A walk through the Dearborn Street

A walk through the Dearborn Street with the help of city information markers, or pylons as they are called.. These encapsulate a good deal of information, highlighting the salient features. The text below is taken from the pylons, the images are mine.. Click on any image for details..

Dearborn street showcases some of Chicago's best in architecture, art and urban design dating from the late 19th century. Great names in architecture include Chicago School architects William LeBaron Jenny, Burnham & Root and Holabird & Roche, as well as highly regarded modern architects, Mies van der Rohe, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, C.F.Murphy and Perkins and Will. Sculptures by world famous architects line the street, including those by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, Marc Chagall and Alexander Calder. These works of art are set in urban plazas which punctuate long blocks of skyscrapers and become outdoor rooms for performances, sidewalk fairs, farmers markets, civic celebrations and political events.

An impressive collection of 1890s skyscrapers with structural and design innovations known as Chicago School of Architecture is located at the south end of the Dearborn Street on either side of the century-old elevated train structure. They are part of Printer's Row, once the center of the city's vibrant printing industry. Chicago's dominance in the world of architecture throughout the 1960s is also represent4ed on the street. The Federal Center by International style founder, Mies van der Rohe, the Richard J. Daley Center, and the Burnswick Building all made use of the latest technology in a modern idiom that set new design standards.

Governor John Peter Altgeld who pardoned the labor agitators of the Haymarket riot in 1896 and ruined his political career as a result, had offices on Dearborn Street. The site has recently been the home of Gallery 37, Chicago's summer art training program for youth, and the wintertime Skate on State. Acxross the street, the Richard J. Daley Center Plaza has hosted such diverse activities as United States presidential candidate rallies and celebrations for Chicago sports teams. Noon-time concerts entertain office workers next of Chicago's Picasso and beside Chagall's Four Seasons mosaic at the Bank One Plaza.

Dearborn Street has recreated itself many times and it has many stories to tell. It's banking, business and government affairs continue to flourish amid some of world's greatest art and architecture, enlivened by a year-round calender of cultural and civic events.

Chicago School architects..
# Willian Le Baron Jenny - Manhatten Building..
# Burnham & Root - Fisher Building..
# Holabird & Roche - Old Colony Building

Modern architects..
Mies van der Rohe - Klucznski Federal Building
Skidmore Owings & Merrill - Attorneys Title Guaranty Building
C.F.Murphy Associates - Richard J. Daley Center
Perkins & Will - Chase Tower

Sculptures..
# Pablo Picasso - Untitled [now called "Chicago"]
# Joan Miro - Miro's Chicago
# Marc Chagall - Four Seasons
# Alexander Calder - Flamingo