<p>The Great Fire of 1871 ravaged the Chicago and leveled acres of buildings. In the aftermath of the disaster, the city began rebuilding almost immediately and at a furious pace. While there are still many of these post-fire buildings throughout Chicago, only a few remain in the Loop District. Completed in 1874, the Delaware Building is one of the post-fire Loop few buildings. The Bryant Block, as it was first known, was designed in the Italianate style by one of Chicago's earliest architectural firms, Wheelock and Thomas. Situated on the corner of Randolph and Dearborn Streets, the building possesses an English basement and the exterior is constructed of precast concrete which was unusual for the time. The building originally stood at five stories, but the 1889 remodel added two more stories and redesigned the bottom two stories in an effort to make the building more competitive. It was during this time that the building became known as the Real Estate Board Building. On July 18, 1974, the now-known Delaware Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Chicago Landmark on November 23, 1983.</p>

Completed in 1874, the Delaware Building remains one of the few remaining buildings inside Chicago's Loop District that date to the period immediately following the Great Fire. The Bryant Block, as it was first known, was designed in the Italianate style by one of Chicago's earliest architectural firms, Wheelock and Thomas. The building originally stood at five stories, but the 1889 remodel added two more stories and redesigned the bottom two stories in an effort to make the building more competitive. It was during this time that the building became known as the Real Estate Board Building. On July 18, 1974, the now-known Delaware Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Chicago Landmark on November 23, 1983.

Delaware Building

This walking tour includes over two dozen historically significant Chicago buildings and landmarks in the heart fo the Loop. The tour starts on La Salle Street and follows Dearborn, State, and Michigan Avenue.

<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

<div>Designed by D.H. Burnham and Company in 1911 (completed in 1914), the Continental and Commercial National Bank serves as an example of the popular Classical Revival Style in Chicago. Covering one city block and rising twenty-one stories, it was one of the largest private office buildings in the nation. The building also stood as one of the last buildings designed by the famed architect and urban planner, Daniel Burnham.</div><div><br></div><div>The Continental and Commercial National Bank Building was one of Daniel H. Burnham's last two designs before his death on June 1, 1912, at the age of 66. Burnham gained fame as an integral figure within the Chicago School of architecture, was the principal author of the 1909 Plan of Chicago and served as the chief architect in the design of the Chicago's 1893 World's Fair (Columbian Exposition).&nbsp; He also served on the bank's board of directors, which first led him to recuse himself from consideration for building the structure before he finally bid for, and accepted the job.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The bank proved to be the first privately owned building in downtown Chicago that occupied one city block, a distinction usually reserved for department stores and civic buildings up to that point.&nbsp; Bank president, George Reynolds, spent several years acquiring the land. As a result, it stood as the city's largest site to support a private office building, and when coupled with its height of twenty-one stories, stood as one of the largest office building in the United States.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Reynolds worked in Chicago as one of the city's leading bankers for more than twenty-five years during a time when Chicago developed as a major urban center and as an economic, industrial, and transportation hub. As such, the city required banks with considerable lending capacities to handle the demand for credit necessary for large businesses and new construction.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As President of Continental and Commercial Bank (founded two years after the passage of the 1863 National Bank Act), Reynolds oversaw tremendous growth of the bank, which became one of the country's largest banks (and banking networks) and helped introduce modern banking processes into the financial world. Moreover, the bank proved to be an integral factor in moving Chicago away from its dependence upon "Eastern capital."&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Reynolds and Burnham filed for the building permit only two weeks before Chicago imposed a 200-foot height limit on future skyscrapers, the building's height reached 260 feet. The massive, free-standing design complete with double-loaded corridors allowed for better lighting for all workers as there were no party walls for which workers had to contend, an architectural trend during the era intended to combat the urban ills (or urban degeneration) of the nineteenth century associated with a perceived lack of natural sunlight or fresh air.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The completion of the Continental and Commercial National Bank set in motion a trend that saw the construction of many more block-sized buildings throughout the "roaring" 1920s. Most of the buildings arose nearby the Continental and Commercial National Bank under the direction Burnham's successor firm, Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White (who also oversaw the completion of the Bank building, but made no alterations to Burnham's design).&nbsp;</div>

The twenty-one story building (1911-14) served as the home to the Continental and Commercial National Bank, which grew to become one of the most influential banks in the nation at the time when Chicago's banks proved integral to the nation's economy.  The massive bank also comprised one entire city block, an imposing stricture to match its economic influence. As well, the building is one of the last buildings designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham. 

Continental and Commercial National Bank

<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>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

<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>

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

<p>The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Chicago just after the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869.[1] The majority of early Chinese Chicagoans had ancestry in the Taishan area. [2] Previous generations had worked along the West Coast of the US as miners and eventually many Chinese Americans became urban business owners. Growing anti-Chinese sentiments in California prompted many of these workers to move east. In Chicago, they settled within the Loop, around South Clark Street, near Van Buren and Harrison Streets. This area was located near Chicago’s main train stations and was therefore a prime place to do business.[3] It became known as Chicago’s first Chinatown.</p><p>In 1878, three brothers, Moy Dong Chow, Hoy, and Lee, arrived in the city. The Moy brothers are often mistakenly cited as the first Chinese immigrants in Chicago, but they did certainly become some of the most influential and prominent members of the community. Encouraged by the relative lack of discrimination they faced in Chicago compared to out west (at least in those early years), a trickle of family and friends followed the Moy brothers to Chicago, and the Moy surname became synonymous with the Chinese community in the city. [2]</p><p>It is believed that the first Chinese-owned business in Chicago (and probably in all of Illinois) was a tea shop on West Madison, an early advertisement of which dates to 1874. [4] Many of the early Chinese settlers in Chicago opened laundry shops. It is estimated that by 1890, over 260 laundry shops were managed by Chinese Americans. [4] This is especially remarkable considering that only around 500-600 Chinese were counted in the 1890s census. In reality, the population may have been closer to 2000. [2] Other businesses included about a dozen grocery stores, several restaurants, drug stores, butcher shops, and barber shops, as well as a cigar factory. [2,3].</p><p>As the Chinese entrepreneurs became more visible in the Chicago area, they began to face discrimination, just as they had out west. The fact that Chinese businesses were the first thing for visitors arriving at nearby train stations to see gave an impression that many white European Chicagoans didn’t want. In the 1910s, building owners began to raise rent on their Chinese tenants in an effort to push them out. According to John Russick, curator of an exhibit about Chinatown at the Chicago History Museum:</p><p><em>“The Chinese were priced out of the Loop. […] While they generated income and were taxed like any other citizens, they didn’t have a lot of political clout because they didn’t integrate. So when their territory was desired by others, they didn’t have the ability to push back. […] There was a desire to move the Chinese out of downtown because they were seen as unclean or unsightly, and Chicago wanted to have a different image of itself.” [3]</em></p><p>They moved further south and a new Chinatown grew up around Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, which exists today (see other Clio entries). The Metropolitan Correctional Facility was constructed in the area in the 1970s, and many of the original buildings with Chinese influence were torn down. [5] A smattering of Chinese restaurant owners managed to hang on to life in Old Chinatown though; an interesting relic of Chicago’s first Chinatown is found in a sign for La Cocina Restaurant at Clark and Van Buren Streets. Although the restaurant serves Mexican fare, the sign outside has a Chinese pagoda, and the space was occupied by a Chinese restaurant called The Shanghai Restaurant less than a generation ago. [5] It is the only symbol of Old Chinatown left today.</p>

Chicago’s Chinatown is a major attraction in the city, but a lesser-known, earlier Chinatown was once located even closer to downtown and within the Loop. As early as the 1870s, Chinese Americans began arriving in Chicago from the West Coast of the US. They set up businesses such as tea houses, restaurants, dry goods stores, and laundry shops along South Clark Street, clustering near Van Buren Street. By the late 1910s, many of the city’s Chinese residents were pushed out of the neighborhood through racial discriminatory practices. Today, almost nothing remains of the Old Chinatown that was once occupied by the earliest Chinese Chicagoans. 

Old Chinatown

<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

<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

<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

Calder’s Flamingo is an abstract sculpture by Alexander Calder that was installed in its current location in 1974. Measuring more than 50 feet tall, it rests in the rectangular plaza boarded by three federal Bauhaus style buildings in the heart of Chicago.  This “sculpture’s vivid color and curvilinear form contrast dramatically with the angular steel and glass surroundings. However, Flamingo is constructed from similar materials and shares certain design principles with the architecture, thereby achieving successful integration within the plaza” (“Calder’s Flamingo”).  The sculpture’s monumental size and open design allows visitors to walk under and through the sculpture. A reduced scale model of the sculpture is housed in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Calder's Flamingo 

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 Inland Steel Company can trace its roots to the Chicago Steel Works, which produced farm equipment during the 1870s and 1880s. After that company had gone defunct, Rosell Buckingham acquired the equipment and sought investors or buyers in creating a new steel company. On October 30, 1893, the eight investors incorporated the Inland Steel Company, purchased the 40 rail cars of second-hand machinery from Roswell Buckingham and started operating out of Chicago Heights.&nbsp;<br></div><div><br></div><div>In 1901, the Inland Steel Company accepted an offer to build an open hearth steel plant on the southern tip of Lake Michigan in what is now known as Indiana Harbor. &nbsp;Monumental costs, nearing $1 million forced the company to sell some of it assets, but by 1914, Inland Steel was a full-production steel manufacturer operating on its new site. &nbsp;By 1917, Inland's annual production topped one million tons, and that number grew throughout the economically-booming 1920s. Even during the Great Depression, Inland Steel purchased several local steel companies; its power grew immensely.</div><div><br></div><div>Because Inland Steel enjoyed such financial strength and produced so much steel, Inland Steel was prepared to meet the demands during World War II. Under the federal government's Defense Plan Corporation, Inland built two additional blast furnaces and 146 coke ovens. The company broke production records by providing steel for bombs, shells, tanks, planes, and ships. As a result, the company received awards from the Army and Navy for "high achievement in the production &nbsp;of war material" and from the United States Maritime Commission for "outstanding achievement on vital wartime contracts."&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>After the war, Inland Steel shifted production back to consumer products so that by the mid-1950s, the company had emerged as the eighth largest steel manufacturer in the country, and the only major steel manufacturer located in Chicago. Thus, a need existed for developing a long-term plan, including building a modern headquarters, eventually leading to the construction of the Inland Steel Building.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill were chosen to design and head the project. The firm had previously designed buildings in the spirit of the International Style of Architecture, notably in New York. The Inland Steel Building was not the first postwar skyscraper built in Chicago, but it was the first truly modern construction, comprised mostly of a metal and glass exterior. In time, Chicago's skyline became dominated by massive glass and metal structures, such as the more-than-100-story buildings, the John Hancock and Sears Tower.&nbsp;<br><br>The American steel industry declined steadily during the 1960s and into the 1970s, but Inland Steel did not suffer as many other steel companies had done. By the late 1990s, Inland Steel was seen as a smart buy; it was purchased by Ispat International in 1998.&nbsp;<br><br>To look at the tower is to look at the once flourishing steel industry and its influence on America. The building also demonstrates modern construction, as well as a 20th-century need for large headquarters, something that has changed with the technological advances of the 21st century.&nbsp;</div>

Completed in 1958, the Inland Steel Building was the first modern glass skyscraper erected in downtown Chicago since 1934, during the interwar period. Built with dynamic stainless steel and glass curtain walls, Miesian-inspired exposed structural frame and unobstructed office floors, the Inland Steel Building demonstrated the significant gains made during the war and post-war years and represented a new boom in Chicago skyscraper construction. Meanwhile, the name points to the building's occupant, Inland Steel, reminding us of a time when the American steel industry flourished. 

Inland Steel Building

Russian-French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was born into near-poverty in Belarus which was part of the Russian Empire. In 1911, he fled the declining tsarist-controlled country and arrived in Paris just ahead of World War I. He later returned to Russia, lived in Germany during the Weimar Republic, Nazi-controlled France during World War II. While living in the United States following the war, he became one of the most influential modernists. Absorbing the ideas of artistic contemporaries, such as Picasso's Cubism and Matisse's Fauvism,&nbsp;Chagall also worked to infuse his art with elements derived from his Jewish heritage. The result was a powerful combination cultural and artistic contemplation.&nbsp;<br><br>In the mosaic, Chagall represented six different vignettes inspired by Chicago. but many of the themes are universal in nature. Imagery of figures and animals combined with an immense array of hundreds of lush colors creates an engaging and timeless&nbsp;display.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>A fantastic compliment to&nbsp;Chagall's&nbsp;<i>Four Season</i> mosaic is a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago - in addition to several paintings by the artist, the museum also houses Chagall's famed&nbsp;<i>America Windows</i>, a marvelous stained glass cycle executed in 1977 in commemoration of the United States' bicentennial.&nbsp;

Situated in front of the Chase Tower Plaza, Marc Chagall's "Four Seasons" mosaic is one of the most dazzling landmarks in Chicago's bustling Loop district. Stretching 70 feet in length and wrapping around a rectangular support, Chagall's mosaic was dedicated in 1974, a gift to the city from banking giant Frederick H. Prince. Twenty years after its dedication, the mosaic underwent extensive restoration, including the addition of a protective canopy to shield the installation from the elements.  

Marc Chagall's "Four Seasons" Mosaic

<div>Joan Miró i Ferra, more commonly known simply as Joan Miró, was a painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barelona. He believed that conventional painting methods reflected and supported the rich and powerful of society. He sought to rebel against these traditional methods, going so far as to declare an "assassination of painting."<br></div><div><br>Miró attended art school and business school. However, after suffering a nervous breakdown he decided to abandon his business ambitions and focus solely on his art. His early work was similar to the work produced by Fauves and Cubists in Barcelona at the time. Thus, scholars have deemed this period his Catalan Fauvist period. He had a solo exhibition in Barcelona during 1918 and moved to Paris a few years later. While in Paris, he finished a painting called The Farm. Ernest Hemingway later purchased the piece and said of it, "It has in it all that you feel about Spain when you are there and all that you feel when you are away and cannot go there. No one else has been able to paint these two very opposing things." Miró became part of the Surrealists in 1924. It was during this time that he began experimenting with collage.<br></div>

Located in the Loop district of Chicago, this sculpture was designed by Joan Miró in 1979 and originally named The Sun, the Moon, and One Star. The Brunswick Corporation originally commissioned a sculpture from Miró in 1969. However, they decided not to go forward with the project due to the cost. The first female Mayor of Chicago, Jane Byrne, agreed to fund 50% of the project in 1979. Miró decided to donate his design to the city, thus making the cost more manageable. A number of organizations and individuals covered the other fifty percent. The sculpture was unveiled in 1981.

Miró's Chicago

<div>The Daley Center an Plaza is named after longtime Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. The main building of the Daley Center was designed by Jacques Brownson of CF Murphy Associates. It was completed in 1965 and is an example of the international architectural style. The International Style began in the 1920s and 1930s. Characteristics of the style include the use of steel and glass in construction, large open interior spaces, and the use of cantilever construction. The Daley Center is home to over 120 court and hearing rooms, the Cook County Law Library, the Clerk of the Circuit Court offices, and certain divisions of the Sheriff's Department.&nbsp;<br></div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Adjacent to the center, Daley Plaza, is home to an untitled statue by Pablo Picasso measuring 50 feet in height. Other features of the plaza include a fountain, memorials for the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Interestingly, a public protester, named Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi, frequents the northwest corner of the plaza and has become a minor celebrity in the area. Little is known about him beyond his appearance and the cryptic signs he holds. He was first seen in 2006 holding a sign that read, "FBI Agent Chris Saviano, stop raping my wife!" He has also held signs speaking against former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley (son of Richard J. Daley), former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and former President George W. Bush. It is also known that he was involved in an extensive and tense divorce. He has also been seen protesting in Washington DC and in New York City's Times Square.&nbsp;<br><br></div>

Located in the historic Loop of Downtown Chicago, the Daley Civic Center opened in 1966 and hosts various family friendly events. During the summer, the building's plaza regularly hosts various farmer's markets and ethnic festivals. It also hosts the city's famous Christmas tree every year.


Daley Civic Center

<p>The Oriental Theatre opened on May 8, 1926. It could originally seat 3,238 patrons. [1] In its first years, patrons came to watch silent films, which were accompanied by an ornately decorated Wurlizter organ. It also hosted vaudeville performances, and Paul Ash, known as “The Rajah of Jazz”, worked for a time as the house band manager. Although movies eventually became the main focus of the theatre, it continued to host live shows and musical performances starring the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, and Duke Ellington.</p><p>The Oriental Theatre was owned by Balaban and Katz, a successful theatre management company that operated dozens of Chicago’s most popular theatres around the greater metropolitan area. Balaban and Katz frequently hired Rapp and Rapp architectural firm to design their theatres, which were known for their opulent interiors. The Oriental Theatre, with its East Asian theme, was exceptionally lavish. The theatre has been described as “a virtual museum of Asian art”, where “[t]urbaned ushers led patrons from the lobby, with polychrome figures and large mosaics of an Indian prince and princess, through an inner foyer with elephant-throne chairs and multicolored glazed Buddhas, to the auditorium's ‘hasheesh-dream décor.’" [2]</p><p>The Oriental Theatre would be a landmark in Chicago’s Theatre District for decades. However, attendance began to decline in the 1960s. For a brief time in the 1970s, the theatre hosted live musical performances by Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Little Richard, as well as kung-fu movies. [1] The theatre was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Immediately, a campaign in opposition to its nomination was launched because a redevelopment project had proposed razing the theatre and constructing an indoor shopping mall in its place. Preservation efforts were ultimately successful in stopping the redevelopment project, and the theatre was added to the register in September 1978. [3] Despite the fact that the building was saved from being torn down, there were no funds to renovate it. The theatre closed in 1981, and the building remained largely vacant for another 15 years.</p><p>In the mid-1990s, it was announced that the theatre would finally undergo restoration. It reopened on October 18, 1998 as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. [1] Live musical productions shown at the theatre, such as <em>Ragtime</em>, <em>Wicked</em>, and <em>Billy Elliott,</em> were wildly popular. In 2000, Broadway in Chicago was launched to host touring productions at theatres around Chicago, including at the Ford Center. The founder of Broadway in Chicago, James M. Nederlander, would win 10 Tony nominations in his lifetime for his company’s productions. In February 2019, the theatre was renamed James M. Nederlander Theatre in his honor. [4]</p>

The James M. Nederlander Theatre originally opened as the Oriental Theatre in 1926. Owned by Balaban and Katz, the theatre was one of Chicago’s grand movie palaces of the Roaring ‘20s. It was designed by Rapp and Rapp, an architectural firm known for outlandish, almost gaudy designs; the interior was inspired by an East Asian theme, with mosaics, exotic animals, and golden figures. The Oriental Theatre showed movies and hosted live performances until it closed in 1981. The building remained largely vacant for several years, finally undergoing an extensive renovation project in the mid-1990s. The theatre reopened in 1998 as the Ford Center for Performing Arts. In 2019, it was renamed the James M. Nederlander Theatre. 




James M. Nederlander Theatre

<p><strong>The “Absolutely Fireproof” Theater</strong></p><p>The Iroquois Theatre opened in Chicago’s Theater District on November 27, 1903. The theater was designed in an opulent Renaissance style. Construction on the building was rushed so that theater could be open in time for the profitable holiday season. Nevertheless, Chicago’s building commissioner and fire inspector dubbed the theater “fireproof beyond all doubt.” [1] However, a less-publicized report from the editor of <em>Fireproof Magazine</em> was scathing, pointing out that the building lacked an intake draft shaft, had too much exposed wood trim, and had inadequate exits. In addition, an inspection by the captain of Engine Company 13 warned about the theater’s lack of fire extinguishing equipment and the fact that there was no fire alarm or sprinkler system, but the captain was overruled by his superiors. It is suspected that authorities may have been paid off to turn a blind eye to the theater’s code violations; such corruption was common in the city at the time. </p><p><strong>The Fire</strong></p><p>The matinee performance of <em>Mr. Bluebeard</em> began at the theater in the afternoon of Wednesday, December 30, 1903. The show was a musical comedy based on a children’s fairytale, attended mostly by women and children who were on their holiday break. Eddie Foy was the show’s lead and drew huge crowds to the show as a wildly popular comedian and native of Chicago. The theater’s seating capacity was about 1600, but attendance was estimated to be closer to 1800, with standing ticket holders taking up space in the aisles. In addition, there were almost 400 actors and stagehands working backstage.</p><p>In the second act of the performance, around 3:15pm, a spark from a faulty stage light set fire to some nearby drapery. Staff attempted to use an extinguisher on it and to also lower a flame-retardant asbestos curtain, neither of which worked. The fire quickly spread through the painted backdrops, and performers ran off the stage to escape it, as the audience became aware of what was happening. Eddie Foy came on stage and attempted to calm the audience and direct them to the exits. However, many of the exit doors were blocked by curtains. In addition, the doors and several accordion-style gates in the balcony had been locked to deter people from sneaking to more desirable seats without paying. </p><p>Backstage staff fled out the door behind the stage. The sudden backdraft fanned the flames, and a fireball launched into the audience, instantly killing dozens. Some people found themselves trapped at an upper-level fire escape that had no ladder to safety. Wooden planks were laid down as a makeshift bridge to the building across the alley, but some who attempted to cross it fell to their deaths. Bodies began to pile up inside, some crushed in a stampede at the blocked exits. It has been estimated that most of the 603 people that died in the fire were lost within fifteen minutes of it starting, before firefighters even arrived. A diner next door to the theater became a makeshift morgue, and as relatives arrived to search for their loved ones, the city fell into a state of shock and grief.</p><p><strong>Aftermath and Changes</strong></p><p>Investigations into the fire went on for years afterwards. Although city officials, the owner, and even the architect were all summoned to court proceedings, none of them would be held liable in the end. As Francine Uenuma of <em>Smithsonian Magazine</em> has pointed out: “The myriad problems that day turned into an algebra of blame—so many had failed to carry out their duties that no one source could be concretely assigned sole responsibility. […] In the end, a batch of payouts to families from the construction company that had built the theater was the only concrete liability.” [3]</p><p>As frustrating as the outcome of the investigations were, the tragedy is credited with a renewed vigilance in building code safety and awareness of fire hazards. In the weeks after the fire, theaters across Chicago and across the nation were shut down in order to check them for fire code compliance. Chicago city officials passed new building ordinances within a matter of weeks. Some of the new standards included lighted aisles, marked exits, effective fire extinguishers, fire alarm and sprinkler systems, occupancy limitations, and installation of rooftop flues. The Iroquois Theater fire is also cited as the inspiration for “panic bars” on doors, which keep the doors locked on the outside but allow people inside to quickly exit using easy bar release handles.</p><p>A memorial plaque to victims of the Iroquois Theatre fire is located in Chicago’s City Hall near its LaSalle Street entrance. A memorial sculpture was erected in Montrose Cemetery, where many of the victims are buried. The Iroquois Theatere reopened under new ownership less than a year after the fire as the Colonial Theatere. It was torn down in 1926 and replaced by the Oriental Theatre, now Nederlander Theatre.</p>

The Iroquois Theatre opened at this location on November 27, 1903. Less than one month later, the theater was the site of the most fatal single-building fire in United States history. During a matinee performance on December 30, 1903, a spark from a stage light started a fire that spread quickly throughout the structure. In the resulting inferno, over 600 people perished, mostly women and children who had been enjoying a holiday break. The staggering loss of life was largely blamed on fire code violations such as locked exits, hidden exit signs, and no fire alarm or sprinkler system. The Iroquois Theatre fire was a nation-wide wake-up call to the importance of fire safety. The Iroquois Theatre fire resulted in new regulations and inventions such as “panic bar” doors that exist today to prevent a similar tragedy. The Iroquois Theatre was replaced by the Oriental Theatre in 1926 which now operates as the Nederlander Theater. 

Iroquois Theatre Fire (1903)

<div>The Page Brothers Building (1872), which shares a southern wall with its famous State Street Chicago Theater neighbor, is the last remaining cast-iron front building in Chicago. It's one of the city's first buildings to arise after the Great Chicago Fire (1871). However, it's also one of the last to face Lake Street instead of State Street, and it emerged just prior to Chicago's emergence as a center for skyscraper construction and innovation -- the Chicago School of Architecture arrived after Page Brothers opened its doors. As such, it's a monument to Chicago's pre-skyscraper existence.<br><br>Though iron enjoys a long history, its inclusion as a structural element in construction did not emerge until the late eighteenth century, first as part of bridge engineering and then as part of beams in commercial development. By the middle of the nineteenth century, architects began to combine iron and glass, demonstrated by the Page Brothers Building.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Page Brothers Building is an essential example of an architectural transformation that mainly took place in Chicago before spreading to other parts of the nation, and then the world. The first buildings comprised of cast-iron fronts emerged in Chicago during the late 1840s with a dozen erected by 1857, mainly along Lake Street. These iron fronts were usually five stories tall and enjoyed a cast-iron front wall and masonry back and side walls, with large glass windows fitting between iron beams on the first floor, perfect for retailers.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Though State Street grew famous in Chicago later, its position concerning the Chicago river initially made it unappealing; thus the street did not enjoy prominence. However, in 1867, Potter Palmer bought a three- quarter plot of land along State Street and began to promote the street and convince the city to widen the road. He succeeded and afterward built a hotel on State Street, and then he convinced Field, Leiter, and Company to leave Lake Street and focus on State Street by creating a new store there.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Great Fire proved to be a help for State Street, too, as it allowed for investors to re-think where to put their money when financing new construction. Within a few years after the fire, State Street had won the competition by attracting mercantile enterprises away from Lake Street and to the now famous State Street; most of the first buildings enjoyed cast-iron facades.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>When the Page was built, the move away from Lake to State was, at best, in its infancy.&nbsp; Hence, The Page Brothers Building, located on the corner of State and Lake, exemplifies the transition as its cast-iron facade was located on Lake Street while its brick facade pointed towards State Street.&nbsp; Page was first building after the fire, but within decades State Street was a booming economic center point for Chicago supporting hotels, stores, theaters and more.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Page Brothers has been remodeled, expanded, and altered numerous times but the cast-iron facade&nbsp;remains largely untouched. As well, Chicago's Elevated Train (the "EL"), runs along Lake Street, noting that Lake Street is more about function than asthetics in today's Chicago. Indeed, after Page Brothers opened its doors, Chicago School architects moved towards skeletal construction and took advantage of numerous other technologies that allowed for buildings to rise to new heights - the skyscraper was born, and the Chicago school of Architecture became famous. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>To view the Page Brothers is to see the <i>Old Chicago,</i> both because its primary focus pointed towards Lake Street rather than the now-famous State Street and because it remained at five stories and relied on cast iron as its front-facing wall. Just as Page Brothers turned the corner at Lake and State, it's the building that was constructed as Chicago was turning the corner towards architectural distinction.<br><br>The Page Brothers Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1975 and designated a Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983.</div>

The Page Brothers Building in Chicago represents a transition for Chicago, both in its local history and architectural history. Erected in 1872 as the first commercial construction after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the building features a cast-iron facade facing Lake Street and stands as the oldest remaining structure of its kind in the city. Not long afterwards, State Street supplanted Lake Street - even growing to become one of Chicago's most noteworthy locations. As well, the Chicago School of Architecture grew famous for no-longer building small five-story cast-iron buildings, but instead pushed the envelope and usher in the age of the skyscraper. The Page Brothers Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1975 and designated a Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983.

Page Brothers Building

<p>The Chicago-based Balaban and Katz Movie Palace empire began in 1908 when the Balaban brothers Barney and A.J. rented the 100-seat Kedzie Nickelodeon on Kedzie Avenue. Understanding the opportunity to expand their theatre business, in 1916 the Balaban brothers joined with friends Sam and Morris Katz to form the Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation. Together, the four men envisioned a “motion picture palace” empire, combining luxury with the most current entertainment trend. Balaban and Katz commissioned the architects Rapp and Rapp to construct the first of what would become known as a movie palace, setting an entertainment trend for the rest of America.</p><p>Inspired by the royal architecture of Versailles, Rapp and Rapp constructed the Chicago Theatre in a Neo-Baroque French Revival style. Originally known as the Balaban and Katz Theatre, the theatre is seven-stories tall, extends half a city block, and seats 3,600 guests. Every surface of the theatre’s interior was carefully designed and crafted to create a sense of luxury: the lobby was based on the royal chapel of Versailles, the grand staircase was inspired by the Paris Opera, Louis XIV furniture and motifs were placed throughout the building, crystal chandeliers, and classical murals adorn the stage and ceilings. The theatre’s off-white white terra cotta exterior features a miniature French Arc de Triomphe and contains Balaban and Katz’s logo of two horses holding ribbons of film in their mouths set in Tiffany stained glass. The neon marquees on the theatre’s façade contrast sharply with the classical architecture, which works to draw more attention to the classical façade. Both vertical and horizontal Chicago marquee signs are attractions in and of themselves now, as they serve as the unofficial emblem of the city. The Rapp brothers became so successful after the Chicago Theatre that they went on to become the primary architects for the entire Paramount/Publix theatre chain.&nbsp;</p><p>Completed in 1921, the “Wonder Theatre of the World” set the standard for modern theatres. In addition to showing motion pictures, the theatre also hosted live entertainment. Some of the era’s best musicians came through the theatre: John Phillip Sousa, Duke Ellington, Jack Benny, and Benny Goodman. For days when the theatre offered motion picture shows, a team of 125 ushers welcomed guests. The prices of shows varied throughout the day: 25 cents until 1 p.m., 35 cents during the afternoon, and 50 cents after 6 p.m.&nbsp;</p><p>The Chicago Theatre has only experienced only three remodels during its lifetime. The first renovation occurred in 1933 in preparation for the World’s Fair with new interior décor and murals. The second renovation took place in the 1950s in order to modernize the venue. The theatre’s live performances were terminated during this time. The third and most significant renovation came about in 1986, one year after the theatre closed its doors. The Chicago Theatre Restoration Associates purchased the building in 1985 with the intent on preserving the landmark. Through a partnership with the architectural firm Daniel P. Coffey &amp; Associates, Ltd and interior design consultants A. T. Heinsbergen &amp; Co., the theatre was given a new life after a nine-month multi-million-dollar project. The Chicago Theatre officially reopened on September 10, 1986 with a rememberable performance by Frank Sinatra.</p>Once again, the Chicago Theatre today is one of the city’s premier live entertainment venues, hosting such acts as Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, David Letterman, Dolly Parton, Prince, and Kelly Clarkson. The Chicago Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1979 and designated a Chicago Landmark on January 28,&nbsp;1983.

The Chicago Theatre is one of the city’s most iconic landmarks and provides the “unofficial” emblem of the city. Designed by Rapp and Rapp in their famous Neo-Baroque French Revival style, the theatre served as the flagship for the Balaban and Katz theatre group. The famous marquee is one of the most famous and recognized in the world. Meticulously designed with every emphasis placed on luxury, for the next 40 years, the Chicago Theatre served as the premier entertainment venue for the city. As with most historic theatres, the rise of duplex theatres during the 1970s and 1980s resulted in the decline of the Chicago Theatre. In the mid-80s, the Chicago Theatre Restoration Associates purchased and commenced a multi-million dollar renovation on the building, reopening the venue on September 10, 1986. The Chicago Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1979 and designated as a Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983.

Chicago Theatre

<p>Marshall Field &amp; Company began as a partnership from Marshall Field, Milton Palmer, and Levi Leiter in 1865. Field had come to Chicago from Massachusetts about ten years earlier and had worked as an apprentice to merchant Potter Palmer. Field and his partners first ran a dry goods store they purchased from Potter Palmer at 112-116 Lake Street, as well as a retail and wholesale business. In 1868, their operations moved to a building at the corner of State and Washington Streets. Field eventually bought out his partners and went into retail exclusively. The buildings that occupied the current site were destroyed by fire in 1871 and 1877, and he briefly moved operations to various other locations around the city in the meantime. However, in 1879, Field purchased the Singer building on the site, and moved his company there permanently. [1]</p><p>In 1892, an annex, designed in an Italian Renaissance style, was added to the State Street store. [1] In 1902, a twelve-story building was constructed to the north, extending to Randolph Street. In 1905, Field made plans to tear down the old Singer building and construct a new emporium that would take up the entire block surrounded by State, Washington, Wabash, and Randolph Streets. This massive construction opened to the public in great fanfare on September 30, 1907. Designed by the renowned architectural firm of Daniel Burnham, the building was valued at $8 million and contained almost 35 acres of floor space. [1]</p><p>Marshall Field &amp; Company became the largest importer in the US, as well as the largest distributer, with sales in the tens of millions at the time of Field’s death in 1906. The success of Marshall Field’s business can be attributed to his focus on impeccable customer service, especially when it came to valuable female customers. Fields is credited with coining the phrase, “Give the lady what she wants.” [1,4] Everything about the store was designed to make shopping as pleasant and as convenient as possible. Marshall Field &amp; Company became one of the first retail stores to: offer one price over haggling, have merchandise out and available for browsing rather than behind a counter, employ women, offer bridal registries, and have money-back guarantees. [3,4]</p><p>A large bronze clock was installed outside of the store at the corner of Washington Street in 1897. It projected out over the sidewalk and served as a perfect meeting place for shoppers. It was so popular that, in 1902, another was installed at the corner of State and Randolph. [2] The “Great Clocks” are signature pieces of the Marshall Field’s Company Store. Inside, the building has a dome ceiling covered in 1.6 million pieces of Tiffany glass. The largest Tiffany mosaic in existence, it took artists over 18 months to assemble. [2] The store’s restaurant, the Walnut Room, was the first restaurant located in a department store when it opened in 1907. It is also the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the US, famous for its chicken pot pie, which was a recipe from an early staff member. [2]</p><p>Marshall Field’s also became famous for its Christmas decorations and display windows. Beginning with a small decorated tree in the Walnut Room for the holiday season in 1907, the restaurant could claim the world’s largest indoor Christmas tree a few decades later. [5] The first window displays began in the 1910s, and exploded in the 1940s, with narrative holiday storylines. People from all over the Midwest came to shop and view the holiday stories told through the elaborate displays. [5]</p><p>In 2005, Marshall Field &amp; Company was purchased by Macy’s, Inc. The building itself was rebranded as Macy’s in 2006, sparking outrage among some Chicagoans. Protestors picketed outside and called for a boycott of the department store until the name was changed back. [3,5] In 2018, the top floors of the building were sold. The space had been used for years as storage and offices by Marshall Field’s. A “treasure trove” of boxes holding historic merchandise, mannequins, window display material, and other decorations. Many pieces were put on display in an exhibit within the store, while others have been donated to the Chicago History Museum. [6]</p>

The Marshall Field & Company Store first occupied this site in 1868. The current building was constructed in stages between 1892 and 1907. It has been a prominent feature of Chicago’s State Street ever since, with its Tiffany mosaic ceiling, the Walnut Room restaurant (the oldest in the US), and iconic clocks protruding over the sidewalk. The success of Marshall Field’s can be attributed to its progressive approach to customer service. It was the first major store to offer in-store dining, encourage merchandise browsing, employ women, and offer money-back guarantees. In 2006, the building was rebranded as Macy’s to public outrage, which perhaps demonstrates the strong nostalgia and sense of ownership that native Chicagoans feel about this beautiful historic downtown landmark. 

Marshall Field & Company Store

<div>In the late 1880s, real estate investor and elevator entrepreneur William Hale hired the famed Burnham &amp; Root architectural firm (Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root) to build a 14-story to building at the corner of Washington and State. However, &nbsp;a building which had survived the Great Fire already existed on the lot, and only the lower floor's lease would expire soon. The tenants on the upper floors refused to leave, waiting three more years for their end of their leases. Thus, the contractor used jack screws to hold up floors two through four while construction began on the lower floor. Eventually, by 1894, the residents moved and construction of the 14-story&nbsp;skyscraper took place (one that proved highly influential). The building&nbsp;was finished in 1895.</div><div><br></div><div>The Reliance is a perfect example of the emerging &nbsp;"Chicago School" or style, which emerged during Chicago's building boom in the wake of the Great Fire. The first wave of that style reached its peak in the late 1890s when the Reliance was constructed. The Reliance celebrates the use of metal framing, hidden only subtly by the terra cotta exterior. &nbsp;Meanwhile, the bays between the framework are filled with rectangular glass known as "Chicago Glass," Indeed, the walls consist of two-thirds glass.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Sadly, Root died in 1891 well before the building was finished. Burnham hired Charles B. Atwood to complete the project (and his name now adorns the cafe on the lowest floor). &nbsp;Together, the building enjoyed the fruits of modern innovation. For instance, the Reliance Building offered full electric and phone service in each office. Over time, numerous physicians and dentists leased offices in the Reliance (including Al Capone's dentist). On the other hand, the idea of trying to combat stains created by the thick coal-induced smoke with a smooth terra cotta that would easily wash in the rain -- exist as "self-cleaning," proved unsuccessful.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Great Depression took its toll on the building, as maintaining full occupancy rarely materialized. &nbsp;The building fell into disrepair until the 1990s when the city purchased the building and funded its restoration; the windows and terra cotta enjoyed full repair. The renovation made the building worthy of sale and, as such, a private developer purchased it and subsequently renovated the interior. In time, it became the Hotel Burnham, and now, today, it is part of the hotel chain known as The Alise -- a luxurious hotel and boutique.&nbsp;</div>

The Reliance building was erected as one of the world's first steel-frame skyscrapers in 1895. Designed by the famous Burnham and Root architectural firm, the building was built in two stages because the tenants living on the top floors of the existing building at this location refused to leave until their lease expired. In response, the engineers used jack screws which held up the top floors while construction began on the lower floors. Construction began in 1891 and the building stood fourteen stories when it was completed. Until the Great Depression, doctors and other medical professionals leased offices in the building; afterwards, the Reliance Building began to fall into disrepair until the mid-1990s when a major renovation occurred. Today, the Reliance Building serves as a boutique hotel, the Alise Chicago

Reliance Building

To look at the Jewelers Building, is to gaze into the intersection of several Chicago histories. During the 1880s, when advancements in engineering and architecture, notably in the wake of the city's great 1871 fire, skyscraper architecture boomed -- the development of the famous Chicago School of Architecture arose. The Jewelers Building was designed by Louis Sullivan and&nbsp;Dankmar Adler, both of whom enjoy their own distinct and historical stories, notably Sullivan. Meanwhile, the building itself represents the booming jewelers district, hence the need for the building.&nbsp;<br><br><h3>The Jewelers District</h3><p>Located in the heart of Chicago's Loop, there are numerous buildings deemed significant in&nbsp;the evolution of Chicago commercial architecture and early twentieth-century skyscrapers, The district's history provides a lens into Chicago's broader economic history as it grew to become the heart of the city's center for&nbsp;jewelry manufacturing and trade, silver manufacturing, and watch manufacturing and repair.&nbsp;<br><br></p><h3>Louis Sullivan&nbsp;</h3>An integral figure in the Chicago School of Architecture, his&nbsp;partnership with Dankmar Adler began in 1879, and their first important project was the Central Music Hall in Chicago. The success of the Music Hall and buildings such as the Jewelers Building helped provide substantial success for the two&nbsp;partners.&nbsp;At the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 (a.k.a. World's Columbian Exposition), Sullivan's Transportation Building, with its shimmering gold-leafed entrance, not only won awards, but clearly showed his disapproval of the famed "White City," built by rival (and no friend) &nbsp;Daniel Burnham.&nbsp;<br><br>Sullivan was also a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright and influenced the eventual development of the Prairie School of architecture. However, The national depression of the 1890s profoundly affected Adler and Sullivan's firm, resulting in the end of their partnership by 1895. Trend in architecture, notably the dominance of the Beaux-Arts architectural style for which Burnham helped create, led to the end of Sullivan's significant influence, but he continued to design buildings and he wrote&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>The Autobiography of an Idea</i> before his death in 1924.<br><br><br><div><br><br></div><div><br></div>

Constructed between 1881-1882, the Jewelers Building at 15-17 S. Wabash Ave. remains the only surviving example of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's early work in Chicago's Loop District. Martin Ryerson, Chicago businessman and real estate investor, commissioned Adler & Sullivan to construct this building, which he rented to the Samuel A. Maxwell Company. Sullivan, often regarded as the "father of the skyscraper," provided his unique stylized floral, ornamental style to the building. During the early-20th-century, the building became known as the Little Jewelers Building, likely to differentiate between the larger Jewelers Building constructed on Wacker Street. The Little Jewelers Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1974 and designated a Chicago Landmark on December 18, 1981.

Little Jewelers Building

<p>The Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings are three neighboring post-Great Fire buildings situated on the east side of Chicago's Loop District. The three buildings were constructed between 1875 and 1877 and designed in the Italianate style which gained popularity after the Civil War. Largely considered one unit, as the majority of the post-fire buildings are now, the Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings were designated a Chicago Landmark in 1996 since the buildings are considered one of the best representations of Chicago’s transitional period between the Great Fire and the skyscraper boom at the end of the century.</p><p>Frederick Haskell and John Barker, railroad car manufacturers, owned the buildings at 18-20 and 22-24 S. Wabash and commissioned the architectural firm of Wheelock &amp; Thomas to erect the two four-story mercantile loft buildings. On the southern end of the Haskell-Barker Buildings is the Atwater Building. Built in 1877 by John Mills Van Osdel, Chicago’s first registered architect, for John P. Atwater, this five-story building housed the A. G. Spalding &amp; Bros. sporting goods store. These three buildings are examples of the typical high-style of mercantile lofts of the late 19th-century with heavy-detailed masonry upper stories and a steel-frame skeleton of the lower stories.</p><p>Then in 1896, the Schlesinger &amp; Mayer department store purchased the Haskell and Barker buildings in anticipation of the new elevated train line – the L – on Wabash Street. Being already established on that city block, Schlesinger &amp; Mayer sought to provide the riders of the new L line with direct access to the store. Famed Chicago architect Louis Sullivan was then commissioned to redesign the facades of the two buildings. Sullivan originally proposed an entirely new façade for the storefronts and a five-story addition; however, only the first two stories of the Haskell Building received a remodel.</p><p>By 1927, all three buildings belonged to the Carson Pirie Scott Department Store and the facades were covered with sheet metal. During the restoration of these three buildings in 2008, the façade work of Louis Sullivan was rediscovered. The Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings were designated a Chicago Landmark in 1996 since the buildings are considered one of the best representations of Chicago’s transitional period between the Great Fire and the skyscraper boom at the end of the century.</p>

The Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings are three neighboring post-Great Fire buildings situated on the east side of Chicago's Loop District. The three buildings were constructed between 1875 and 1877 and designed in the Italianate style, which gained popularity after the Civil War. Frederick Haskell and John Barker, railroad car manufacturers, owned the buildings at 18-20 and 22-24 S. Wabash and commissioned the architectural firm of Wheelock & Thomas to erect the two four-story mercantile loft buildings. On the southern end of the Haskell-Barker Buildings is the Atwater Building. Built in 1877 by John Mills Van Osdel, Chicago’s first registered architect, for John P. Atwater, this five-story building housed the A. G. Spalding & Bros. sporting goods store. Largely considered one unit, as the majority of the post-fire buildings are now, the Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings were designated a Chicago Landmark in 1996 since the buildings are considered one of the best representations of Chicago’s transitional period between the Great Fire and the skyscraper boom at the end of the century.

Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings

<p>Chicago during the height of the Gilded Age was an extravagantly splendid city, full of glamorous fashion and architecture. When the city hosted the World’s Fair in 1893, many new buildings appeared in anticipation of the event. One of the most unique to be constructed during the early 1890s was the Chicago Athletic Association. While the majority of these buildings were designed in the Chicago School or Beaux Arts style, Henry Ives Cobb designed the 11-story CAA in what is known as a Venetian Gothic style. Based on the palace of the Doge in Venice, Cobb constructed the façade of this building with crisscrossing arches and columns. When completed in 1893, the Chicago Athletic Association was the premier men’s club in the city, seeing such guests as Marshall Field, William Wrigley, Jr., AG Spaulding, and Cyrus McCormick.&nbsp;</p><p>A few alterations occurred to the Chicago Athletic Association during the early 20th-Century: in 1906, a 12-story annex was added which included a second ballroom and lodging for women, and then in 1926 the height of the building was increased to 19-stories for additional guest lodging. The CAA served as a recreation space for Chicago’s upper class for over a century, eventually closing in 2007 due to low membership. Then in 2012, the building was purchased for $13 million by AJ Capital Partners, Agman Partners, and Geolo Capital. The partners hired Hartshorne Plunkard Architects and interior architects Roman + Williams to meticulously restore and modernize the CAA into a 241-room luxury hotel. The newly renovated and aptly named Chicago Athletic Association Hotel opened in 2014. The majority of the CAA’s original 1893 architectural features were preserved, such as the ornate ironwork, tiled floors, and stained glass. The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is currently one of the premier adaptive reuse projects in the city of Chicago.</p>

The Chicago Athletic Association (CAA) opened in 1893 in congruence with the World’s Fair being held in Chicago. Designed by Henry Ives Cobb to feature crisscrossing arches that mimic the extravagant palace of the Doge in Venice, the 11-storied building is often described as Venetian Gothic. The Chicago Athletic Association catered to the city’s most elite men, such as Marshall Field, William Wrigley, Jr., AG Spaulding, and Cyrus McCormick. The CAA closed its doors in 2007 after 114 years in operation. Then in 2012, the building was purchased for $13 million by AJ Capital Partners, Agman Partners, and Geolo Capital. The partners hired Hartshorne Plunkard Architects and interior architects Roman + Williams to meticulously restore and modernize the CAA into a 241-room luxury hotel. The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel is currently one of the premier adaptive reuse projects in the city of Chicago.

Chicago Athletic Association

<div>An Overview of the Collections<br><br>The museum’s collections include the Dr. Charles E. Metz collection of WWII aircrafts, the Hershel “Woody” Williams collection, the Francis P. Kane collection, the Robert O Harder collection, the Lt. Col. Robert C. Peithman, USMCR collection, the William P. Levine collection, the Norman Kuperman Military History collection, the Dr. James Wengert Military Medical collection, the Holabird Family collection, the Parish Collection on Soviet history, the Dr. Charles C. Moskos collection, the Lt. Sollie Kaplan collection, the Prior Family Archives, and the Jack V. Sewall collection. &nbsp;<br><br>History of some of the Named Collections<br><br></div><div>The Hershel "Woody" Williams collection was donated by WWII Veteran Hershel "Woody" Williams, who had fought&nbsp;in the Battle of Guadalcanal and the famous battle in&nbsp;Iwo Jima in the Marine Corps. He has donated his metal of honor to the museum as well as a tapestry that is dedicated to the 62 recipients of the medal of honor from West Virginia, the state that Williams was born and raised.<br><br>The&nbsp;Dr. James Wengert collection is the collection of the doctor's books and&nbsp;personal papers from his time as a&nbsp;&nbsp;U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon in the Vietnam war, where he served&nbsp;on the aircraft carrier USS&nbsp;Randolph<span>. His collection discusses many different medical renovations over many vast times of war.&nbsp;<br></span><br>Parrish Collection on Soviet Union is a book collection on the the Soviet Union Military aspects.&nbsp;<span>Michael Parrish, an Associate Professor at Indiana University, donated the collection to the museum.<br></span><br>General Artifacts&nbsp;<br><br></div><div>The library features over 3,000 rare books and a few exhibits, including an American Revolutionary War Soldier’s Notebook, Remember the Maine: 45 Star Flag, and the Benjamin O Davis Glass Photographic Plate. &nbsp;The museum features lectures, movie screenings, and a book club. &nbsp;</div>

The Pritzker Military Museum and Library feature a collection of books and other materials on military history and citizen soldiers in America with a mission to increase understanding of military history and sacrifice. The museum houses a collection of prints, posters, photos, artifacts that cover early war and conflicts, 20th-century war and conflicts, modern war and conflicts, military reading lists, military leaders, and the armed forces, as well as a permanent exhibit called Medal of Honor. The museum also prides itself on being "a public forum to discuss the past, present, and future of the military." Admission is $5 or free for any member or person with an active military ID.

Pritzker Military Museum & Library 

<p>The first Palmer House was built was a wedding present to Bertha Honoré, the bride of Potter Palmer. Potter Palmer (May 20, 1826-May 4, 1902) was the founder of a dry goods store, called Potter Palmer and Company, located on Chicago’s Lake Street. In 1865, Palmer brought two partners into his business, Marshall Field and Levi Leiter. This store eventually grew into a department store chain called Marshall Field and Company, which was bought by Macy’s, Inc. in 2005.</p>
<p>Palmer’s wife Bertha (May 22, 1849-May 5, 1918) was a successful businesswoman and philanthropist in her own rite. She served a number of positions in Chicago, including the President of the Board of Lady Managers, which meant that she was instrumentally important in organizing the World’s Colombian Exposition, held in 1893. She was also among the first members of the Chicago women’s club, a group of women who met to discuss various societal problems in an effort to find solutions. Part of the larger General Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Chicago-based group sought to provide inexpensive milk for poor children and better general care for children whose mothers were in prison. Later in her life, she became a pioneer in the early days of Florida real estate. In 1910, she purchased over 80,000 acres of land in the Sarasota area. She convinced acquaintances and friends who had means to spend winters in Sarasota Bay. In 1914, she established a hunting preserve called “River Hills” on the 19,000 acres of land she bought in Temple Terrace, Florida.</p>

Originally known as “The Palmer,” the Palmer House Hilton Hotel has been one of the city's most important places for events and welcoming guests from the day the establishment opened its doors on September 26, 1871. The original Palmer hotel greeted only a few guests, however, as it was destroyed by fire 13 days later--one of hundreds of buildings destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire on October 9, 1871. The second Palmer House was completed in 1875. The third and final Palmer House was built between 1923 and 1925 and was acquired by Conrad Hilton in 1945. Thor Equities acquired the Palmer House Hilton in 2005 and announced its intention to sell the historic property in 2015. 

Palmer House Hilton

<p>Vaudeville dominated the entertainment world from the 1880s until just before World War I. In 1882, C. E. Kohl and George Middleton opened the first acknowledged vaudeville entertainment in Chicago on the city's west side, followed by opening another location in 1883 and again in 1884. The vaudeville shows' profound success allowed the pair to lease much larger venues such as the Chicago Opera House and Haymarket. In 1900, Kohl bought out Middleton's leases and later with George Castle acquired the Academy of Music and two well-known theaters. Additionally, Kohl and Castle built the Majestic (now known as CIBC), which opened in 1906. </p><p>The Majestic took its name for the twenty-one-story Majestic Building for which it resided. The building, when it opened, stood as the city's tallest building. Meanwhile, the auditorium's design proved more lavish than its counterparts, as the owners intended to draw more elegant audiences to vaudeville. In fact, the Majestic, with its detailed architecture, marble floors, decorative tapestries, and amenities, served as the city's first venue to cost more than $1 million. </p><p>The Majestic existed among four major vaudeville theaters in Chicago and helped the city become of the nation's most prominent sources of vaudeville entertainment, trailing only New York. Headliners at the Majestic included Al Jolson, Jack Benny, W.C. Fields, and Harry Houdini. By the 1920s, though, venues like the Chicago theater offered both movies and live entertainment for the same price as the vaudeville-only shows, which spelled the end for vaudeville. By the end of the 1920s, Hollywood ostensibly killed pure vaudeville, but Broadway and live theater survived; between 1927 and 1928, 264 Broadway productions opened in New York and traveled to places like Chicago and San Fransisco. </p><p>The Majestic withstood the erosion of vaudeville, but not the Great Depression, which forced its closure for thirteen years. The theater closed in 1932 and did not open again until 1945 when the Shubert Organization purchased and remodeled the theater and reopened it as the Sam Shubert Theatre, or "The Shubert," a name that endured until 2005. Patrons of the late 1940s viewed popular productions, including <em>Carousel</em>, <em>South Pacific</em>, and <em>Guys and Dolls</em>. More recently, the theater benefited from an extensive renovation in 2005-2006. The theater started productions in 2006 as the LaSalle Bank Theatre, which coincided with floors 4-21 of the adjoining (Majestic) office building opening as the Hampton Inn Majestic Hotel. The hotel and theatre now share the facility, with the theatre operating (under the name CIBC) on floors 1-6 and the hotel on floors 4-21. Recent productions include <em>Hamilton</em>, <em>The Book of Mormon</em>, <em>Camelot</em>, <em>Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?,</em> Irving Berlin's <em>White Christmas</em>, and <em>Chicago</em>.</p>

The CIBC Theatre opened in 1906 under the name Majestic Theatre as Chicago's first $1 million venue and home to legendary vaudeville acts. The CIBC currently seats 1,800 and routinely presents Broadway shows, notably since a substantial renovation in 2006; its most recent claim to fame involves producing the smash hit, "Hamilton." The Majestic name comes from the twenty-one floor skyscraper for which it resides. When the building opened in 1905, it stood as the city's tallest building. Today, the CIBC and the Hampton Inn Majestic Hotel occupy the tower. Over the years, the theater has operated under several names such as the PrivateBank Theatre, Bank of America Theatre, LaSalle Bank Theatre, and, from 1945 - 2005, the Sam Shubert Theatre.

Chicago Loop Walking Tour - La Salle Street to Michigan Ave

Delaware Building

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources