History

Over a century and a half ago members of the Sollitt family leave England to embark on a trip to Madison, Wisconsin via Milwaukee.  Due to bad weather the Sollitt’s are instead forced to land in Chicago, Illinois.  The year is 1838, a year after the city of Chicago’s incorporation, and the Sollitt’s decide to stay to organize a small carpentry shop, in the rapidly expanding city.  There soon after, the firm enlarges their field of operations to include the general construction of buildings and private residences. The Sollitt family’s early projects include the old Court House, Tremont House and the Palmer House all of which were destroyed by the great Chicago Fire. Following the fire, the Sollitts construct many notable buildings for Chicago’s early pioneers, including projects for Potter Palmer, Marshall Field and Montgomery Ward. Succeeding generations of the Sollitt family continued the business in Chicago and South Bend, Indiana.

The George Sollitt Construction Company was incorporated in the State of Illinois in 1935.  During the Great Depression, Sollitt and Sollitt affiliated companies construct projects across the country for the Federal Government and private institutions, such as Notre Dame University and their original football stadium.  Sollitt was a major defense contractor during WWII and at one time Sollitt employed 2,500 carpenters at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station constructing various buildings for the Navy.

In the 1950’s Sollitt constructed the Danly Machine Works complex in Cicero, IL. Fifty years later, in 2001, Sollitt remediated the “Brown Site” and completed the construction of the Unity Junior High School, one of the largest junior high school facilities in the country.  In 1983, Sollitt established itself as one of first 100% employee owned construction firms in the Midwest.  This transition helped to promote a new culture at Sollitt that has resulted in consistent rankings in the top contractor lists prepared by Crain’s Chicago Business, Engineering News Record and Midwest Construction.