Explorations of America’s largest city on Lake Michigan, Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago, the Windy City, does not often conjure up nice images of modernity and progress. It is after all being called Chiraq lately. But Chicago has a really neat claim to fame; it was in Chicago where modern architecture really got its start! In fact, the modern skyscraper was born here in the city by the lake.
The Windy City in all its glory.
In Chicago, you can find these early elegant skyscrapers right next to god-awful newer ones. I am personally not a fan of middle-late 20th century architecture (as described in my Wandering New York City post) and Chicago has its own horrendous versions. I’m not talking about the famous Willis Tower (or Sears Tower. Let’s face it, you still call it that) or the John Hancock Center, but some skyscrapers simply don’t bless the skyline as much as others.
Would a 90-degree angle kill you?
But look at the beauties that demonstrate the peak of Chicago architecture. Buildings that take us back to turn-of-the-century Chicago, when the meat-packing industry reigned supreme and the city was cloaked with the black dust from burnt coal. Even through the polluted air, Chicago architects were trying to beautify their corrupted jungle with elegant designs. They wanted to really put Chicago on the map.
The Wrigley Building and the Tribune Tower along the Chicago River.
The first true skyscraper was born in 1884, at the corner of LaSalle and Adams Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The first to be constructed using a steel frame, it weighed less than half of a brick building of similar size! The Home Insurance Building was 10 stories tall, with two more stories added 6 years later. The building of course was later torn down in 1931, a fate of many of the really early skyscrapers (and source of a lot of insurance claims). With that fire, we lost one of the great examples of the Chicago School of Architecture.
The long-lost Home Insurance Building.
While many of the really early skyscrapers were town down, the style remained. The peak of Chicago architecture was from the 1880s to 1940s. Before the age of the curtain wall, architects still focused on design and visitors can still find truly wonderful architectural gems.
Bond Chapel (1926), a chapel that would not look too far out of place on some English university campus. It is located at the University of Chicago, one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country.
The Chicago Athletic Association building, a Venetian Gothic-style building with Art Deco interior. Now a boutique hotel with a Shake Shack on the first floor.
Macy’s may have taken over the flagship Marshall Fields Building but the Tiffany mosaic ceiling can still be found. Just look up!
A few lovely old brick buildings can still be found along Ohio Street, like this one by Bloomingdales.
The token cemetery selection comes from Graceland Cemetery which is full of old amazing mausoleums such as this. (Graceland Cemetery is featured in my 10 Must-See American Cemeteries post.)
A portal belonging to the John B. Murphy Memorial Auditorium (1926), located near the Driehaus Museum.
Speaking of the Driehaus Museum (a must-see Gilded-Age and decoration museum), this amazing skylight can be found in the sculpture gallery, the former library.
The not so hidden courtyard of the Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Ave., across the street from the John Hancock Center.
A very Hipster advertisement for the Germania Club Building, near Lincoln Park.
These doors once belonged to a C. D. Peacock’s, one of the finest jewelry stores in the city with a prime location in the Palmer House Hotel.
Apt time to show off the Palmer House Hotel (now the Palmer House-Hilton), one of nations longest running hotels. This version of the hotel was owned and decorated by Bertha Palmer. Bertha treated this hotel like her personal fiefdom and would be proud that it is still standing in all its glory.
The Hilton Chicago opened its doors in 1927. This hotel is enormous. When it opened, it contained 3,000 hotel rooms, 18-hole miniature golf on the roof, its own hospital, and a 1,200-seat theater. The original owner went bankrupt (not surprisingly), and it eventually became part of the Hilton Empire.
The amazing details that can be found high in the sky.
The Chicago Cultural Center is an amazing building from 1897. The building once served as Chicago’s central library and Grand Army of the Republic meeting hall and memorial. This is the latter.
This was once the reading room for the Chicago Cultural Center’s library. This room, the Preston Bradley Hall, contains a 38-foot Tiffany glass dome, most likely the largest Tiffany dome in the world. The building is now used for concerts and other exhibitions.
Another place of not so hidden architecture is the Quincy “L” Station. The station has been mostly restored to its 1897 appearance.
THIS. The amazing Chicago Theatre. Built in 1921, the theater was a state-of-the-art movie palace. Today, it is an amazing performance theater featuring comedians and small musicals.
The amazing Neo-Gothic lobby of the Monroe Building on South Michigan Ave, home of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.
One of many of the colorful townhouses located not that far from the Loop.
One can still find one of the colorful bridge houses that used to dot the river. Located on the Washington St. Bridge.
Last but not least, the Post-Modern Harold-Washington Library, a throwback to the style of an earlier Chicago. (i.e., a modern building that I can get behind of).
*A big thanks to the Chicago Architecture Foundation for leading me to some of these entries. If you find yourself in Chicago, you must check out at least one of their many tours that are offered daily.
The Chicago Bean.
