The Marquette Building [designated "Chicago Landmark"]

Click on the image for enlarged view ...

The Marquette Building
Address: 140 S. Dearborn St.
Year Built: 1895
Architect: Holabird & Roche
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark:June 9, 1975 ...

# Added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 17, 1973 ....
# Named a National Historic Landmark in 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 building is named for Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary and explorer who, in 1674-75, wintered in the area that is now Chicago.

In this building, an appropriate exterior aesthetic expression for the then-new, steel-framed skyscraper was found. The facade clearly reveals its underlying structure; with broad windows set in a framework of narrow piers and spandrels. Its open and well-lit interior layout, built around a central light court, significantly influenced the design of modern high-rise commercial structures.

REF: Chicago landmarks: Marquette Building ..





The lobby:
The lobby is decorated with mosaic panels made by the Tiffany firm and bronze heads of native Americans, animals, and early explorers ...