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The Reliance Building is a skyscraper located at 1 W. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The first floor and basement were designed by John Root of the Burnham and Root architectural firm in 1890, with the rest of the building completed by Charles B. Atwood in 1895. It is the first skyscraper to have large plate ...
- 1890–1895
- 1 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois
The Reliance Building’s design and importance have been recognized by being named a city, state and national landmark. All this, and it is also ‘a thing of beauty’ per Tim Samuelson, Chicago's cultural historian. Jane Buckwalter, CAF Docent Class of 1998. The Reliance Building struggled to maintain full occupancy after the Great Depression.
Dec 6, 2023 · The 14-story Reliance Building is a prime example of the technical and stylistic advancements in urban architecture pursued by the First Chicago School during the late 19th century. The structure of this early skyscraper consists of only a steel interior frame with a thin exterior curtain wall of large windows and decorated terracotta tiles.
Reliance Building was the first skyscraper to feature large plate glass windows - something which became standard practice throughout the twentieth century. This allowed natural light to fill interior offices while its white terra cotta exterior projected a clean, hygienic image to customers and clients. Today, Reliance is recognized as a ...
The Reliance Building had deteriorated badly by the middle of the 20th century, and was even threatened with demolition. But thanks to heroic action by the City of Chicago, it was saved and was restored magnificently in the late 1990s by restoration architect Gunny Harboe. Even the original granite and bronze storefronts were faithfully ...
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32 N. State Street, Chicago 60602, United States of America. In a time when thick coal smoke blanketed the city and skyscrapers were often maligned for casting long shadows on the streets, the architects of the Reliance Building, designed by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root, sought to create a building that could be "self-cleaning."
1891–1895, Burnham and Root and D.H. Burnham and Company; 1999 rehabilitation, Antunovich Associates, Harboe Architects, and McClier Corporation. 32 N. State St. At the time of its construction in the late nineteenth century, the predominately glassy facades of the 14-story Reliance Building were a striking addition to the Chicago skyline ...
