Marquette Building, Chicago

Imagine slipping a sleek, tailored cover over an iron skeleton鈥攖hat鈥檚 the Marquette Building, constructed in 1895. Underneath its crisp, geometric skin hides a tough steel frame, one of the early hallmarks of Chicago鈥檚 vertical ambitions. The base is rugged stone. The crown is an ornate cornice that looks like it belongs on a royal pastry. But most of the fa莽ade sticks to business: form follows function, with clean lines that echo the structure鈥檚 bones. Inside, every office hugs the building鈥檚 arms, ensuring that each room gets a slice of sunlight, either from the street or the central light well. Think efficiency with a touch of elegance...

The building takes its name from Jacques Marquette, the Jesuit priest and explorer whose 1674鈥�75 journal gave Europe its first written peek at what we now call Chicago. Owen F. Aldis鈥攑art real estate developer, part amateur historian, full-on fanboy鈥攖ranslated the journal in 1891 and made it the heart and soul of the building. That鈥檚 why you鈥檒l spot reliefs on the exterior showing scenes from Marquette鈥檚 adventures, as if the building鈥檚 wearing a historic graphic novel on its face.

Inside the lobby, you may feel like you鈥檙e in a jewel box: bronze fixtures gleam under a Tiffany glass mosaic that narrates Marquette鈥檚 journey with serious flair. Over the elevators are bronze reliefs of French explorers and Native Americans mid-expedition. And if you wander just a bit farther, you鈥檒l find a mini-exhibit on the building鈥檚 history and recent restoration鈥攂rought to you by the MacArthur Foundation, which, fittingly, is one of the tenants here.

All of this came from the minds of Holabird & Roche, two architects who started out as draftsmen for the guy who basically invented skyscrapers, William Le Baron Jenney. Indeed, these guys didn鈥檛 just raise buildings鈥攖hey raised the bar...

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Marquette Building
Sight Location: Chicago, USA (See walking tours in Chicago)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

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