The Rookery

One of the most prestigious buildings in the City of Chicago and an icon in the center of Chicago's downtown Financial District at 209 S. LaSalle Street, sits one of the most historically significant and meticulously designed buildings you will see anywhere in the world... The Rookery.

The name is a reference to the temporary building that occupied the land before the current structure. After the Great Chicago Fire, a quickly constructed building was used as an interim city hall, built around a large water tank that had survived the fire. That building was nicknamed the "rookery", in reference to the crows and pigeons that flocked to its exterior, as well as the alleged corrupt politicians it housed. Several other names were considered when the new structure on the site was proposed, but The Rookery won out. Designated a Chicago Landmark in 1972 after being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, The Rookery is universally considered an architectural masterpiece.

Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpiece buildings.The building is 181 feet (55 m) in height, twelve stories tall, and is considered the oldest standing high-rise in Chicago. In the architectural boom that followed the Great Chicago Fire, architects in what would become known as the Chicago School of commercial architecture competed with each other to create the world's first true skyscrapers. By mixing modern building techniques, such as metal framing, fireproofing, elevators and plate glass, together with traditional ones, such as brick facades and elaborate ornamentation, Burnham and Root sought to create a bold architectural statement. At the same time, they intended their buildings to be commercially successful. Making prodigious use of light and ornamentation, Root and Burnham designed a central light court to serve as the focal point for the entire building and provide daylight to interior offices. Rising two stories, the light court received immediate critical acclaim. The lobby was remodeled in 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright.

As the master artisan, Root drew upon a variety of influences in designing the interior and exterior spaces, including Moorish, Byzantine, Venetian and Romanesque motifs. He also provided the architectural innovations that brought together many contemporary cutting edge building techniques. Of particular note was a "floating" foundation—a reinforced concrete slab that provided the building's weight with a solid platform atop Chicago's notoriously swampy soil.The term for the type of foundation that Root designed is grillage foundation.

Frank Lloyd Wright was a young architectural assistant working with Adler and Sullivan at the time the Rookery was finished in 1888. Architect Daniel Burnham was a friend of Wright patron Edward C. Waller. Waller managed the Rookery; Wright had his offices in the building in 1898–1899. In 1905 Wright received the commission to redesign the lobby in the building; at the time considered the grandest in Chicago. Wright's work on the Rookery recast the entryway in his Prairie style and added a sense of modernity through his simple but effective lighting design.[ Wright's work on the Rookery is his only work on any building within the downtown cityscape.

Among Wright's most significant alterations was the addition of white marble with Persian-style ornamentation. The marble and decorative details added a sense of luxury to the lobby's steel-laden interior, marked by Burnham and Root's skeletal metal ribbing. The entire interior space is bright and open. A double set of curving, heavily ornamented stairs wind upward from the lobby's second floor into the building's interior. A wrap-around balcony on the second floor enhances the feeling of being within the interior of a "clockwork."The Wright remodel opened the building up to more of the available light.

A double set of curving, heavily ornamented stairs wind upward from the lobby's second floor into the building's interior. Some of Wright's other changes included incorporating simplified ironwork and adding his trademark style planters and light fixtures.

The second renovation occurred almost 30 years after Wright's first renovation, and was completed August 24, 1931 by former Wright assistant William Drummond, modernizing many of the interior elements, including new elevators, and bringing period touches to the building, such as Art Deco detailing.The third, and to date the last renovation to the Rookery was renovation in 1992 by Daprato Rigali Studios, brought the building back to much of its original splendor, reopening the light court ceiling after it had been covered over to protect against leaks.

The next time you're in our city... make it a must see on your things to while visiting. The Rookery is truly an amazing piece of architecture.