The Loop: Rebuilt After the Great Fire
Chicago, IL
- Distance: 1.6 miles (2.5 km)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Loop
- Free
- 10 stops
A short loop through downtown Chicago from the 1897 Quincy 'L' station, past the Board of Trade, the Monadnock, the Rookery and other buildings that rose after the Great Fire of 1871 and made Chicago the birthplace of the skyscraper.
Stops
Quincy 'L' Station
Quincy opened in 1897, and it's been restored to look the way it did then. Look at the front of the stationhouse before you head down the stairs: the pressed metal wreaths and fluted pilasters are original decorations. Elevators were added in 2018 on both sides of Wells Street. Directions to next…
Chicago Board of Trade Building
This tower was finished in 1930, designed by John A. Holabird and John Wellborn Root Jr. It was the tallest building in Chicago for 35 years. Look up to the very top. The 30-foot statue up there is Ceres, the goddess of grain, and she has no face. Grain was what they traded here. Now look lower on…
Monadnock Building
This is really two buildings in one, and you can see the change from old to new. The north half was finished in 1891 by Burnham & Root. Its brick walls hold the whole building up, and they're six feet thick at the bottom. It's the tallest load-bearing brick building ever built. The south half…
Marquette Building
The Marquette was built in 1895 by Holabird & Roche. Look at the windows: each one is a big fixed pane between two narrow windows that open. They're called Chicago windows, and they let in lots of light and air. Over the main entrance are four bronze panels that tell the story of Jacques…
Palmer House
The first Palmer House opened on September 26, 1871. Thirteen days later the Great Fire burned it down. The owner rebuilt and reopened in 1873, advertising it as the world's only fireproof hotel. The building you see now went up on the same site between 1924 and 1927. One more thing for your group…
Reliance Building
Look at all that glass. The Reliance Building is known around the world as the direct ancestor of today's glass-and-steel skyscrapers. The base went up in 1890 and the upper floors in 1894-95. The frame is covered in cream-colored terra cotta with Gothic-style decoration. The architects chose…
Daley Plaza and the Chicago Temple
Across the street is the Picasso. Thousands of people came to Daley Plaza when it was unveiled on August 15, 1967. It's 50 feet tall and made of Cor-Ten steel, the same material as the Daley Center behind it. Picasso never said what it was supposed to be. Ask your group what they see. Now find the…
City Hall-County Building
The County Building half was finished in 1908 and the City Hall half in 1911, both by Holabird & Roche. The earlier courthouse on this block burned in 1871; its bell rang the alarm before the building went down. Look above the LaSalle Street entrance for four relief panels. They show four jobs the…
The Rookery
The Rookery got its name from a temporary building put up here after the fire. Pigeons loved to roost on it. Burnham & Root built this building from 1885 to 1888, and when it opened it was thought to be the finest office building in the country. It mixes load-bearing outer walls with a skeleton…
Quincy 'L' Station (finish)
Done! You've seen the Loop that rose from the ashes. Use the east station house for the Inner Loop and the west one for the Outer Loop.
Created by Gregg.