Address: 209 S. LaSalle St. Year Built: 1885-88; Lobby remodeled 1905-07 Architect: Original structure, Burnham & Root; Lobby, Frank Lloyd Wright Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: July 5, 1972

The powerful exterior of this building, which is softened by lively ornament detailed by architect John Root, typifies the lingering picturesque attitudes toward commercial architecture still prevalent in the 1880s. A transitional structure in the evolution of modern architecture, the Rookery Building employs both masonry wall-bearing and skeletal frame construction techniques. It takes its name from a temporary City Hall and water tank that stood on the site following the Fire of 1871. A favorite roost for pigeons, these structures were referred to as "the rookery." When Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the Rookery's large skylit lobby in 1905, he introduced elements characteristic of his Prairie School designs.

Daniel Burnham Frank Lloyd Wright
Early Skyscrapers Great Interiors The Loop
1.	Street Elevations
2.	Upper Facade Detail, photo by Richard Nickel
3.	Drawing, circa 1886
4.	Interior Skylit Lobby