JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY
5619 South State Street
Ebony, 1992
Ebony, 1992
LOCATIONS
3501 South Parkway (King Drive)
5619 South State Street
5125 South Calumet Avenue
1820 South Michigan Avenue
820 South Michigan Avenue
200 South Michigan Avenue
5619 South State Street
5125 South Calumet Avenue
1820 South Michigan Avenue
820 South Michigan Avenue
200 South Michigan Avenue
The Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) was one of the largest minority media enterprises in American history. It was founded in 1942 with the release of Negro Digest, although it was most closely associated with the publication of Ebony, a glossy monthly photoeditorial magazine which was first released in 1945, and Jet, a weekly pocket-sized newsmagazine which followed in 1951. At the peak of its influence during the 1980s, JPC was ranked by Black Enterprise as the number one Black business in America, and its magazines were the most widely read Black publications anywhere in the world.
Johnson Publishing magazines. WTTW
John H. Johnson, the company's founder, migrated to Chicago from rural Arkansas during the early 1930s with his mother. After graduating from Du Sable High School, Johnson found work at Supreme Liberty Life Insurance, one of the largest Black-owned and operated insurance companies in the country. Supreme Life had been founded by Frank Gillespie in 1919, and had moved into a newly constructed two-story commercial building on the corner of 35th Street and South Parkway two years later. The company initially occupied the second floor, but in 1924 was able to buy out the entire building from the Roosevelt State Bank, and would later merge with two other Black insurance firms to create the Supreme Life Insurance Company of America.
Supreme Liberty Life Building, 1940s. Preservation Chicago
Like nearby sites such as the Overton Hygienic Building and the Chicago Bee Building on South State Street and Unity Hall at 3140 South Indiana Avenue, the Supreme Life building became an important part of the vibrant Black business and entertainment district which developed around 35th and State during 1920s, close to the heart of Chicago's emerging "Black Metropolis." By the time Johnson began working for Supreme Life during the late 1930s, the area had fallen into decline as Black business interests moved further South. However, Supreme Life remained a major economic powerhouse within the South Side's Black business community.
Corner of 35th and State, 1937. University of Illinois-Chicago Archives
The environment provided by Supreme Life, and the resources available through the Supreme Life Building, played a vital role in the development of Johnson's publishing enterprise. The publisher would later contend that "all roads in Black Chicago led to Supreme...practically every major event in Black Chicago between 1936 and 1942 was planned, organized, or financed by people who orbited around the Supreme sun."
In addition to helping Johnson build his business acumen, his mentor Harry Pace also made Johnson an assistant editor of The Guardian, Supreme's monthly company newsletter. In 1939 Johnson was promoted to editor, and he used this position to develop networks and expertise. Realizing the commercial potential of mass producing a digest-style publication for an African American audience, Johnson began plans to develop his first publication: Negro Digest.
In order to generate interest in his new publication, Johnson tapped into the Supreme Life mailing lists - which kept the contact details of twenty thousand Supreme Life clients - to advertise the publication and request prepaid subscriptions. Johnson also persuaded Earl Dickerson to provide him with access to his private law library on the second floor of the Supreme Life building, which Johnson used as his first office and mailing address.
In addition to helping Johnson build his business acumen, his mentor Harry Pace also made Johnson an assistant editor of The Guardian, Supreme's monthly company newsletter. In 1939 Johnson was promoted to editor, and he used this position to develop networks and expertise. Realizing the commercial potential of mass producing a digest-style publication for an African American audience, Johnson began plans to develop his first publication: Negro Digest.
In order to generate interest in his new publication, Johnson tapped into the Supreme Life mailing lists - which kept the contact details of twenty thousand Supreme Life clients - to advertise the publication and request prepaid subscriptions. Johnson also persuaded Earl Dickerson to provide him with access to his private law library on the second floor of the Supreme Life building, which Johnson used as his first office and mailing address.
Clerical Department of Supreme Life Building, circa 1950. Illinois Digital Archives
Johnson would later describe the division of his labor between the offices of Supreme Life, and his true "calling" as the fledgling editor of Negro Digest during the months leading up to its release in late 1942.
"From June to November, I worked downstairs in the Insurance Company in the dap and climbed the stairs at night to work on the magazine. One day in the Summer of 1942 a man came and painted letters on the frosty glass door - the Negro Digest Publishing Company - and every letter was music to my soul"
Johnson initially enlisted the help of white editor Ben Burns, a former communist who had worked on the Chicago Defender, cartoonist Jay Jackson, and his own wife Eunice, and as the magazine established a significant audience, he was able to hire new staff members and freelance contributors. While Johnson maintains that much of the initial editorial and proofing work was done at the Supreme Life building, Burns contends that the bulk of Negro Digest's early material was created at his kitchen table in a white neighborhood.
After JPC moved into its own offices, the Supreme Life building was remodeled, with its original classical-style facade covered by porcelain-metal panels. Several decades later, these panels were removed and its original exterior was once again revealed. The hollowing out of Bronzeville and surrounding neighborhood meant that 3501 South Parkway (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) was at risk of being torn down by the 1980s. However, it was purchased by the Black Metropoli Convention and Tourism Council and designated as a Chicago landmark in 1998, becoming one of the nine historic structures comprising the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District. The building currently houses a number of retail units and the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center.
After JPC moved into its own offices, the Supreme Life building was remodeled, with its original classical-style facade covered by porcelain-metal panels. Several decades later, these panels were removed and its original exterior was once again revealed. The hollowing out of Bronzeville and surrounding neighborhood meant that 3501 South Parkway (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) was at risk of being torn down by the 1980s. However, it was purchased by the Black Metropoli Convention and Tourism Council and designated as a Chicago landmark in 1998, becoming one of the nine historic structures comprising the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District. The building currently houses a number of retail units and the Bronzeville Visitor Information Center.
Supreme Life building, c.2012. Illinois Tech Magazine
The public response to Negro Digest was tremendous. The magazine quickly established a monthly paid circulation of around 50,000, and this doubled followed a highly publicized contribution from first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in June 1943. Around a year after Negro Digest first hit newsstands, Johnson was able to realize a second ambition - a move to his very own offices at 5619 South State Street.
This small, store-front office was located several blocks west of the border to Washington Park and just a few minutes walk from Garfield Boulevard, a bustling East-to-West thoroughfare which linked the South Side's premier outdoor space with Western Avenue on the border of Gage Park and West Englewood. Purchased for $4,000, 5619 South State Street became the public face of Johnson's growing publishing enterprise.
This small, store-front office was located several blocks west of the border to Washington Park and just a few minutes walk from Garfield Boulevard, a bustling East-to-West thoroughfare which linked the South Side's premier outdoor space with Western Avenue on the border of Gage Park and West Englewood. Purchased for $4,000, 5619 South State Street became the public face of Johnson's growing publishing enterprise.
5619 South State Street. Johnson Publishing
While the center of the South Side's Black business district had resided close to the intersection of 35 Street and South Parkway during the 1920s, the Johnson Publishing offices at 5619 South State reflected the broader migration of Chicago's Black community southwards during the 1930s and 1940s.
However, Ben Burns suggested that, for all intents and purposes, the bulk of editorial work for Johnson's publications continued to be produced from his home address on South Lake Park Avenue. If true, this statement sheds further light on the complex position held by Burns during the company's formative years. Just as the dominant role of a white editor at a magazine marketed toward a Black audience became increasingly problematic, so too was this tension represented in the contrast between Negro Digest's official home on South State Street, and Burns' personal residence in a "lily-white" neighborhood.
A more practical concern was the lack of space as Johnson Publishing continued to expand, with the introduction of Ebony magazine in 1945 hastening the need for larger premises. Today the building is vacant, but has survived land redevelopment and urban renewal projects - one of the few remaining buildings on the State Street side of the block between East 56th Street and East 57th Street.
A more practical concern was the lack of space as Johnson Publishing continued to expand, with the introduction of Ebony magazine in 1945 hastening the need for larger premises. Today the building is vacant, but has survived land redevelopment and urban renewal projects - one of the few remaining buildings on the State Street side of the block between East 56th Street and East 57th Street.
5619 South State Street. Google Maps
Several years after his relocation from 3501 South Parkway to 5619 South State Street, Johnson was on the move again. This time he set his sights on a two story red brick building at 5125 South Calumet Avenue, close to the northwest corner of Washington Park. The building was owned by and backed onto Parkway Community House, a major cultural and civic hub for Black communities on the South Side. The complex of buildings owned by the Community Center have an interesting history. They were originally constructed in the 1890s to house the Chicago Orphan Asylum, with the site's architects - Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge - a nationally renowned firm recognized for their work on the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Cultural Center.
At the beginning of the 1940s the site was purchased by the Good Shepherd church, a local Black congregation, with the idea of creating a community center to serve the needs of Washington Park's rapidly expanding African American population. It was headed by Black sociologist Horace Cayton, who alongside St. Clair Drake would receive widespread acclaim for their landmark 1945 study Black Metropolis. Cayton engineered a split from the Good Shepherd congregation, and the renamed Parkway Community House would become a key institution in and driving force for Chicago's Black Renaissance during the 1940s.
At the beginning of the 1940s the site was purchased by the Good Shepherd church, a local Black congregation, with the idea of creating a community center to serve the needs of Washington Park's rapidly expanding African American population. It was headed by Black sociologist Horace Cayton, who alongside St. Clair Drake would receive widespread acclaim for their landmark 1945 study Black Metropolis. Cayton engineered a split from the Good Shepherd congregation, and the renamed Parkway Community House would become a key institution in and driving force for Chicago's Black Renaissance during the 1940s.
The Good Shepherd Community Center, Russell Lee, WPA.
The main Parkway building, accessed via its grand entrance on South Parkway (now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) was purchased by the Chicago Baptist Institute in 1957 and remains an important site for religious education on the South Side of Chicago. Many of the site's secondary buildings, including 5125 South Calumet Avenue, were not so fortunate. The Johnson Publishing offices were demolished sometime during the 1950s or 1960s, with the land subsequently being used for the construction of the Parkview Tower apartments. The corner of South Calumet and East 51st street now houses the Bronzeville Community Garden, which was established in 2010 but which can trace its roots back to the Black community garden movement which thrived in Chicago during the 1970s as a response to deepening urban blight and the removal of community green spaces.
Bronzeville Community Garden. Urban Juncture
By the end of the 1940s Negro Digest and Ebony had established themselves as the largest Black publications in the country. However, their impact continued to be neglected by the mainstream press and by corporate advertisers; something Johnson connected to their physical location on what he described as the "back streets" of South State and South Calumet. The publisher declared his intentions to "work on a front street. I wanted to go first class." In 1949 Johnson Publishing undertook its most significant relocation yet - moving more than four miles north from 5125 South Calumet Avenue to an expansive new headquarters at 1820 South Michigan Avenue on the fringes of the South Loop. The building had previously homed the Hursen Funeral Home, but had come up for sale with an asking price of $52,000.
Unfortunately, Johnson's ambitions clashed with the continuing restrictions imposed on black residential and professional building leases and ownership within Chicago. As the city's black population had rapidly expanded during the years following World War I, organizations such as the FHA and the Home Owners Loan Corporation had moved to redline large sections of low-income and minority neighborhoods, and white property owners were often reluctant to sell to African Americans - something Johnson discovered personally when he made enquiries:
"I asked if I could come by and see it. He said "Of course. What's the name of your company?" I said, "Negro Digest Publishing Company." Silence. A long silence. Then Hursen said he had a previous commitment and couldn't show the building to me the nor later. There was a problem, in fact, and the building was no longer for sale."
1820 South Michigan. Johnson Publishing Company
Johnson quickly realized that it was useless to try and negotiate with Hursen directly. Instead, he decided to hire a white lawyer named Louis Wilson as an intermediate. Presenting himself as a representative for a publishing house in the East, Wilson contacted Hursen to discuss the potential sale of 1820 South Michigan. Then, posing as a janitor for fictional eastern buyers, Johnson toured the building with Hursen, and subsequently bought the building in trust so that his identity would remain unknown.
Following its purchase, Johnson spent around $200,000 renovating the property. Upon the completion of work by interior designer Viola Marshall, the publisher declared that the site had been transformed into "one of the most elegant office buildings in Black America." Ebony celebrated the opening of the new site in an expansive October 1949 editorial which provided readers with a detailed tour.
Just as Robert Abbott had reveled in his lavish offices following the Chicago Defender's move to 3435 South Indiana Avenue during the early 1920s, Johnson's executive suite was similarly celebrated as a space finally suitable for one of the nation's most influential Black publishers. Resplendent with heavy oak furniture and antique satin drapes, Johnson's offices attempted to project an image of stability and sophistication befitting the publisher's role as a "race man."
Following its purchase, Johnson spent around $200,000 renovating the property. Upon the completion of work by interior designer Viola Marshall, the publisher declared that the site had been transformed into "one of the most elegant office buildings in Black America." Ebony celebrated the opening of the new site in an expansive October 1949 editorial which provided readers with a detailed tour.
Just as Robert Abbott had reveled in his lavish offices following the Chicago Defender's move to 3435 South Indiana Avenue during the early 1920s, Johnson's executive suite was similarly celebrated as a space finally suitable for one of the nation's most influential Black publishers. Resplendent with heavy oak furniture and antique satin drapes, Johnson's offices attempted to project an image of stability and sophistication befitting the publisher's role as a "race man."
Johnson executive suite, 1820 South Michigan. Johnson Publishing Company
The new building also boasted a corporate library which the company declared to be "one of the best reference files on the subject of the Negro" available anywhere in the country. Librarian Doris Saunders, who would go on to head up the Company's Book Division following its formation in the early 1960s, oversaw an expansive collection of reference books and periodicals, as well as a large clippings collection.
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Despite the prestige created by his purchase of 1820 South Michigan Avenue, Johnson retained a desire to develop a bespoke corporate offices from the ground up - a building that would stand as the ultimate symbol to his company's achievements. This goal would receive added impetus at the end of the 1950s, after Johnson received news of plans for a new expressway which would cut through Eighteenth Street.
Johnson tasked his partner Eunice with finding a new site for the company, and she uncovered a vacant lot ten blocks north at 820 South Michigan Avenue. The site was a prime location - on the edge of Chicago's downtown Loop, with fantastic views across Grant Park and Lake Michigan. Its immediate neighbors included the Essex Inn at 800 South Michigan Avenue (left), a modernist icon which was completed in 1961. |
However, Johnson ran into familiar problems, with agents backtracking on the deal after finding out the publisher was black. In response, Johnson turned to the same white lawyer who had aided him in the purchase of the former Hursen Funeral Home, buying 820 South Michigan in trust for $250,000.
After ten years of frustrated efforts to secure financing for the project, Johnson decided to go it alone. He generated seed money for the building's construction by closing regional offices in Paris and Los Angeles, as well as making other cutbacks to his core business structure. Faced with continued opposition from lenders, Johnson decided to break ground on the site and gambled on being able to arrange a mortgage before his money ran out. Construction began in February 1970, and by the end of the year finances were perilously low. At the last minute, the publisher was able to secure a mortgage commitment with the Metropolitan Insurance Company, leading to financing from the First National Bank and long-awaited financial stability for the project.
After ten years of frustrated efforts to secure financing for the project, Johnson decided to go it alone. He generated seed money for the building's construction by closing regional offices in Paris and Los Angeles, as well as making other cutbacks to his core business structure. Faced with continued opposition from lenders, Johnson decided to break ground on the site and gambled on being able to arrange a mortgage before his money ran out. Construction began in February 1970, and by the end of the year finances were perilously low. At the last minute, the publisher was able to secure a mortgage commitment with the Metropolitan Insurance Company, leading to financing from the First National Bank and long-awaited financial stability for the project.
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One of the many stumbling blocks faced by Johnson was his insistence that a Black architect would have a major hand in the building's development. The publisher settled on John W. Moutoussamy, a well respected designer who had earned his degree from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1948 and who, by his death in 1995, had established a reputation as one of the nation's most talented Black architects.
Moutoussamy left his imprint on a number of Chicago landmarks, including the Theodore K. Lawless Housing Development. In social circles, Moutoussamy also gained recognition as the father-in-law of African American tennis superstar Arthur Ashe. A suave, sophisticated figure, Moutoussamy was just the kind of designer Johnson wanted to realize his dream of a modern, high functioning corporate headquarters. |
Johnson envisioned the design of 820 South Michigan Avenue as a reflection of his company's gravitas - "a magnificent structure which reflects the strength and vitality of the company...conveyed by the graceful horizontals, the walnut travertine marble and the continuous sweep of glass."
820 South Michigan Avenue, 1972. Johnson Publishing
To complement Moutoussamy's striking exterior design, Johnson turned to renowned interior decorator Arthur Elrod and his associate William Raiser. Elrod, who had designed the publisher's recently purchased apartment at exclusive North Side development The Carlyle.
Elrod was a go-to decorator for celebrity home-owners in Palm Springs, where Elrod and his business/romantic partner Raiser held legendary parties at the "Elrod House" created for the designer by architect John Lautner and made famous by the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. His talents transformed the new Johnson Publishing building into a bold vision of Afrocentric modernity and Black cultural mores.
Elrod was a go-to decorator for celebrity home-owners in Palm Springs, where Elrod and his business/romantic partner Raiser held legendary parties at the "Elrod House" created for the designer by architect John Lautner and made famous by the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. His talents transformed the new Johnson Publishing building into a bold vision of Afrocentric modernity and Black cultural mores.
820 South Michigan Interior Shots, 1972. Johnson Publishing
During the quarter-century following the opening of 820 South Michigan Avenue, the building remained one of, if not the most recognizable corporate landmark in Black America. "The house that Johnson built" played host to major Black gatherings and was an enormously popular tourist site for many African Americans visiting the Windy City. The visibility of Johnson Publishing's corporate headquarters embodied the company's continued ascent. By the mid-1980s JPC had overtaken Motown Records to be crowned the number one Black business in America by Black Enterprise magazine, and the monthly paid circulation of its flagship publication Ebony briefly crested 2 million during the first half of the 1990s.
However, by the turn of the twenty-first century cracks had started to appear in both the company's downtown headquarters and its corporate infrastructure. Johnson's death in 2005, coupled with the impact of the economic financial crisis and subsequent recession, placed enormous pressure on the company to free up capital.
However, by the turn of the twenty-first century cracks had started to appear in both the company's downtown headquarters and its corporate infrastructure. Johnson's death in 2005, coupled with the impact of the economic financial crisis and subsequent recession, placed enormous pressure on the company to free up capital.
Johnson lying in state in the lobby of 820 South Michigan Avenue, 2005. Johnson Publishing
In November 2010 Johnson Publishing, now under the leadership of Johnson's daughter Linda, announced that it had sold its showpiece Michigan Avenue headquarters to Columbia College Chicago. Linda Johnson Rice attempted to frame the sale as a positive development for JPC, contending that "just as when JPC moved to this location in 1972, my father would be the first to say it makes good business sense to relocate to space that serves the current needs of the company." The sale certainly made pragmatic sense - by Johnson's death less than half of the building was in active use - but given the building's symbolic importance it was a devastating blow to the company's public image and sparked renewed debate over its future. Columbia initially planned to redevelop the site into a new library facility, which was scheduled for completion by the fall of 2015. However, the College quickly ran into fundraising problems and structural issues with the building further complicated the project.
In 2016 Columbia announced that it was placing the property back on the market, a development which took place against the backdrop of Johnson Publishing's sale of Ebony and Jet to a Texas-based investment firm. Initial speculation suggested that the building could be razed, although after local activists caught wind of this potential outcomes public backlash helped to secure landmark status.
In 2017, 820 South Michigan Avenue was purchased by 3L Real Estate and in 2019 the site was reopened as a set of upscale condominium and apartment rentals. While the building's exterior and its iconic rooftop sign were preserved, its distinctive interiors were torn out.
In 2016 Columbia announced that it was placing the property back on the market, a development which took place against the backdrop of Johnson Publishing's sale of Ebony and Jet to a Texas-based investment firm. Initial speculation suggested that the building could be razed, although after local activists caught wind of this potential outcomes public backlash helped to secure landmark status.
In 2017, 820 South Michigan Avenue was purchased by 3L Real Estate and in 2019 the site was reopened as a set of upscale condominium and apartment rentals. While the building's exterior and its iconic rooftop sign were preserved, its distinctive interiors were torn out.
Rootftop patio of the former Johnson Publishing headquarters at 820 South Michigan Avenue. WTTW
Despite the sale of 820 South Michigan Avenue to Columbia College in 2010, Johnson Publishing remained in the site for close to two years as it searched for a new headquarters. The company finally settled on renting space at 200 South Michigan Avenue in the Borg-Warner Building, a 22-story office complex completed in the late 1950s by A. Epstein and Sons International.
Johnson Publishing initially planned to rent out the top three floors of the building, displacing the Cliff Dwellers private club. However, the company subsequently decided to lease only the 20th and 21st floors. This agreement was terminated following the company's liquidation in 2019.
Johnson Publishing initially planned to rent out the top three floors of the building, displacing the Cliff Dwellers private club. However, the company subsequently decided to lease only the 20th and 21st floors. This agreement was terminated following the company's liquidation in 2019.
200 South Michigan Avenue. Crain's Business Chicago
SOURCES
- "The Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District." Commission on Chicago Landmarks, 1997.
- Burns, Ben. Nitty Gritty: A White Editor in Black Journalism (Mississippi, 1996).
- Johnson, John H. with Lerone Bennett Jr. Succeeding Against the Odds (Amistad, 1989).
- "JPC Headquarters Sold to Columbia College," Chicago Defender, November 16, 2010.
- West, E. James. A House for the Struggle: The Black Press and the Built Environment in Chicago (Illinois, 2022).
