Peter Bonnett Wight Papers

Peter B. Wight’s architectural career flourished in the 1860s and 1870s in New York, where he developed a decorative, historicist style that showed affinities to the work of European designers John Ruskin and A W. N. Pugin. Immediately after the devastating Chicago fire of 1871, Wight came to Chicago and entered a successful architectural partnership. An interest in modern technologies for fireproof construction led Wight to found the Wight Fireproofing Co. by 1881, which designed and manufactured hollow terra cotta tiles-impervious to fire and non-heat conductive, for construction. This collection contains manuscripts for lectures and publications. View finding aid.View selected images from this collection.Find all P.B. Wight digital images. Collection access:Collections may be accessed in the Franke Reading Room of the Research Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, by appointment only. For further information, consult the FAQ. Finding aids by subjectBrowse all finding aidsBrowse images and mediaOral histories Contact the Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives:archives@artic.edu