Chicago's Century Old Buildings

Wacker Drive and the John Hancock Center

Chicago has been the creative center of American architecture for more than 100 years. Architect Cesar Pelli once wrote that Chicago is the American City—"its name conjures a mythical place where its architects were larger than life, and its buildings were new and noble."

Chicago boasts hundreds of world-renowned, highly sophisticated buildings, such as the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, 333 Wacker Drive, the Thompson Center, and the Northwestern Atrium Center.

However, more interesting than these relatively new buildings are the buildings constructed in the last part of the 19th century.

Chicago's architectural explosion began shortly after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed more than 18,000 buildings. Seeing the great opportunities to rebuild the city, many fresh-minded, talented architects such as John Wellborn Root, William Holabird and Louis Sullivan flocked there.

Today, the Loop area alone retains 40 historic buildings, about half of which were built in the 1880s. Among them, the Rookery by Daniel Hudson Burnham and John Welborn Root is one of the oldest buildings.

Chicago's favorite, the Rookery

When completed in 1888, the 11-storey Rookery was hailed as the largest and finest office building in the country. The exterior of the building is decorated with Romanesque arches, Islamic arabesques—an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines—and other details of Moorish and Venetian origin. The building is famous for its light-filled large atrium and its ethereal designs.

The Rookery features many exquisite ornaments, including laughing crows carved on the granite arch outside. These crows are derived from local humor, which Root obviously loved. The Rookery was built on the site where the old City Hall used to stand. The site was nicknamed the Rookery, a name taken from dirty pigeons and corrupted politicians that occupied the old City Hall. The developers wanted a dignified name for the new building, however, Root, amused by the nickname, immortalized the joke by installing the laughing crows for posterity.

	The Wrigley Building

Root and Burnham designed 270 residences and 40 commercial buildings during the 18 years of their partnership. The pair was just about to undertake one of their biggest projects, World's Columbian Exposition, when Root died suddenly at the age of 41. Of all the buildings created by the pair, the Rookery is one of only two buildings that survive in the Loop, the core of downtown Chicago. The other is the Monadnock Building, which was completed the year after Root died, in 1891.

The Monadnock Building, which contains Egyptian-like effects, stands on Jackson Boulevard. Featuring sleek projecting bay windows that run vertically down the sides of brick walls, the building displays restrained elegance. As evident in the Rookery, Root's quest for light continued in the Monadnock. Instead of placing a light well in the building's center as he did for the Rookery, Root positioned open stairwells in the Monadnock.

Another remarkable, 'must-see' building of this era is the Auditorium Building on Michigan Avenue. The building is designed by another famous pair, Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan.

Auditorium Building, the architecture of strength

The Auditorium Building is renowned for its beauty and ingenuity. At completion in 1889, the building was the city's largest, tallest, heaviest, and most expensive building. It was also seen as the world's finest opera house. The theater still hosts ballets and operas, as well as many other artistic and cultural programs. Gorgeously decorated with gold colored leaf over solid-colored backgrounds, the Auditorium was designed with 5,000 lights; it seated 4,000.

The most remarkable feature of the auditorium is its interior design and ornament, including exquisite murals and botanical designs on the plaster. The architectural genius Sullivan, who was 30 years old at the time, incorporated elaborate carved oak, broad plaster friezes, mosaic floors, and leaded-glass details featuring interlocking geometric forms and curving stems of lush leaves. The complex botanical designs were said to be the work of Norwegian tradesman Kristian Schneider.

Sadly, many of these features have since gone or faded, as the building went through many renovations. The 10-storey building with a 17-storey tower was originally a three-part structure housing a 400-room, L-shaped hotel fronting Michigan Avenue. The hotel and the lobby were demolished, and the Auditorium now houses an urban university.

But some of the original features—leafy designs in plaster panels and a broad staircase rising through a monumental arch—still remain, enough to feel the architect's intent. Sullivan, who developed the idea of organic architecture, was said to be an intensely spiritual man who sought to touch something deep in the human condition. He believed that man was a part of the overall system of nature. For him, the Auditorium was an integral, self-contained organism.

	Downtown Chicago Skyscrapers

There are about 300 buildings that are designated among Chicago's most important landmarks. Each building possesses a history and legend. On top of those landmarks, the Loop area also houses many sculptures and murals, including Pablo Picasso's Untitled at Richard J. Daley Civic Center, the Monument with Standing Beast by Jean Dubuffet at the Thompson Center, the mural of Ceres in the Chicago Board of Trade Building, and the Four Seasons by Marc Chagall in the First National Bank Plaza. With all the buildings and these art collections, Chicago is a huge open museum "without walls."

The Rookery, the Monadnock Building, and the Auditorium Building are usually open to the public during business hours. Chicago tours can also include walking tours, bus tours, boat tours, and carriage tours.