Framedlight

We moved away from the heart of the financial centre but were still in the downtown Loop of Chicago so that Michael could show us some more iconic buildings.  The Monadnock building consists of 2 parts, one built in 1891 and the other in 1893. The first part was designed by John Root who pushed the building to an incredible height of 16 storeys and designed large bay windows to let in light and air. At the base, masonry walls 16 feet deep were needed to support the structure.  The second part, built only 3 years later after Root's death, was designed by Holabird and Roche and used the new fangled steel framing to support the building and so the brickwork was far less extensive. The two parts were designed to match, it is only the depth of the brickwork which gives away the earlier building method. There was rather a nice hat store at the base of the building. We then went on to see the Fisher Building (1896) and the Manhattan Building.The latter built in 1891 ...

On our return to the Loop we had some lunch and then went for a tour around the financial district in the heart of Chicago. Here is a view looking down LaSalle Street towards the Chicago Board of Trade, a 45 storey art deco building with a statue of Ceres at the top, showing the importance of the vasty fields of grain to the wealth of Chicago. The Board of Trade was designed by Holabird & Root and built 1929-30. A 24 storey wing by Helmut Jahn that was added in 1980. I shall now show you the tour, as we took it, courtesy of Michael. A little meandering, but very accomplished. Michael wanted us to see the inside of some of the buildings, especially the banks which were resplendent in brass and marble. The first one we visited was the One North LaSalle Building. A fantastic art deco building erected in 1930 with design by architects Vitzthum & Co and John Burns. It cost , for the time, a staggering amount of 30 million dollars. We passed...

After some time in the Loop area of Chicago Michael took us down to the riverside. A pleasant walking area has been laid out on the south bank and we strolled out on that. The weather in Chicago was unseasonably warm. I was prepared (and perhaps hoping for) frost and snow, but the sun shone, the sky was blue and sometimes we could even take our sweaters off. With the light bouncing off the glass of all the modern buildings, Chicago looked spectacular. Below we are looking down towards the lake over Clark Bridge.  The tall block on the other bank past the brick building is 300 North Lasalle, built in 2009. It is 60 floors high and has received a platinum award from the U.S.Green Building Council. It was designed by Pickard Chilton. The block closest to us on the other bank is 321 North Clark, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and completed in 1987. Looking in the other direction, further towards the lake you can see more clearly the walkway which is themed along it's...