"The Field Wholesale Store appeared to be a single huge block. Since the interior consisted of open loft spaces, Richardson maintained an uninterrupted rhythm of arcades along each side. Instead of historical detail, Richardson used the textured monochromatic surface of the granite and brownstone masonry to provide visual interest, supplemented only by a chamfer at the corners and an enriched terminal cornice. Simple though it appears, the Marshall Field Wholesale Store demonstrated clearly that a large commercial block could be expressed as a single integrated unit of great force and authority. No longer were meretricious historical ornament or a ponderous roof obligatory. Large-scale coherent forms, graced with plain walls, could be effective. Though structurally the Field building was conservative, with bearing walls and cast iron and wooden columns for internal supports, the visual expression was highly advanced and pointed in a new direction which many critics and architects, both in the United States and Europe, interpreted as being distinctly American."

— Leland M. Roth. A Concise History of American Architecture. p169-70.