A New Book Preserves The Lost Interiors Of Ebony And Jet’s Chicago Headquarters

MW Editions published 820 Ebony/Jet: Visions of the Johnson Publishing Company, an American Icon, a book preserving the design and history of the former Ebony and Jet headquarters in Chicago. The 240-page volume centers on photographer Barbara Karant’s images of the building’s largely intact 1970s interiors, documenting a workplace that housed one of the most influential Black-owned media companies of its era.The headquarters at 820 South Michigan Avenue was completed in 1972 for Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of Ebony and Jet. Karant began photographing the building after it stood empty, starting in 2013 and continuing through 2018. Her images record its geometric wallpapers, mirrored dressing rooms, patterned carpets and the Test Kitchen’s swirling laminate cabinetry. The company had left the building in 2012, after much of the interior design had remained unchanged for decades. The book contains 142 color and eight black-and-white photographs. It also includes documentary images of the original interiors and Ebony’s in-house photo studio, material on Richard Hunt’s lobby sculpture, Expansive Construction (1972), and recollections from former employees. A foreword by artist Deborah Willis and essays by Aaron Bryant, Cheryl Finley, Carla Williams, Jon Ott, Brenna Wynn Greer and E. James West add commentary. The book was listed at $65 at publication.

A Record of Black Media History

The book documents more than an unusual office interior. Johnson Publishing Company’s headquarters gave physical form to the institution behind Ebony and Jet, publications that documented Black American life and culture. The photographs preserve details of that workplace after the company departed, while former employees’ recollections connect the architecture to the people who used it. The volume also traces the building’s influence on artists including Theaster Gates, Hank Willis Thomas and Lorna Simpson, among others.

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The Building Behind the Photographs

Publisher John H. Johnson commissioned architect John Moutoussamy for the headquarters. The source report describes Moutoussamy as the first Black architect to design a downtown Chicago high-rise. Johnson sought a building with permanence and character; its exterior was clad in travertine marble. Inside, designers Arthur Elrod and William Raiser gave each of its 11 floors a distinct combination of color and pattern. The cafeteria used orange, purple and gold chevrons, while co-founder Eunice Johnson’s office paired cream and honey tones with works from the couple’s art collection. Karant photographed the empty building rather than its active offices. In her compositions, mirrors repeat patterns and surfaces, while windows on the executive floor frame views of Lake Michigan and Grant Park. The source report says many design elements remained unchanged until the company moved out in 2012; the photographs were made in the years immediately afterward.

The Site’s Later History

The source material details the book and Karant’s photographic work but does not explain the building’s current use, ownership or condition. It also gives no account of whether the photographs document every interior or how much of the original design remains at the site today. The book preserves a visual and documentary record, but the available information does not establish what has happened to the interiors since Karant’s final photographs in 2018.

The Book’s Public Record

The published volume brings Karant’s photographs, archival material, former employees’ recollections and commissioned essays together in one account of the headquarters. Readers can consult the book for the documented images and contributors’ perspectives; the source report lists it as available from MW Editions for $65. It does not announce a related exhibition, public program or further publication.

Key Questions

What is the book about?

820 Ebony/Jet documents the former Johnson Publishing Company headquarters in Chicago, with photographs of its interiors and material on its cultural and design history.

Who photographed the empty headquarters?

Barbara Karant photographed the building from 2013 through 2018, after Johnson Publishing Company left in 2012.

What does the book include?

The 240-page book contains 142 color and eight black-and-white images, archival photographs, former employees’ recollections, a foreword by Deborah Willis and essays by six contributors.

When was it published and what was its listed price?

MW Editions listed the book as available Oct. 13 for $65. The source report does not specify the year for that publication date.

Source: rss