<div>Built in 1914, the seventeen-story Fort Dearborn Hotel arrived when Chicago's population had reached two million, which was more than double its 1890 total. Immigrants, Migrants, and visitors arrived in the city via its thirty-four railroads that converged in Chicago. &nbsp;As a result, there existed a hotel-industry boom, notably in the South Loop in the era leading up to the Great War. The Fort Dearborn Hotel catered not to the most affluent nor the working class, but those in the middle; notably traveling salesman and men of business,&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Fort Dearborn proved popular among salesman seeking to portray an image of success, but who did not need to spend money on (or could not afford) the lavish luxuries found in Chicago's most lavish hotels. Also, people in business enjoy the hotel's proximity to Chicago's garment district, financial district, printer's row, and Federal customs house.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Fort Dearborn enjoyed fireproof construction, writing rooms and a view of the lobby from the promenade, as well as modern (for the time) plumbing that consisted of a lavatory and a tap with ice water in every room. As well, the Fort Dearborn hotel provided clean, fresh air to its patrons with its innovative ventilation system. However, as mentioned, the hotel did not offer a ballroom or items intended for entertaining but instead offered salesmen use of "sample rooms" that allowed them an opportunity to display the products for which they were attempting to sell.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Chicago, by the dawn of the first world war, no longer existed as a city "on the rise," but had turned into a bonafide world-class city, and one for where one could access those coming from both the west and east coasts through Chicago. The city had many banks, numerous types of industries, and plenty of people ready to spend money. The Fort Dearborn hotel, almost designed exclusively for sales people, not only signified the economy of the era and Chicago's place within that system but laid the groundwork for such endeavors as the McCormick Place, which is the largest convention center in North America and located very near the Fort Dearborn Hotel.&nbsp;</div>

By Smallbones (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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1910s, 1920s - LaSalle and Jackson streets in Chicago, Illinois. (not far from Fort Dearborn Hotel)

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Built in 1914, the seventeen-story Fort Dearborn Hotel arrived when Chicago's population had reached two million. The immense population and economic boom resulted in many business travelers passing through, and the Fort Dearborn Hotel catered to those clients.   

Fort Dearborn Hotel

<div>The building was commissioned by Peter and Shepherd Brooks, real estate developers from Boston. The Monadnock's construction was part of the building boom that followed the price recession known as the Long Depression, or the Great Depression of 1873-79. The Brooks family made a fortune in the shipping insurance business. They began investing in Chicago real estate in 1868 and had the Grannis Block building built on Dearborn Street in 1880. Property manager Owen F. Aldis convinced the Brooks brothers and other wealthy investors to build skyscrapers in Chicago. By the turn of the century, Aldis managed almost one fifth of the office space in the Loop and had created over 1 million square feet of office space in the city.</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;When the Monadnock was completed in its entirety, it included 1200 rooms and was capable of accommodating 6000. To put this in perspective, the Chicago Daily Tribune made the observation that the population of most Illinois cities at the time would've comfortably fit in the building. Some of the building's first tenants were the American Exchange National and Global Savings Banks and the Santa Fe, Michigan Central, and Chicago&amp;Alton Railroads. Although it was quite an architectural feat, the Monadnock did receive some harsh criticism for its aesthetic. French architect Jacques Hermant said of the building, "The Monadnock was no longer the result of an artist responding to particular needs with intelligence and drawing for them all of the possible consequences. It is the work of a laborer who, without the slightest study, super-imposes 15 strictly identical stories to make a block then stops when he finds the block high enough."</div><div><br></div>

Located in the Loop District of Chicago, the Monadnock building, originally known as the Monadnock Block, is a skyscraper whose construction began in 1891. The oldest section of the building, the north half, was designed by the architectural firm Burnham and Root and was the tallest load-bearing brick building in the world. The southern half of the building was designed by Holabird and Roche in 1893 and features more ornamental design elements. At the time of its completion in 1893, the Monadnock Building was the largest office building in the world.

Monadnock Building

<div>Built in 1896, the Fisher Building stands as a reminder of the early influence of the Chicago School of Architecture and the subsequent emergence of the skyscraper. When completed, the Fisher Building was one of the tallest buildings in the world and one of only two buildings in Chicago to reach upwards of eighteen stories. Today, it is the oldest of the two remaining; the other building was the&nbsp;older and taller&nbsp;Masonic Temple&nbsp;demolished in 1939. As well, the Fisher Building&nbsp;serves as a reminder of Chicago's flourishing printing industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. <br><br>The building was commissioned by paper tycoon Lucius Fisher, president of the Union Bag and Paper, and it is located just north of the historic Printer's Row in Chicago. Though constructed by the Daniel Burnham firm, the actual design was conducted by Charles Atwood, who did much of his early work in New York. Thus, the building is&nbsp;notable for its Chicago School design and function, but its aesthetics draw from several other styles. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Fisher Building was revolutionary for its time as it&nbsp;features a steel frame structure and an exterior comprised 75% windows and 25% terra cotta.<br>Originally constructed as an eighteen-story&nbsp;tower, a two-story addition was added in 1907. The most prominent characteristics of&nbsp;the building&nbsp;is its gothic ornamentation and aquatic creature carvings. Indeed, marine details and mythical sea creatures adorn a large portion of the building, as well as crabs, salamanders, dolphin door handles, starfish, frogs, and ornamental fish on the glass.<br></div><div><br></div><div>A 2001 renovation and restoration of the Fisher Building&nbsp;ostensibly converted it from an industrial space to that of residential use. Those residing in what is now the Fisher City Apartments enjoy beautiful views of the city, still taking advantage of the numerous windows used in its original construction.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

Built in 1896, the Fisher Building stands as a reminder of the early influence of the Chicago School of Architecture and the subsequent emergence of the skyscraper. When completed, the Fisher Building was one of the tallest buildings in the world. Commissioned by paper tycoon Lucius Fisher, president of the Union Bag and Paper, it is located just north of the historic Printer's Row in Chicago. A 2001 renovation and restoration of the Fisher Building ostensibly converted it from an industrial space to that of residential use.

Fisher Building

<p>When the
Chicago Board of Trade was organized in 1848, it was located in a few rooms
over Gage and Haines's flour store on South Water Street. During its early
years, the Board seemed constantly on the move in a search for more floor space
for its rapidly expanding operations. Since 1852 the Board was relocating
several times until 1865 when in finally moved to its first really permanent
home in the Chamber of Commerce Building located at the southwest corner of
LaSalle and Washington Streets.</p><p>In 1871, the
Chicago fire destroyed this structure, and for several months, the Board
conducted business in a 90 foot square wigwam near the corner of Washington and
Market Streets. By the end of the year, however, the Chamber of Commerce
Building had been rebuilt, and the Board had returned to its old location.</p><p>&nbsp;In 1881 the Board decided to construct its own
building, purchased property at what is now 141 West Jackson Boulevard, and
hired W. W. Boyington, a leading Chicago architect, to design a suitable
edifice. Completed in 1885, this structure with its mansard roof and 300-foot
tower served as the Board’s home for over forty years. This was the first
building in Chicago with electricity. By the mid 1920s, however, it had become
too small for the Board's needs and increasingly uneconomical to operate, and
in 1927, the members voted to demolish it and construct a new building.</p>

<p>&nbsp;In 1928 the original building was torn down and
construction began on the second, actually the building that we can see today "Chicago Board of Trade Building". It was hailed as a masterpiece then, and is
no less remarkable now. The CBOT located on skyscraper's 12th floor includes a
19,000 square foot trading floor and has been in almost continuous operation
since it opened. While the new edifice
was under construction in 1928-30, the Board established temporary headquarters
in a building at 447-511 South Clark Street.&nbsp;</p><p></p>

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It stands powerfully as a gateway to the city's financial district, at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon, in the Loop community area in Cook County. Originally built for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in 1930, it is now the primary trading venue for the derivatives exchange, the CME Group, formed in 2007 by the merger of the CBOT and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 

This 45-story edifice was designed by the distinguished architectural firm of Holabird & Root. Designed in “Art Deco” style, clad in gray Indiana limestone, capped with a pyramid-shaped roof, this 605 ft (184 m) tall skyscraper was the tallest building in Chicago until 1965. It serves as the southern border for the skyscrapers hugging LaSalle Street and is taller than surrounding structures for several blocks. This Art Deco building incorporates sculptural work by Alvin Meyer and is capped by a 31 foot (9.5 m) tall aluminum statue of the Roman goddess “Ceres” - Goddess of Grain and Harvest, in reference to the exchange's heritage as a commodity market. Ceres is faceless because its sculptor, John H. Storrs (one of the leading 1920s sculptors) , believed that the forty-five story building would be sufficiently taller than any other nearby structure, and as a result no one would be able to see the sculpture's face anyway.

Chicago Board of Trade Building

Following the destruction of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, city leaders and investors were able to "start anew" and build a planned downtown business area that would soon rival New York.Once known as a livestock terminus, Chicago used the destruction of the fire as an opportunity to build an urban infrastructure that reflected the optimism of the city boosters. Combining innovations such as fireproof steel-framed construction with traditional building elements, the city of Chicago became so synonymous with the skyscraper that architects around the world referred to these buildings as belonging to the Chicago Style.<br><br>The Marquette Building serves as a classic example of the First Chicago Style of architecture-a style that can be seen in buildings throughout the Loop and other buildings that were constructed throughout the city in the late 19th and early 20th century. These buildings feature terra cotta and other forms of masonry that cover steel-frame construction.&nbsp;<span>The Marquette&nbsp;Building features a&nbsp;red terra cotta facade that has been slightly darkened over the years due to the acidity caused by air pollution. <br><br>The buildings of the&nbsp;Chicago Style also</span>&nbsp;feature ornamental details throughout the first two or three floors&nbsp;of the building's exterior, as well as an&nbsp;ornamental&nbsp;"cap" on the building's top floor. These details can be seen when viewing the ornate cornice and features of the top floor and the lower two floors&nbsp;with the rest of the building.&nbsp;The most distinguishing feature of the First Chicago School, and one that is especially prominent in the Marquette Building, is the use of&nbsp;large horizontal plate-glass windows. For more information about the windows of the Marquette Building, please see the short video below. &nbsp;

Built in 1895 by the George A. Fuller Company, this Chicago landmark was one of the first steel-framed skyscrapers in the city. The building was named in honor of the French missionary Jacques Marquette, who with Louis Jolliet in 1674, became the first European to explorer and map the lands around Lake Michigan. The building was served as corporate headquarters to numerous railroad companies and other businesses over the years. During the mid-20th century, some of the historic buildings throughout the Loop such as Louis Sullivan's Stock Exchange were demolished in favor of new construction. The Marquette Building, like so many of the other historic buildings throughout the Loop, was saved due to the efforts of preservationists and community members who partnered with local government and business leaders. Since 1975, the building has been owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a leading supporter of education that is also working with the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois to restore and share the history of this building. The Foundation operates an interactive exhibit on the building's first floor that is open to the public, as well as virtual exhibits that are available by clicking on the link below. 

The Marquette Building

<div>The Chicago Fed’s responsibilities include policy making in regards to the national monetary system, the supervision and regulation of state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, and providing various financial services, including check clearing and processing electronic payments. The bank also includes a Money Museum that is open to the public.<br><br>Created on December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by Woodrow Wilson. It was created to provide the United States with a more stable financial system. Today, the Federal Reserve’s various responsibilities can be divided into four general areas: monitoring credit in an effort to stabilize prices and work towards higher employment rates, protecting consumers by monitoring the safety of banks and other financial institutions, containing risk in financial markets, and being a major part of operating and supervising the nation’s payment systems. <br><br>The Federal Reserve Act established the Federal Reserve Districts. In the Act’s exact words: “As soon as practicable, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Comptroller of the Currency, acting as “The Reserve Bank Organization Committee,” shall designate not less than eight nor more than twelve cities to be known as Federal reserve cities, and shall divide the continental United States, excluding Alaska, into districts, each district to contain only one of such Federal reserve cities. The determination of said organization committee shall not be subject to review except by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System when organized: Provided, That the districts shall be apportioned with due regard to the convenience and customary course of business and shall not necessarily be coterminous with any State or States.”</div>

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, also known as the Chicago Fed, began operations on November 16, 1914. At the time, James B. McDougal served as the president of the Chicago Fed and oversaw the bank's 41 employees. However, the bank soon outgrew its space in the Rector Building at Clark and Monroe. The Chicago Fed's Board of Directors commissioned the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White to construct the current building at South LaSalle Street. Completed in 1922, the Chicago Fed has remained at this building since. The Board of Governors in Washington, DC and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago serve together as the nation’s central bank.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

<p>William Le Baron Jenney is considered one of the architects responsible for developing the modern skyscraper, which earned him the nickname Father of the American skyscraper. Jenney was born in Fairhaven, MA in 1832 to a wealthy family. He began his education at the Philips Academy in Andover, then attending the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard but transferring to the Ecole Centrale Paris where he studied engineering, architecture, and iron construction methods. Jenney graduated from the Ecole Centrale one year after Gustave Eiffel, architect of the Eiffel Tower. When he returned to the US in 1861, Jenney joined the Union Army as an engineer. Over the course of the war, Jenney designed fortifications for Sherman and Grant, and earned the ranking of Major.</p><p>After the war, Jenney moved to Chicago, IL where set up his own architectural firm. His career and contributions to the development of modern architecture are often underacknowledged. With the completion of the 10-story Home Life Insurance Building in 1885, Jenney is credited with designing the world’s first skyscraper as the building was supported entirely by a steel frame. His use of a steel and iron structure meant that the building weighed 1/3 less than it would have with a load-bearing masonry structure, the weight change allowed for a taller building to be constructed. The Home Life Insurance Building was unfortunately demolished in 1931, set the new standard for urban architecture.</p><p>Jenney’s innovative steel-frame building structure provided the means for some of Chicago’s most famous historic buildings. Reaching a staggering height of 16-stories, the first skyscraper to reach such a height, the Manhattan Building became Jenney’s greatest achievement. Because it was still unknown how safe these new tall buildings were, he deliberately constructed the Manhattan Building with horizontal sections and setbacks as a means to lessen the appearance of 16 stories. The height of the building also required both wind-bracing techniques to be incorporated in its design and an original foundation system, which became the standard for high rise structures. As a means to maximize the amount of natural light into the building, Jenney designed the façade to feature oriel windows. The decoration of the Manhattan Building is also heavily ornamented with masks and vegetative detailing.&nbsp;</p><p>Today, the Manhattan Building is the third-oldest skyscraper in Chicago and is the earliest surviving skyscraper relying on an entirely skeletal support structure. The Manhattan Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 16, 1976 and designated as a Chicago Landmark on July 7, 1978.</p>

At the time of its completion in 1891, Chicago’s Manhattan Building was one of the most innovative buildings of the era. Designed by William Le Baron Jenney, he sought to push the limits of building height during a time when the traditional practices of architecture were being questioned and experiments with new designs and ideas began taking shape. At that time, constructing a building at such a height of 16-stories was generally thought to be unsafe. To remedy that concern, Jenney designed the Manhattan Building to feature horizontal sections and setbacks which creates an allusion of a shorter building. Today, the Manhattan Building is the third-oldest skyscraper in Chicago and is the earliest surviving skyscraper relying on an entirely steel skeletal support structure. 

Manhattan Building

<p>Financial troubles plagued a series of Chicago opera companies for decades until the late 1920s. The '20s success encouraged the wealthy utilities industrialist and opera-group president, Samuel Insull, to build the Civic Opera House. Unfortunately, the Great Depression through World War II period again resulted in financial woes that hampered professional opera development in Chicago. Finally, during the 1950s, the opera scene took off and now enjoys international praise; the Civic Opera House remains the home of what is now the Lyric Opera of Chicago.</p><p>Though opera slowly gained a cultural presence in Chicago during the middle part of the nineteenth century, the influx of German immigrants during the 1880s ultimately stimulated opera growth mightily in the fast-growing city. Nonetheless, several opera companies came and went during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, often folding due to large debts. Regardless, support for opera in Chicago grew immensely, which resulted in the formation of the Chicago Civic Opera organization. Its president, the utility tycoon Samuel Insull, took a businesslike-approach to managing the opera group, which toured nationally to more than sixty cities between 1910 and 1929. The Chicago Civic Opera moved into the Civic Opera House, a 45-story skyscraper that opened shortly after the 1929 stock market crash. </p><p>The onset of the Great Depression again created financial havoc for Chicago's opera scene, even as it had a new, grand home. Time and time again, opera companies folded, and that trend continued even as the economy recovered during and after World War II. From 1946 to 1952, no resident opera company operated in the city. However, in 1952, singer Carol Fox, businessman Lawrence Kelly, and conductor Nicola Rescigno formed the Lyric Theatre of Chicago. They planned to restore the opera and elevate its reputation nationally and internationally. On February 5, 1954, the Lyric Theater presented a profoundly successful performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Civic Opera House, and that put Chicago's opera scene on the map. By the late 1990s, world-class singers played before capacity crowds, and by the twenty-first century, the Lyric owned international esteem. </p><p>The epicenter of Chicago's opera since 1929 has been the Civic Opera House, also known as the Lyric Opera House. Insull made plans for the building during the 1920s, intending to turn into a home for opera in Chicago. (The facility underwent a major renovation from 1993 to 1996.) The auditorium seats 3,563, making it the second-largest opera hall in North America after the Metropolitan Opera House. The entire complex rises forty-five stories and includes two, twenty-two-story wings that allow the skyscraper to take on the appearance of a massive chair, sometimes referred to as Insull's Throne, when viewed from the west (including those traveling down the Chicago River). </p>

The Civic Opera House, also referred to as the Lyric Opera House, opened fully in November of 1929. The structure includes a main tower and two wings; a forty-five-story office tower connected to twenty-two story wings on both sides. The building includes the 3,563-seat, Ardis Krainik auditorium, which is the second-largest opera space in North America behind the Metropolitan Opera House. The hall operates as the permanent home of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 



Civic Opera Building

<div>The term “alderman” is somewhat confusing, as its meaning and usage varies slightly not only from country to country, but also from state to state. The word originally comes from the Old English title ealdorman, which meant “elder man”, and was used to refer to leaders of the shires. This title of “elder man” was common throughout much of present-day Europe at the time, with similar titles used in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. <br><br>In the modern-day United States, the term alderman generally refers to something akin to a city council member or any kind of elected public official serving a localized area in a more general capacity. Generally, cities either employ the city council or the alderman terminology, but not both. However, in Chicago they use both terms, meaning they have a city council composed of aldermen.<br><br>One of City Hall’s more modern features is a rooftop garden, known as the Green Roof. Completed in 2001, the 38,800 feet of garden space was done in an effort to study the impact of green rooftop spaces on the heat island effect in urban areas. An urban heat island is a metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than surrounding areas due to human activity. Rooftop gardens are believed to help reduce this effect because the main cause of rising temperatures in urban areas is the alteration of the landscape. The urban heat island is detrimental for a number of reasons, including its harmful affect on air and water quality.</div><div><br></div>

Completed in 1911, Chicago City Hall was designed by the architectural firm Holabird & Roche. The building is home to the offices of the mayor, the city treasurer of Chicago, the City Clerk, some of the city’s departments, the wards of the various aldermen of Chicago, and the chambers of the Chicago City Council. It reaches 11 stories and was built in the classical revival style. The classical revival style, or neoclassicism, refers to Western movements in visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture at various points throughout history that were inspired by stylistic elements of Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman art.


City Hall

<p>In 1885, brothers Peter and Shepherd Brooks along with Owen Aldis created the Central Safety Deposit Company and leased a city-owned lot on the corner of Adams of LaSalle Streets on which to establish the new business. Seeking to house their new company in a state-of-the-art building, the men hired the architectural firm Burnham &amp; Root to design the building. John Wellborn Root and Daniel Burnham formed their architectural firm in 1872, and by the time they were commissioned to construct the new Central Safety Deposit Company building, the men had already influenced the direction of Chicago’s commercial architecture with their seminal works. Burnham &amp; Root completed the Central Safety Deposit Company’s building in 1888.</p><p>The lot on which the new building was erected previously held the temporary city hall and water tower. Pigeons and other birds famously roosted on site, which resulted in the temporary buildings and the lot being referred to as the Rookery. The name Rookery became so embedded in Chicago culture that the new Central Safety Deposit Company building was immediately referred to as the Rookery. John Root included two carved rooks in the main entrance on LaSalle Street as homage to the nickname.</p><p>The completion of the Rookery building indicated a transitional shift in American architecture. At eleven stories tall, it was one of the world’s tallest buildings and the tallest to feature the innovative engineering technique of metal framing with masonry walls. It incorporated many other innovative features of the modern age: passenger elevators, fireproof construction, electric lighting, and plate glass. Because electricity was still in its infancy at that time, the architects designed the building as a hollow square with a two-story light court in the base. Considered the most ornate part of the building, the two-story light court was a method to provide the entire building with as much natural light and airflow as possible by opening up the center. The interior of the light court was constructed of wrought iron and contained a glass ceiling.</p><p>By 1905, the Rookery’s light court fell out of fashion. Edward C. Waller, the Rookery’s building manager, hired Frank Lloyd Wright to update the interior. Wright expertly blended Root’s design with an elegant contemporary scheme by covering up the majority of the exposed iron with Cararra marble gilded with arabesque designs, similar to those found on the building’s exterior. This interior update blended Root’s design with the modern Prairie style that Wright helped pioneer, and transformed the space into a bright and refined commercial space. Many architectural historians consider Wright’s redesign of the Rookery’s light court as his most sophisticated interior design work.</p><p>Several other major renovations occurred to the Rookery throughout the twentieth-century. The glass ceiling panes in the light court were covered, more office space was carved out of the lobby, the exposed elevator, original marble and mosaic tiles covered with vinyl and asphalt tiles. In 1988, Thomas Baldwin III purchased the Rookery with the intent on restoring the building to its former glory. The restoration project required the input from several architects, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The restoration project took four years to complete, and the Rookery was mostly restored back to its 1905 appearance. A twelfth-floor was also added to the building during the restoration project. The Rookery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1972, designated as a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975, and remains a cornerstone of Chicago’s elegant architectural history.</p>

Designed for the Central Safety Deposit Company by John Wellborn Root and Daniel Burnham, of the architectural firm Burnham & Root, and completed in 1888, the Rookery is one of Chicago’s most elegant and revered buildings. At the time of its completion, the Rookery was one of the tallest buildings in the world. Originally standing at eleven stories, the building is considered a precursor of the modern high-rise due to its innovative construction methods that combined steel, iron, and masonry. By 1905, Edward C. Waller, the building’s manager, sought to update and modernize the building’s interior and hired Frank Lloyd Wright. Considered one of Wright’s most luxurious interiors, he transformed the interior of the Rookery into a bright marbled and gold light court. While other alternations  occurred to the building since Wright’s interior update, the architectural integrity of the building remains today thanks to a major renovation during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Rookery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1972, and designated as a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975.

The Rookery Building

<p>In 1975, the Chicago Public Library began to vacate the outdated and deteriorating central branch and split the branch’s massive collection between numerous different locations. [3] [6] For more than a decade, no permanent home could be found or agreed upon for a new main branch. In 1987 the neighborhood on the south end of the Loop (Chicago’s central business district) was best described as seedy and rundown. In particular, the area near Van Buren St and State St was home to adult book stores, peep shows, and numerous other types of lower end businesses. [6]</p><p></p><p>Chicago Mayor Harold Washington devised a plan to solve both problems; a large parcel on the west side of State St around Van Buren St would serve as the new home of the Chicago Public Library main branch. [6] This library would eliminate many of the rundown properties and also serve as an anchor for new more upscale ones. Mayor Washington also proposed that the design for the library could be found via a design and build contest. The city council agreed to the plan and budgeted $144 million dollars in order to fund the new library. [4] [5] [6]</p><p></p><p>Mayor Washington died in November of 1987, but his plan for the library was already well underway. [6] In October of that year the contest had been formally announced; only six proposals were submitted prior to the December deadline. [1] Some critics complained that this was because the city had required that submittals not only include the actual design but also details on how it would fit the budget. [1] An 11 member citizen jury (each chosen by Mayor Washington) was assembled to judge the designs and pick a winner. [4] Of the six submittals, one by architect Thomas Beeby of the Hammond, Beeby, and Babka firm won out. [2] Beeby’s design was an enormous cube shaped building which would occupy an entire block of State St. The design was purposely imposing, meant to impress a sense of being “monumental”. [3] Huge owls adorned the top of the building, symbolizing the wisdom to be found within. [3]</p><p></p><p>After Beeby’s plan won out, an early complaint surfaced. Part of the parcel of land that the city had committed to the library was north of Van Buren on the west side of State St. Beeby’s plan did not make use of this space, and instead earmarked it as “future commercial development”. [2] An argument between community members/groups ensued, in which some argued for a permanent open space (fearing that future development might overshadow the new library) and others worried that open space would attract “street preachers, the untalented musicians, the homeless”. [2] Open space eventually won out, and the site is now occupied by Pritzker Park.</p><p></p><p>Another complaint about the HWLC has simply been that Beeby’s design is unattractive. The design has certainly provoked strong reactions on either side of the fence. In a 2013 Chicago Architecture article, author Wendy Bright pointed out that the library was included in the 2010 Travel &amp; Leisure magazine’s list of the World’s 15 Ugliest Buildings but had also been listed in the American Institute of Architects 2007 list of America’s Favorite Architecture. [3] Whether or not one believes that the HWLC design is an attractive one, it is clear that Harold Washington’s vision was a success. What was once a downtrodden area of downtown is now vibrant and modernized. Also, the HWLC has acted as the central/main library branch for nearly thirty years now, a monument to its own success.</p>

<p>The Harold Washington Library Center (HWLC) is the main branch of the Chicago Public Library system. In 1987, the branch and its location were strongly advocated for by then Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. Mayor Washington wished to solve two issues; revitalizing what had become a seedy district in downtown Chicago and making a main central library when none existed at the time. Mayor Washington authorized a design contest for the library, but died before the contest was over. The city subsequently picked a design by architect Thomas Beeby (of Hammond, Beeby, and Babka) as the contest winner and the new library, named for Mayor Washington, opened its doors on October 7th, 1991.</p>

Chi tour

Fort Dearborn Hotel

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information