Railway Exchange
[Railway Exchange Building (1904) D.H. Burnham & Co., architects /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The building name was appropriate since it once housed the headquarters of several of
the nation's railroads. It's gleaming, creamy-white, terra-cotta facade shined brightly in a city filled with soot, produced in part by thousands of train engines spewing coal dust into the air. When Daniel Burnham & Co. designed the Railway Exchange in the early 1900s, Chicago was the railroad capital of the country and one of its most polluted cities. Smoke filled the air, and building's in the city's downtown business district were layered with blackened with soot. Burnham had overseen the design of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, dubbed "The White City" and the Exchange Building was a direct reuslt of a new way of thinking about America's cities. It was time to clean up urban America's mess both philosophically, and in the case of this building, literally. The glazed terra-cotta could be easily srubbed down, which it was, once a year.
[Interior lobby and mezzanine /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Daniel Burnham moved his office here in 1906 from the Rookery Building which he had
designed with his now deceased partner John Root. It was another milestone year in Burnham's career, because on October 27th members of the city's Merchant Club announced that Burnham would be in charge of a comprehensive project for the beautification of the city. He located his practice on the top floor of the 17-story structure which gave him the opportunity to look-out over the city that he was hoping to transform in his now famous and groundbreaking, 1909 Plan of Chicago. He was also a partner in the consortium that owned the building which meant that the office may collect the commission, but Burnham could reap the financial rewards of a successful real estate investment. The building currently houses the offices of another Chicago architectural powerhouse, Skidmore, Ownigs & Merrill (SOM).
[Bare filament light bulb trim and decorative terra-cotta, bas-relief panel /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Electric lighting was a pretty new concept back in those days and although the wattage
from a filament bulb of the era didn't emit much light, it was the latest thing in lighting technology. The regional electric company Commonwealth Edison opened a retail showroom in the ground floor space fronting Michigan Avenue in 1908. The company took over 7 existing storefronts and turned the square footage into
a showcase for the latest in domestic electrical appliances for the modern homemaker. Part of that space is now occupied the the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Archicenter store.
[Santa Fe Center/224 S. Michigan Avenue Building (1984) Metz, Train & Youngren, resotration and rehabilitation
architects /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
Burnham died unexpectedly in 1912, the railroad gave way to air travel and most of the
rail-centric businesses left. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe rail line, which had been a tenant from the beginning, eventually took over the entire structure and morphed into Santa Fe Industries. In 1984 the company undertook an extensive renovation program overseen by the architectural firm Metz, Train & Youngren (who became tenants as well) and restored the building to its former glory. The stencil work along the lobby ceiling, originally designed by Burnham, was never implemented until the redo. Perhaps the architect saw that the time and effort wasn't worth the money, a decision usually made by an owner and not a designer.
In case you missed it, see our post about Burnham & Root's: The Rookery.
Posted by designslinger at 5/25/2010 2:44 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Preservation, History, Decorative Arts
Tags: Santa Fe Center Chicago Daniel Burnham
Categories: Architecture, Preservation, History, Decorative Arts
Tags: Santa Fe Center Chicago Daniel Burnham
Your post makes me want to get back to Chicago soon to visit this great building. I also wanted to say that all the photography on your blog is tremendous.
Wow. Thank you, very much!!!