- 321 S Jefferson is named after William Horace O'Donoghue, who owned a printing business (and several properties on State). Fun fact, his mom was one of the original members of the Chicago Historical Society. - The dates 1878 and 1892 most likely refer to the years when his printing business was active. I can't find much information (yet) to confirm this, but it seems to line up with the timeline of his life and business. - Originally this building was labeled as 192 S Jefferson (which may be why it is/was so hard to find details on it), but Chicago renumbered its streets in 1909, and 192 became 321. - In 1893, O'Donoghue suddenly killed himself after being alerted to the news of philanthropist and businessman Elliott Fitch Shephard, who, among many other things, owned a prominent newspaper in NYC at the time. Shephard's death was unexpected and likely due to complications related to his ongoing medical care. It's not clear how or why O'Donoghue had such a severe reaction to learning about his death, but it's theorized as "financial embarrassment" related to the publishing houses he owed money to. - O'Donoghue's business was successful and he had a great relationship with his clients, but had been repeatedly asking them for loans. By the time of his suicide, he owed nearly $4 million (in today's money) to his clients. - The courts eventually sued his estate in order to pay back his clients, who ultimately only collected about half of what he owed them. - The building later housed a blacksmith, an upholstery company, and a stove company. In 1912, the blacksmith shop on the top floor of 319 S Jefferson caught on fire somehow and it basically destroyed the entire building. 321 also sustained damage amounting to about $20k in today's money. - O'Donoghue is buried in Graceland cemetery. Owner pays for water and waste. All other utilities are occupants.
This property is off market, which means it's not currently listed for sale or rent on Zillow. This may be different from what's available on other websites or public sources.
