Tour
Monadnock Building
Tour the world’s tallest commercial building with load-bearing masonry walls and learn how the transition from masonry to steel frame skyscrapers transformed the workplace.
Join people who come from around the world to see the mighty Monadnock, a meticulously restored building that demonstrates the evolution of architecture in the late 19th century. The 45-minute tour begins with Burnham and Root’s 1891 structure, built the old fashioned way --- brick on brick. It concludes with Holabird and Roche’s 1893 addition, supported largely by a metal frame, a technology that allowed buildings to grow tall. Often called “the first modern building,” the Monadnock is a Chicago landmark and a national landmark. It also is just plain beautiful.
Notes:
- Many tours sell out. To guarantee your space advance reservations are strongly recommended.
- Your safety is our priority. The itinerary of this tour may be altered in accordance with health and safety policies and considerations.
- Ticket price includes entrance to the Chicago Architecture Center within 7 days of your tour. View the CAC's hours.
Highlights of this Tour
Monadnock Building
53 W. Jackson Blvd.
As you pass by the Monadnock Building in Chicago’s Loop, you may not recognize it as a transitional…
19th-Century Commercial
Style
Architects working in the late 19th Century were not approaching the design of tall commercial office…
beam
Term
a horizontal structural member that supports a load
Burnham and Root
Architect/Firm
In the decades after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root changed the…
column
Term
In architecture, a column refers to a vertical structure that supports a load. It can be freestanding…
facade
Term
the front of a building
Holabird and Roche
Architect/Firm
The Chicago firm of Holabird and Roche is well-known for designing some of the world’s first skyscrapers…
load-bearing construction
Term
a method of building done by stacking one brick or stone on top of another; each brick or stone carries…
masonry
Term
unit blocks of stone, brick, or concrete used for construction
terra cotta
Term
Latin words for "cooked earth"; a building material such as a tile piece; terra cotta is made from moist…
