Throwback Thursday – Square D Company

Were going to the burbs this week for the Epstein Throwback Thursday to visit 1960 Park Ridge, Illinois for the opening of the Square D Company Office Building. Epstein was the architect and engineer for this 43,000 square foot home for the executive operations of this company that manufactured electrical control equipment. This facility also housed a research laboratory that helped in the testing and evaluation of new electrical components developed by Square D. As a FYI side note - Square D was known for their QO circuit breakers, which became the industry standard in commercial and residential construction throughout North America soon after their introduction in 1955.

This modernist two-story building was located within the newly developed Executive Plaza Development and was designed to fit into this predominantly residential community near the heart of Park Ridge.

This Square D facility was comprised of reinforced concrete with white rock face brick and marble exterior. In addition, the aluminum window units were glazed with gray tinted insulating glass.

Square D moved their corporate headquarters from this facility to Palatine in 1979 and then were eventually acquired by Schneider Electric in 1991, but still maintain the Square D brand identity. More importantly, this facility still stands and looks very much like it did in 1960. Located at the corner of Washington and Northwest Highway, this building is now home to Presence Center for Health.