area: some 4 million square feet, in an 18-story block rising to a 25-story central tower. It was built by Marshall Field & Company as a wholesale trade center, containing more usable space than entire small cities. During World War II the federal government leased much of the building for wartime offices. In 1945, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. — patriarch of the Kennedy political dynasty — bought it from Marshall Field & Company for $12.5 million, one of the most prescient real estate deals in American history. At the time, the price was considered reasonable; within decades, the building's value had increased many times over. The Kennedys owned the Mart for decades, using its income to fund political campaigns. A row of eight giant bronze portrait busts on tall pillars along the riverfront plaza — installed by Kennedy in 1953 to celebrate retail titans including Marshall Field and Julius Rosenwald — is known as the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame. The busts are still there. The building, now a design and technology hub, is accessible from the Chicago Riverwalk and can be toured during business hours.