LOBBIES—CHICAGO BUILDINGS.

LOBBIES—CHICAGO BUILDINGS. Kids, My parents made a point of showing us the interiors of both the Rookery and the Marquette Building in Chicago. When I posted on my five favorite buildings, I listed the Rookery in Chicago because of its “beautiful, delicate interior.” The Rookery was #128 on the American Institute of Architects list of America’s favorite buildings. Here is a picture of the interior from the AIA series. The building was designed by Burnham and Root, and the lobby was remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright. This post from the designslinger blog has good photos of the Marquette Building interior and interesting text. Just as with the remodeling of the Empire State Building, a lot of money was spent on the interior of the Marquette Building in 1893 so that it could command higher rents. The post quotes the attorney for the builders: “The parts every person entering sees must make a lasting impression. Entrance, first story lobby, elevator cabs, elevator service, public corridors, toilet rooms must be very good.” (This earlier post at designslinger tells how Holabird and Roche in the building pioneered “the use of a steel frame covered in a masonry fire-proofed skin.)