The phrase Art Deco brings to mind elegant architecture, and we’re fortunate to have many examples of those sleek curves in Chicago. Until Nov. 25, ArchiTech Gallery is showing blueprints and photographs of the Carbide and Carbon Building (230 N. Michigan Ave., 1928, Burnham Brothers) and of Deco buildings created by Alfonso Iannelli for 1933’s World’s Fair. (Call 312-475-1290.)
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And now that the Deco panels from 1929’s McGraw-Hill Building can be seen again on the 520 N. Michigan Ave. building, what better time to take a look at some of Chicago’s other Deco treasures?
– Commonwealth Edison substation, 117-121 N. Dearborn St., 1931, Holabird and Root: This elegant shell houses electrical equipment; the relief panel is by Sylvia Shaw Judson.
– Chicago Board of Trade Building, 141 W. Jackson Blvd., 1930, Holabird and Root: The main 45-story tower features the jagged profile often associated with Deco skyscrapers. The statue of Ceres that tops the structure has no face, reportedly because it was thought no other building would ever be as tall as the Board of Trade, therefore no one would realize that statue’s head was featureless.
– Civic Opera Building, 20 N. Wacker Drive, 1929, Graham, Anderson, Probst & White: Art Deco French Renaissance styling, as well as musical motifs, pervade this building.
– Riverside Plaza (the Daily News Building), 2 N. Riverside Plaza, 1929, Holabird and Root: The interlocking vertical masses of the office block rise from the public plaza, Chicago’s first to be planned as part of an office building.
– 919 N. Michigan Building (the Palmolive Building), 1929, Holabird and Root: A shining example of the Deco style, with staggered setbacks making it a powerful sculptural object.
– Descriptions of these buildings came from the AIA Guide to Chicago. For info on other Deco delights, surf the Commission on Chicago Landmarks Web site at www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/Tours/ArtDeco.html.
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