Monadnock Block: the convoluted story of one of Chicago's architectural darlings
Burnham and Root's "Jumbo" is much more than meets the eye.
Each week, discover an historic Chicago landmark and meet the people who built the Windy City. Includes audio recorded by the amazing Jim Goodrich.
The Monadnock Block is one of Chicago’s architectural darlings. To the casual observer, this block may not seem revolutionary, but it’s a two-in-one time capsule of trailblazing construction techniques and evolving aesthetics.
From the north it’s a tall, narrow building with thin windows, not much ornamentation, and a smooth flare at the top. From the south, it’s a tall, narrow building with larger windows, a bit of ornamentation, and a defined, angular cornice. The north building has a thick base, which should put it firmly in the antiquated load-bearing category. The south building, on the other hand, with its narrow piers and larger windows, seems to be built on the more advanced steel frame.
Those two assumptions are partially correct, but this block is more complex than that. There’s a whole lot going on behind that purple-brown brick.
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