Content area
Full text
Estate The significant buildings of Chicago make it a place renowned for some unique monuments to real estate.
Few cities' buildings get more airtime than Chicago's. Fea- tured on everything from television-show opening credits to the chase scenes of action movies, the buildings of the Windy City are known for their architecture, which ranges from classical to ultra-modern. As a result, the city is a favorite of both large corporations and small entrepreneurial companies. * It's almost impossible to narrow down a list of Chicago's most iconic build- ings, but several come up in conversations with architects, preservationists and historical societies. Here, we profile 11 of Chicago's significant buildings-from an old house famous for the efforts to save it, all the way to modern skyscrapers, and the home of one of the country's most prominent residents.
The Monadnock Building, (53 W. Jackson Blvd.)
The Monadnock Building, constructed in two phases that ended in 1891 and 1893. is a complex of firsts: first use of a portal system for wind bracing, first use of aluminum in building construction, and one of the first buildings listed as a Chicago Landmark (a designation of the mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council), in 1958. It's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Commissioned by Peter and Shepherd Brooks, who had amassed a fortune in shipping and then became real estate investors, the first half of the building was designed by John Wellborn Root, who died midway through its construction. It is considered the tallest commercial load-bearing masonry building ever constructed, and its weight is supported almost entirely by its brick walls, which are 6 feet thick at street level.
"They had steel in 1891, but the owners of the building were skeptical of it and decided not to use it." says Jennifer Masengarb, senior manager of educational research for the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
The south half of the structure was designed by the firm Holabird & Roche, on a lot Brooks bought for $360.000 in 1893. This structure was more ornate than its plain neighbor, and while part of it features the same thick brick walls, the building also has a partial steel frame. The two halves were joined in the center to...