Historical Buildings in Chicago

Many historical buildings are concentrated on the Michigan Avenue. Among them the landmark Chicago Athletic Association building at 12 S. Michigan. This 11-story building is built in the Venetian Gothic style, which is rare in Chicago. The construction dates back to 1890 and is likened to the Doge's Palace in Venice.

Recently the building has attracted the attention of not only the eyes of revelers of Chicago but specialists. That is to say preservationists and potential developers. The latter want to buy the building and preserve some interior space of the main building and build a 19-story hotel tower Preservationists, however debate to preserve the ornate structures unaltered. You can read more here.

Built in 1899 The Sullivan Center (formerly known as the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building) is a commercial building at 1 South State Street. It was used for retail purposes from 1899 until 2007. At present it is under redevelopment by Joseph Freed & Associates, a real estate developer based in Palatine, IL. It is still unknown what the building will host in the future.

The Santa Fe Building, also known as Railway Exchange Building, is a 17-story office building in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District. This building is identifiable by its logo “Santa Fe” on the roof. It can be seen from the Grant Park and even Lake Michigan. Originally the building was designed as railway exchange. Today one of the tenants of the building is the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

The Chicago Theater located on North State Street in the Loop community area was constructed in 1921 at a cost of US$4 million by architects Cornelius W. Rapp and George L. Rapp. The Chicago Theatre was one of the first theaters in the nation to be built in the classical revival French Baroque style and is the oldest surviving example of this style in Chicago.

The One North LaSalle Building At 530 ft and 48 stories was for some time one of Chicago's tallest building.

Inland Steel Building was an integrated steel company that reduced iron ore to steel. The company was active in 1893-1998 and was headquartered in Chicago. Current Indian metal giant Mittal Steel acquired Inland Steel in 1998.

Chicago’s Federal Center Building is last but not the least in the top 10 architectural sight in the city. Principal architect Mies van der Rohe designed the building on two main principles: “less is more” and “God is in the details.” The Federal Center consolidated over thirty agencies formerly scattered throughout the city in substandard leased space. This glass-steel design is landed on a one-block site, bounded by Jackson, Clark, Adams, and Dearborn streets.