Whirlpool-Britannica Clock Tower – Reid, Murdoch & Co., LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois, United States

325 North LaSalle, constructed in 1914, was designed by George C. Nimmons for Reid, Murdoch & Co. one of the country’s largest wholesale grocers. Reid, Murdoch & Co. used the building for corporate offices and warehouse space, with several floors dedicated to manufacturing and processing various foods: cheeses, coffee, catsup, sugar, fish, bread, and pickles. The building even included a humidor where tobacco was rolled for cigars. The riverfront site enabled Reid, Murdoch & Co. to ship and receive goods via a supply chain that connected steamers on the building’s south side to railroad spurs on the north side. Under LaSalle Street, the building’s shipping platform was used to load trucks that delivered to merchants all over the city. The building even connected with the city’s downtown freight tunnel system, 60 feet below street level.

A notable example of the "Chicago School" of Architecture, the building’s design features a red brick façade with decorative terra-cotta embellishments covering a steel and concrete skeleton. Originally the building was symmetrical, with 6 bays of windows flanking the center tower on both sides. In 1926, one bay on the west end was removed allowing the City to widen LaSalle Street. It was used as a makeshift hospital on 24 July 1915 after the S.S. Eastland capsized in the Chicago River on the opposite shore, directly across from the building. In 1930 the westernmost bay was demolished, due to the widening of LaSalle Street, and the façade lost its symmetry. From 1955 the building was used by the City of Chicago, housing its traffic courts, the State Attorney’s Office, and various city departments. In 1998 it was redeveloped by Friedman Properties. The building currently houses the headquarters of Encyclopædia Britannica.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It also has been designated as a Chicago Landmark. It is located at 325 North LaSalle Street in the River North neighborhood, alongside the Chicago River between LaSalle Street and Clark Street.