The Pittsfield Building stands out for its stepped, throne-like silhouette and intricate terra cotta detailing that blends Gothic Revival motifs with Art Deco geometry. Completed in nineteen twenty-seven, this thirty-eight-story tower was…
Downtown Art Deco Architecture
This walk guides you past the striking facades, dramatic lobbies, and geometric ornamentation of Chicago's premier 1920s masterpieces. You'll gain a deep appreciation for the glittering details and jazz-age optimism that define the city's unique Art Deco heritage.
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1. Pittsfield Building
2. Carbide & Carbon Building
The Carbide and Carbon Building is recognized by its dark green terra cotta tower, which terminates in a pinnacle covered with real twenty-four-karat gold leaf. Designed by architects Daniel and Hubert Burnham, the sons of the famed city…
3. Jack's Place - Chicago Motor Club
The Chicago Motor Club building is a narrow, seventeen-floor Art Deco tower on East Wacker Place. You can distinguish it by the two-story lobby, which retains its original nineteen-twenty-eight terrazzo floors and a massive, colorful mural…
4. LaSalle-Wacker Building
The LaSalle-Wacker Building at two hundred twenty-one North LaSalle Street is recognized by its forty-one stories of limestone and granite that mark the northern end of the LaSalle Street canyon. Completed in nineteen thirty, the structure…
5. 1 N. LaSalle Building
The One North LaSalle Building is a forty-nine-story tower defined by its soaring, streamlined vertical lines and dramatic setbacks. Completed in nineteen thirty, this Art Deco skyscraper occupies a site near where the explorer René-Robert…
6. Civic Opera House
The Civic Opera Building is defined by its unusual shape, which resembles a colossal armchair facing the Chicago River. This massive structure, designed by the firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, consists of a forty-five-story central…
7. Field Building
The Field Building at one hundred thirty-five South LaSalle Street is defined by its massive, stepped-back limestone silhouette and a base faced in polished black granite. Completed in nineteen thirty-four, it stands as the final major…
8. Chicago Board of Trade Building
The Chicago Board of Trade Building anchors the end of LaSalle Street with a gray Indiana limestone facade that rises in dramatic, vertical tiers. Completed in nineteen thirty, the forty-four story skyscraper was designed by the firm…