chicago skyscraper history chronological table

Chicago skyscraper history chronological table serial#

Old-fashioned hat shops, shoe shops (manufactured on site), and other businesses harness back to era of 'old' Chicago. Walking into the building, I felt like I crossed a threshold into Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. Interesting panels about the History of the Marquette Building and this period of construction is displayed, providing excellent context to the overall scope of the nomination.ģ) Monadnock Building (1891) You might not be rewarded with the same grandeur upon entering, but the Monadnock building is rewarding for its atmosphere and authenticity. Visitors are rewarded after exiting the lobby going straight past the National Historic Landmark sign to an informative display about the Chicago School or Architecture. The History of Chicago and the Great Lakes region are even more richly adorned in the lobby, which is open to the public. The front entrance is adorned with scenes of Chicago History. In addition, there is a Frank Lloyd Trust office and store in the lobby with handy FLW architecture maps of the Chicago Metropolitan area.Ģ) Marquette Building (1895) This is a must-see component of the Early Chicago Skyscrapers nomination. The later was redesigned by a rising star at the time, Frank Lloyd Wright, who in 1905 was in his late 30's. For visitors, there are 2 wonders included in this nomination that perhaps justify inscription together, regardless of the other sites.ġ) Rookery Building (1888) This structure is the gem of the ensemble and is note-worthy for both its exterior and magnificent interior lobby.

For example, some structures have little value remaining within as the interior has either been changed, significantly altered, or completed gutted. I visited each without too much difficulty, however there are different levels of satisfaction.

Chicago skyscraper history chronological table serial#

Visually, as a group, these buildings are not surpassing even within the context of just central Chicago, which, in my humble opinion, is the most architecturally impressive big city in the US.Ĭalifornia - United States of America - 15-Mar-18 -Īll nine sites of this serial nomination can be covered in a 30 minute walk, in fact several of these iconic early skyscrapers are adjacent to each other. Any student of architecture will recognize that these buildings represent the turning point in modern construction due to the innovative methods developed in time for their advent. I cannot envision this collection of early skyscrapers ever becoming a World Heritage site in its current form. Conversely, if you stand far enough from the Auditorium Building on Congress Plaza to take in its façade together with the neighboring Fine Arts Building, you may find yourself justifiably perplexed why the former - and not the richer-in-features latter - is part of the inscription (the answer likely lies in the Auditorium Theater being part of the eponymous building - but as Kyle noted, you can only see it if you attend a performance there). I did step into Monadnock - only mildly interesting, certainly not anything exceptional.įrom the exterior, Rookery, Fisher, and Sullivan Center (aka Schlesinger & Mayer Building, aka Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Store) exhibit the most outstanding features. So, I mostly gave up and did not even attempt to enter Marquette or Rookery, which Kyle marked as the most impressive. And because I was moving northward from the southernmost of the buildings, the first five that I stopped by did not exhibit anything of value in their interiors (or could not really be entered). I assumed that all of these buildings allowed some form of easy public access to explore the interiors - and would actually have something to offer in that respect. In a notable fail of the expedition, I did not read Kyle's review below prior to the walk.

In May of 2022, I took an hour-plus out of my business-trip itinerary in Chicago to visit the buildings in this serial property.