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Marquette Building (Chicago)
Encyclopedia
The Marquette Building, completed in 1895, is a Chicago
, Illinois
landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche
. The building is currently owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is located in the community area
known as the "Loop" in Cook County
, Illinois
, United States
.
The building was one of the early steel frame skyscraper
s of its day, and is considered one of the best examples of the Chicago School of architecture
. The building originally had a reddish, terra cotta
exterior that is now somewhat blackened due to decades of Loop soot. It is noted both for its then cutting edge frame and its ornate interior.
Since being built, the building has received numerous awards and honors. It was designated a Chicago Landmark
on June 9, 1975, and it is considered an architectural masterpiece. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on August 17, 1973. It was a named a National Historic Landmark
on January 7, 1976. The building's preservation has been a major focus of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation completed an extensive four-year restoration in 2006.
, the first European settler in Chicago, who explored the Chicago region in 1674 and wintered in the area for the 1674-5 winter season. It was designed by William Holabird
and Martin Roche
, with Coydon T. Purdy, architect
s of the firm Holabird & Roche
.
In the 1930s the building was the downtown headquarters
for over 30 railroad companies. Its lobby connects with the D.H. Burnham & Company designed Edison Building to the west providing a pedway
from Dearborn to Clark. Around 1950, the terra-cotta cornice was removed from the Marquette Building when an additional story was added. The building has been in continuous use as an office building since its construction.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks
, many downtown buildings closed to the public, which eliminated warm, dry, indoor walking routes providing shortcuts through full city block
s, but the Marquette Building did not.
The building features several distinct elements that have earned it honors as a Chicago Landmark, a National Historic Landmark, and a National Register Historic Place. It is considered an exemplary model of the Chicago School of Architecture
. The architects, Holabird & Roche
, used trademark long horizontal bay "Chicago windows" on the Marquette Building. These are large panes
of glass
flanked by narrow sash windows. The grid-like window
frames and spandrels are facilitated by the steel structure which enables non-load-bearing masonry
walls. This was one of the first steel frame
d skyscrapers. Wave-like moldings decorate the façade, which is made of horizontally banded brown terra cotta. The building is built around a central light court featuring an ornate, two-story lobby
.
The ensemble of mosaics, sculptures, and bronze of the Marquette Building entry and interior honors Jacques Marquette’s 1674-5 expedition. Four bas relief panels over the main entrance by sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil
show different scenes from Marquette's trip through the Great Lakes
region, ending with one depicting his burial
. The revolving door
panels feature carvings of panther's heads. The hexagonal railing around the lobby atrium
is decorated with a mosaic frieze by the Tiffany
studio depicting events in the life of Jacques Marquette, his exploration of Illinois, and native Americans
he met. The mosaics are by Louis Comfort Tiffany
and his chief designer and art director, Jacob Adolph Holzer; they contain panels of lustered Tiffany glass, mother-of-pearl, and semi-precious stones.
. In 2002, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, its current owners, began undertaking a four-year renovation. The restoration to the exterior in proceeded in two phases: reconstructing the cornice and replacing the 17th story windows to match the original windows; and cleaning and restoring the masonry and restoring the remainder of the windows. Restoration architect Thomas "Gunny" Harboe directed this work.
On September 12, 2006, The Commission on Chicago Landmarks
honored 21 landmark buildings, homeowners, and businesses with the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence at the eighth-annual Landmarks ceremony. The award recognizes work involving notable improvements to individual Chicago landmarks or to buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts.
On October 16, 2007, the Foundation opened a new interactive audio visual exhibit on the first floor, detailing the history of the building and its contribution to Chicago architecture. The exhibit, which is open to the public, will run indefinitely.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche
Holabird & Roche
The architectural firm of Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm's designs have changed many times — from the Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern Architecture to Sustainable Architecture.-History:...
. The building is currently owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is located in the community area
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
known as the "Loop" in Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The building was one of the early steel frame skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s of its day, and is considered one of the best examples of the Chicago School of architecture
Chicago school (architecture)
Chicago's architecture is famous throughout the world and one style is referred to as the Chicago School. The style is also known as Commercial style. In the history of architecture, the Chicago School was a school of architects active in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century...
. The building originally had a reddish, terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
exterior that is now somewhat blackened due to decades of Loop soot. It is noted both for its then cutting edge frame and its ornate interior.
Since being built, the building has received numerous awards and honors. It was designated a Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
on June 9, 1975, and it is considered an architectural masterpiece. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on August 17, 1973. It was a named a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on January 7, 1976. The building's preservation has been a major focus of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation completed an extensive four-year restoration in 2006.
History
The building was named after Father Jacques MarquetteJacques Marquette
Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...
, the first European settler in Chicago, who explored the Chicago region in 1674 and wintered in the area for the 1674-5 winter season. It was designed by William Holabird
William Holabird
William Holabird was an American architect.Holabird studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point but resigned and moved to Chicago, where he later got married. He worked for William Le Baron Jenney...
and Martin Roche
Martin Roche
Martin Roche was an American architect.In partnership with William Holabird, Martin Roche designed buildings following the Chicago School and that were landmarks in the development of early sky scrapers. He worked for William Le Baron Jenney until 1881 when he joined William Holabird at Holabird &...
, with Coydon T. Purdy, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s of the firm Holabird & Roche
Holabird & Roche
The architectural firm of Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm's designs have changed many times — from the Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern Architecture to Sustainable Architecture.-History:...
.
In the 1930s the building was the downtown headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
for over 30 railroad companies. Its lobby connects with the D.H. Burnham & Company designed Edison Building to the west providing a pedway
Pedway
Pedways are elevated or underground walkways, often connecting urban high-rises to each other, other buildings, or the street. They provide quick and comfortable movement from building to building, away from traffic and inclement weather. Two of the largest networks of underground walkways are...
from Dearborn to Clark. Around 1950, the terra-cotta cornice was removed from the Marquette Building when an additional story was added. The building has been in continuous use as an office building since its construction.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, many downtown buildings closed to the public, which eliminated warm, dry, indoor walking routes providing shortcuts through full city block
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
s, but the Marquette Building did not.
Architecture
Chicago school (architecture)
Chicago's architecture is famous throughout the world and one style is referred to as the Chicago School. The style is also known as Commercial style. In the history of architecture, the Chicago School was a school of architects active in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century...
. The architects, Holabird & Roche
Holabird & Roche
The architectural firm of Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm's designs have changed many times — from the Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern Architecture to Sustainable Architecture.-History:...
, used trademark long horizontal bay "Chicago windows" on the Marquette Building. These are large panes
Paned window
A paned window is a window that is divided into sections known as panes. Originally, the meaning pertained to sectioned glass windows in walls.Computer scientists have adopted the term "pane" to refer to parts of sectioned windows on a graphical display...
of glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
flanked by narrow sash windows. The grid-like window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
frames and spandrels are facilitated by the steel structure which enables non-load-bearing masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
walls. This was one of the first steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
d skyscrapers. Wave-like moldings decorate the façade, which is made of horizontally banded brown terra cotta. The building is built around a central light court featuring an ornate, two-story lobby
Lobby (room)
A lobby is a room in a building which is used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer or an entrance hall.Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression....
.
The ensemble of mosaics, sculptures, and bronze of the Marquette Building entry and interior honors Jacques Marquette’s 1674-5 expedition. Four bas relief panels over the main entrance by sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Hermon Atkins MacNeil was an American sculptor born in Chelsea, Massachusetts.He was an instructor in industrial art at Cornell University from 1886 to 1889, and was then a pupil of Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière in Paris...
show different scenes from Marquette's trip through the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
region, ending with one depicting his burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
. The revolving door
Revolving door
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they prevent drafts, thus preventing increases in the heating or cooling required for the building...
panels feature carvings of panther's heads. The hexagonal railing around the lobby atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
is decorated with a mosaic frieze by the Tiffany
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
studio depicting events in the life of Jacques Marquette, his exploration of Illinois, and native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
he met. The mosaics are by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
and his chief designer and art director, Jacob Adolph Holzer; they contain panels of lustered Tiffany glass, mother-of-pearl, and semi-precious stones.
Restoration
The preservation of this building was championed by the Landmarks Preservation Council of IllinoisLandmarks Preservation Council of Illinois
The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois -- also known as Landmarks Illinois -- is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971 to prevent the demolition of the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed Chicago Stock Exchange Building...
. In 2002, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, its current owners, began undertaking a four-year renovation. The restoration to the exterior in proceeded in two phases: reconstructing the cornice and replacing the 17th story windows to match the original windows; and cleaning and restoring the masonry and restoring the remainder of the windows. Restoration architect Thomas "Gunny" Harboe directed this work.
On September 12, 2006, The Commission on Chicago Landmarks
Commission on Chicago Landmarks
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks, established in 1968 by a Chicago City Ordinance, is composed of nine members appointed by the Mayor and the Chicago City Council. It is responsible for presenting recommendations of individual buildings, sites, objects, or entire districts to be designated as...
honored 21 landmark buildings, homeowners, and businesses with the Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence at the eighth-annual Landmarks ceremony. The award recognizes work involving notable improvements to individual Chicago landmarks or to buildings within Chicago Landmark Districts.
On October 16, 2007, the Foundation opened a new interactive audio visual exhibit on the first floor, detailing the history of the building and its contribution to Chicago architecture. The exhibit, which is open to the public, will run indefinitely.
Additional sources
- Riedy, James L., Chicago Sculpture, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL 1981
- Rooney, William A., Architectural Ornamentation in Chicago, Chicago Review Press, Chicago, 1984
External links
- Marquette.MacFound.org, a Web site dedicated to the architecture & history of the Marquette Building
- Marquette Building details at Emporis.com