Venetian Light

 
[Entry header, Chicago Athletic Association Building (1893) Henry Ives Cobb, September 16, 2009 /Image &
Artwork: designslinger]

This imposing header sits above the door of Chicago's most fanciful, Venetian inspired
building.

 
[Venetian Gothic detail, Chicago Athletic Association Building /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Designed by Henry Ives Cobb in 1893 for the Chicago Athletic Association, the Venetian
Gothic ornament decorating the facade looks like it could have been shipped directly from a palazzo on Venice's Grand Canal, and erected on this Michigan Avenue site.

 
[Chicago Athletic Association facade, 12 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

This was the club where Marshall Field, Cyrus McCormick, William Wrigley, their sons and
grandsons, would have come for a physical workout. Or, as just a place to hang out with the guys and chat about making many more millions of dollars.

 
[Athletic Club doorway and facade /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

The building's days as a retreat for the well-connected, physically inclined have come to
an end. The members sold the structure to a developer for a planned hotel conversion and vacated the property on August 24, 2007. Needless to say, given the current state of the economy, the Venetian tracery masks the windows of an empty building.

Related postings: A Private Fortress; University Club

Posted by designslinger at 11/10/2009 2:15 AM
Categories: Architecture,Architects,History
Tags: Henry Ives Cobb Chicago Athletic Association
 

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