Santa Fe Building (Chicago)
Encyclopedia
The Santa Fe Building, also known as Railway Exchange Building, is a 17-story office building in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District
of the Loop
community area
of Chicago
in Cook County
, Illinois
, United States
. It was designed by Frederick P. Dinkelberg
of D. H. Burnham & Company
in the Chicago style
. Dinkelberg was also the associate designer to Daniel Burnham
for the Flatiron Building
in New York City.
The building is recognizable by the large "Santa Fe" logo on the roof, which is visible from Grant Park
across Michigan Ave and from Lake Michigan
. It is also notable for the round, porthole
-like windows along the cornice
. The center of the building features a lightwell
, which was covered with a skylight in the 1980s.
, head of the architectural firm and the building's main stockholder. The firm moved its offices to the fourteenth floor, and Burnham's descendants continued ownership in the building until 1952. The building is organized as a classicization of John Wellborn Root
's design of the Rookery
. A street level two-story enclosed court designed in a symmetrical Beaux-Arts style was surmounted by an open lightwell which was surrounded by a ring of offices. By the formal arched entrance on Jackson Boulevard, a large staircase led to shops and a second-floor balcony. White-glazed terra-cotta sheaths the exterior façade and interior court and the lightwell is lined with white-glazed brick. Classical designs were used for the ornamental dentils, balusters, and column capitals. The building is completely steel-framed.
The building is significant as a historic site because Daniel Burnham and his staff made the 1909 Plan of Chicago in a penthouse on the northeast corner of the roof.
. Burnham & Company had offices on the 14th floor. Though the firm's successor, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
, has moved, a number of architectural organizations still practice there, including the Chicago Architecture Foundation
, Goettsch Partners, VOA Associates, Harding Partners, and the Chicago offices of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
The building was purchased by the University of Notre Dame
in 2006. The university's Mendoza College of Business
began holding classes there in 2008.
In 2011, Solex College
opened up a satellite campus within the building.
in the image below:
Historic Michigan Boulevard District
The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th or Roosevelt Road , depending on the source, and Randolph Streets and named after the nearby Great Lake...
of the Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
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...
of Chicago
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...
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...
. It was designed by Frederick P. Dinkelberg
Frederick P. Dinkelberg
Frederick Philip Dinkelberg was an American architect best known for being Daniel Burnham's associate for the design of the Flatiron Building in Manhattan, New York City...
of D. H. Burnham & Company
D. H. Burnham & Company
D.H. Burnham and Company of was an architecture firm based in Chicago, Illinois. As successor to Burnham and Root, the name was changed once John Root died in 1891. Root was the chief consulting architect for the World's Columbian Exposition. After Root's death, Daniel Burnham took that title...
in the Chicago style
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...
. Dinkelberg was also the associate designer to Daniel Burnham
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
for the Flatiron Building
Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building, or Fuller Building, as it was originally called, is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and the only skyscraper...
in New York City.
The building is recognizable by the large "Santa Fe" logo on the roof, which is visible from Grant Park
Grant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
across Michigan Ave and from Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
. It is also notable for the round, porthole
Porthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
-like windows along the cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
. The center of the building features a lightwell
Lightwell
In architecture a lightwell, light well or air shaft is an unroofed external space provided within the volume of a large building to allow light and air to reach what would otherwise be dark or unventilated area...
, which was covered with a skylight in the 1980s.
Architecture
The formal entrance to the building is located on Jackson Boulevard, which in 1904 was a more important street than Michigan Avenue. The impressive entrance is believed to have been required by Daniel BurnhamDaniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham, FAIA was an American architect and urban planner. He was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC...
, head of the architectural firm and the building's main stockholder. The firm moved its offices to the fourteenth floor, and Burnham's descendants continued ownership in the building until 1952. The building is organized as a classicization of John Wellborn Root
John Wellborn Root
John Wellborn Root was an American architect who worked out of Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style...
's design of the Rookery
Rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally birds. A rook is a Northern European and Central Asian member of the crow family, which nest in prominent colonies at the tops of trees. The term is applied to the nesting place of birds, such as crows and rooks, the source of the term...
. A street level two-story enclosed court designed in a symmetrical Beaux-Arts style was surmounted by an open lightwell which was surrounded by a ring of offices. By the formal arched entrance on Jackson Boulevard, a large staircase led to shops and a second-floor balcony. White-glazed terra-cotta sheaths the exterior façade and interior court and the lightwell is lined with white-glazed brick. Classical designs were used for the ornamental dentils, balusters, and column capitals. The building is completely steel-framed.
The building is significant as a historic site because Daniel Burnham and his staff made the 1909 Plan of Chicago in a penthouse on the northeast corner of the roof.
Tenants
The Santa Fe Building was originally built as a railway exchange for the Santa Fe railwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
. Burnham & Company had offices on the 14th floor. Though the firm's successor, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
Graham, Anderson, Probst & White is a Chicago architecture firm that was founded in 1912 originally as Graham, Burnham & Co. This firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. by Daniel Burnham's surviving partner Ernest Graham and Burnham's sons Hubert Burnham and Daniel Burnham Jr...
, has moved, a number of architectural organizations still practice there, including the Chicago Architecture Foundation
Chicago Architecture Foundation
The Chicago Architecture Foundation is a nonprofit group in Chicago, Illinois, USA, dedicated to increasing the public's understanding of architecture and design...
, Goettsch Partners, VOA Associates, Harding Partners, and the Chicago offices of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
The building was purchased by the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 2006. The university's Mendoza College of Business
Mendoza College of Business
The Mendoza College of Business is one of the colleges at the University of Notre Dame, which is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States.- History :...
began holding classes there in 2008.
In 2011, Solex College
Solex College
SOLEX College is certified degree-granting institution of higher education, and vocational and language learning. SOLEX College offers three locations: one in the northwest suburbs in Wheeling, Illinois, on Dundee Road, one on the north side of Chicago on Belmont Avenue, and one in the Chicago...
opened up a satellite campus within the building.
Position in Chicago's skyline
The Santa Fe Building appears (unlabelled) in front of Three First National PlazaThree First National Plaza
Three First National Plaza is a 57-story office tower in Chicago. Completed in 1981, the building is one of the tallest in Chicago at . The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in a sawtooth shape to minimize obstructions it might cause to nearby buildings. The design also allows...
in the image below: