Auditorium Building - View this location on map  The extraordinary engineering talent of Dankmar Adler and the architectural genius of Louis H. Sullivan created this building to reflect the cultural maturity of Chicago. Combining hotel and office space with a splendid theater designed for an opera company, the Auditorium was a turning point in Sullivan's career and a milestone in the development of modern architecture. Sullivan's genius for architectural ornamentation is displayed in the building's interior, where most of the public rooms are lavishly finished. The grandest interior space is the theater itself, with four broad elliptical arches spanning the width of the theater and decorated by plaster reliefs covered with gold leaf. 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago , IL Historical Auditorium Building - View this location on map The extraordinary engineering talent of Dankmar Adler and the architectural genius of Louis H. Sullivan created this building to reflect the cultural maturity of Chicago. Combining hotel and office space with a splendid theater designed for an opera company, the Auditorium was a turning point in Sullivan's career and a milestone in the development of modern architecture. Sullivan's genius for architectural ornamentation is displayed in the building's interior, where most of the public rooms are lavishly finished. The grandest interior space is the theater itself, with four broad elliptical arches spanning the width of the theater and decorated by plaster reliefs covered with gold leaf. 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago , IL Historical Auditorium Building - View this location on map Constructed 1886-1889, this structure grew out of Chicago's need for a civic center housing primarily a concert hall and opera house, as well as space for political conventions, charity balls, etc. Among the most important buildings in the history of modern architecture, it reveals Louis Sullivan's developing ability to solve the aesthetic and functional design problems of tall buildings, and the capacity of Dankmar Adler to overcome engineering obstacles. Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois Historical |