ILLINOIS WINDMILLS
Dedicated to the history, preservation, and continuing story of windmills in Illinois.
Leiter Windmill
(unknown location)
Status
Destroyed.
Source
-
"American Lumberman," Part I, 1932.
History of the Mill
"It is not generally known that the most famous and useful Dutch windmill in Illinois was built by Levi Z. Leiter, the former merchant prince of Chicago. It was constructed…"
Only this snippet is available online. If you have a copy of this issue and know the rest of this text, please contact me. Interestingly, the tone of the article would imply that its author recognizes that there are several other Dutch windmills in Illinois. Oddly enough, the "most famous and useful" in Illinois is, apparently, one I know little about!
Levi Z. Leiter was a partner in the Field, Palmer, Leiter & Company dry-goods store, which later became Marshall Field & Company. He had the department store buildings constructed, the latest being the Leiter II building, designed by the "father of the skyscraper" architect William LeBaron Jenney.
This building is still standing, and is now home to Macy’s department store in downtown Chicago.