Masonry Magazine August 1983 Page. 11
Bank Announces Plans to
Restore Historic Rookery
Building in Chicago
Continental Bank has announced a five-year restoration program to return the landmark Rookery building in Chicago's Financial district to the original beauty and utility that its prophetic designers achieved almost 100 years ago.
The restoration work began June 1 when Roger E. Anderson, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Illinois Corporation and Continental Bank, ceremonially cleaned decades of accumulated dirt and corrosion from one of the granite blocks of the building.
Last December Continental bid successfully to purchase the land on which the Rookery stands at the intersection of LaSalle and Adams streets from the city of Chicago for $15.1 million. It also outlined plans at that time for a $26.6 million program of improvements to preserve, enhance and perpetuate the landmark status of the Rookery. The extensive rehabilitation work will continue through 1987.
"The spirit of the Rookery's architects, Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root, is alive, vigorous and meaningful to us," Anderson said. "The structure they created is truly a Chicago original and still well-suited to modern needs and uses. When it is fully restored, the Rookery will greet its second century of existence with the freshness that it entered its first."
A prized example of historic Chicago architecture, the Rookery was constructed between 1886 and 1888. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated a Chicago landmark by the Chicago City Council in 1972.
When the bank purchased the land under the Rookery, it agreed to make surface repairs and to clean the exterior of the building as soon as possible. This initial work began in June and is to be completed in September, 1983.
Continental hired Hasbrouck/Hunderman Architects, Historic Resources as consultants for this first phase of the restoration work. Hasbrouck/Hunderman has worked with Canadian architectural conservationist Martin E. Weaver to determine the safest and most efficient means of cleaning this landmark building. Cleaning contractors for the project are Tal Rauhoff, Inc.
Once the Rookery has been thoroughly "scrubbed," its rich, intricate textures will be highlighted with multi-hued tones. Dark brown brick, amber-toned colonnades and salmon-colored granite will serve to show the decorative accents of the building to their finest advantage.
Kicking off a five-year restoration program for Chicago's historic Rookery building, Continental Bank chairman and CEO Roger E. Anderson ceremonially scrubs one of the nearly 100-year-old granite blocks on the building. The contrast is obvious.
Chicago's Rookery building in 1889 is pictured one year after its completion. Continental Bank has embarked on a five-year restoration program to return the landmark structure to its beauty and utilitity originally achieved by its designers, legendary architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root.
Building Materials
The Rookery is constructed of iron and steel covered with tiling. The exterior walls are made of dark brown brick and terra cotta detailed in an East Indian design. Polished red granite colonnades adorn the two-story base of the building, which is finished in rough-hewn granite. The upper stories of the Rookery are lighted from a central interior court, 62 feet by 71 feet. Considered one of the most significant aspects of the building, the hollow square interior court is faced with glazed, white terra cotta brick. The interior court was designed to provide maximum light exposure for the offices facing inside as the light bounces off the white glaze.
In 1905, Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the Rookery lobby. Wright removed much of the elaborate iron ornament and substituted simple designed ironwork. He encased the center stairs in white marble and added white marble planters.
What's In a Name?
Stories abound about the origin of the name of the building. A few of these follow:
A city water tank, built in 1842, first occupied the site where the Rookey was to stand. This area became the home