Architecture 16 of 23 Sullivan & Adler Auditorium Building Chicago
Auditorium Building | http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/89.htmlThe Auditorium is one of Chicago's architectural masterpieces. Built in 1888 on the northwest corner of Congress and Michigan, it combines Dankmar Adler's engineering ingenuity with Louis Sullivan's architectural virtuosity. It was the brainchild of Ferdinand Peck, a Chicago impresario devoted to bringing the city a world-class opera house and theater. A hotel and office block were added in 1890 to ensure the theater's economic viability.
Adler and Sullivan received the commission based on Adler's expertise in acoustics and engineering. After preliminary, ornate designs, Peck accepted Sullivan's final scheme, which derived much of its character from H. H. Richardson's recently completed Marshall Field Wholesale Store, also in Chicago. Richardson's building was a warehouse that employed strong, solid massing without excessive ornament. The beauty of Sullivan's design (built 1887–1889) comes from his focus on the structure's overall mass and repetition of streamlined patterns to give this large building (63,350 square feet) with many uses a unified look. Sullivan's muted exterior stands in contrast to his elaborate interior designs, based on organic motifs.
The Auditorium demonstrates Adler's technical ability to accommodate a variety of uses, from political conventions to grand opera, under one roof. Innovations in foundation technology allowed the large, heavy building to be constructed on notoriously marshy land, and the latest techniques were employed to give the building uninterrupted spans.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Auditorium_Building,_Chicago | Auditorium Building, Chicago
Later uses
On October 5, 1887, President Grover Cleveland laid the cornerstone for the Auditorium Building. The 1888 Republican National Convention was held in a partially finished building where Benjamin Harrison was nominated as a presidential candidate. On December 9, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison dedicated the building and opera star Adelina Patti sang "Home Sweet Home" to thunderous applause. Sullivan had also opened his offices on the 16th and 17th floors of the Auditorium tower.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuted on October 16, 1891, and made its home in the Auditorium Theatre until moving toOrchestra Hall in 1904.[8]
The opera company renting the accommodation moved to the Civic Opera House in 1929, and the Auditorium Theatre closed during the Great Depression. In 1941, it was taken over by the city of Chicago to be used as a World War II servicemen's center. By 1946,Roosevelt University moved into the Auditorium Building,[8] but the theater was not restored to its former splendor.
In 1952, Congress Parkway was widened, bringing the curb to the southern edge of the building. To make room for a sidewalk, some ground-floor rooms and part of the theater lobby were removed and a sidewalk arcade created.[10]
On October 31, 1967, the Auditorium Theatre reopened and through 1975, the Auditorium served as a rock venue. Among other notable acts, the Grateful Dead played there ten times from 1971 through 1977.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1975.
The building was equipped with the first central air conditioning system and the theater was the first to be entirely lit by incandescentlight bulbs.[8] In 2001, a major restoration of the Auditorium Theatre was begun by Daniel P. Coffey and Associates in conjunction withEverGreene Architectural Arts to return the theater to its original colors and finishes.
On April 30, 2015, the National Football League held its 2015 NFL Draft in the Auditorium Theatre, the first time the league has held its annual draft in Chicago in more than 50 years.
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