Address: 32 N. State Street Year Built: Base built in 1890, Upper stories built 1894-95 Architect: Burnham and Root Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 11, 1995

To Chicagoans of the 1890s, the glass-covered exterior of this building seemed to almost defy gravity. A century later, it is internationally recognized as the direct ancestor of today's glass-and-steel skyscrapers. Extremely narrow piers, mullions, and spandrels, all covered with cream-colored terra cotta decorated with Gothic-style tracery, divide wide expanses of glass and clearly delineate the interior steel framework that supports the building. The light and airy facade is almost entirely windows--both flat and projecting bays--of the type known as a "Chicago window:" a wide fixed pane with narrow movable sash windows flanking it. A flat cornice tops the 14-story structure. The severely deteriorated exterior was completely restored by the City of Chicago in 1996.

Daniel Burnham
Early Skyscrapers Terra Cotta The Loop
1.	Exterior in 1895
2.	Window Detail, photo by Richard Nickel
3.	Upper Stories, photo by Richard Nickel