SH Archive 1888 The Rookery, Chicago & Locations of Previous City Halls

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Related threads: 1891 Monadnock Building, Chicago: still around and Chicago: pre-1871 fire photographs of the city

The Rookery Building is a historic landmark, office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Completed by architects John Wellborn Root and Daniel Burnham of Burnham and Root (the same as the Monadnock building) in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpiece buildings, and was once the location of their offices.

Rookery Building - Wikipedia

The Rookery 1891

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• The architects Burnham & Root moved their offices here for a while upon its completion, and Frank Lloyd Wright also set up an office here at one time.
• The lobby was remodeled in 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright, who simplified the ironwork and added planters and light fixtures in his characteristic style.
• Before the Rookery name had stuck to this project, its developers proposed a long list of possible names, mostly of American Indian derivation.
• The Rookery represents a transition between masonry and metal construction methods, with the outer walls supported mostly by masonry piers and the inner frame built of steel and iron.
• Architect John Root devised the "grillage foundation" – iron rails and structural beams in a crisscross pattern and encased in concrete – to support the building's immense weight without heavy foundation stones.
• Since the interior frame is built of steel and iron, the facade facing the light court has far more extensive window area than the more fortresslike street facades.
• An atrium, originally an open light court, extends through the center of the building, down to the lobby skylight. On the west side of this court there is a famous semi-spiral staircase.
• The building became an official city landmark in 1972.
• Like the Fisher Building, the Rookery incorporates in its facade animal forms derived from the building's name – in this case pairs of rooks by the entrance archway.
• The only metal framing on the perimeter walls is in the first two stories along the alleys. Above that the walls are pure masonry.
• The exterior ornamentation draws from several styles, including Romanesque, Moorish, Islamic, and Venetian.
• The light court was very influential in the design of office buildings in Chicago, including its use of glazed white brick for added brightness.
• Since the perimeter walls are so much heavier than the interior frame, their foundations were built higher to account for greater settling.
• The renovation architects were recognized with an Honor Award for Design from the American Institute of Architects in 1993. (Better late than never?)
• The "Rookery" name is inherited from the previous building on this site, an old city hall which was a favorite roosting spot of pigeons.

The Rookery

This location then was actually featured in a somewhat recent JonLevi video on the City Halls of Chicago. Starting at 5:35:

Link to post referenced in video: The City Hall and Courthouse Buildings

New (Fifth) City Hall at the southeast corner of Adams and LaSalle Streets was completed and occupied by the city government. This two-story brick building, hastily constructed around a large elevated water tank., was known as “Old Rookery” and served as City Hall until 1885.

Why was it constructed hastily? Because the old City Hall, (the Fourth City hall, if you're keeping track), was destroyed in the 1871 fire.

Fourth City Hall ​

Now, the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh City Hall (and current) were/are all located at the same location. The Rookery is down a few blocks.

For $50,000 and other considerations, the County of Cook granted to the City of Chicago the irrovocable right of occupancy “henceforth and forever” of the west half of Block 39 Original Town of Chicago, provided same shall be occupied by the City for purposes of City Hall, (the block bounded by LaSalle, Washington, Clark and Randolph Streets).

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(The fire map with the locations of the fourth City Hall that burnt down and the future fifth City Hall, the Rookery. Note the Rookery is still well within the fire zone. Must have been an easier location to clear for new building after the fire? When did the water tank end up there, I wonder?)

Lasalle and Washington... why does that sound familiar?

Men stand amid the rubble at LaSalle Street and Washington Street. ​

Oh yeah. Those creeps. We seem to be stuck with them.

I'm having trouble locating any photographs of the Old Rookery, aka Water Tank City Hall #5 or any from the pre-fire City Hall #4. The ones posted in this thread appear to be the only ones available. Any help would be appreciated.

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[KD Archive]

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Username: KorbenDallas
Date: 2019-10-13 18:44:23
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This Rookery building looks somewhat similar to the Pioneer Building in Seattle.

 

[Archive]

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Username: Starmonkey
Date: 2019-10-13 18:46:38
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I can't even look at that made-up photo anymore. Looks like someone went nutty with the scissors, glue and white-out.

 

[Archive]

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Username: Banta
Date: 2019-10-13 18:55:54
Reaction Score: 0

I can't even look at that made-up photo anymore. Looks like someone went nutty with the scissors, glue and white-out.

Right, exactly. The fact that it's supposed to have been taken at the same location as the apparently permanent seat (even if the buildings aren't) of Chicago government power is interesting. The rubble behind them definitely not from the destroyed Fourth City Hall and in the only image available above, that City Hall seems like the standout building in the area. I understand you're not getting all the angles here, but I dunno, wouldn't a more dramatic photo be the decimated City Hall right behind you?

 

[Archive]

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Username: jd755
Date: 2019-10-13 18:58:42
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Here's a page which may be of help; A History of Chicago’s City Hall and Cook County Building

City Hall number 4

 

[Archive]

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Username: Banta
Date: 2019-10-13 19:01:40
Reaction Score: 1

Shoot, that's right, I did find that picture too. Too many threads going in too many directions. Thanks for the add!

Still nothing but illustrations for the "Old Rookery" though. Maybe it wasn't that photogenic, having a water tower crammed inside.

Are these even the same building?

 

[Archive]

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Username: jd755
Date: 2019-10-13 19:35:57
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Shoot, that's right, I did find that picture too. Too many threads going in too many directions. Thanks for the add!

Still nothing but illustrations for the "Old Rookery" though. Maybe it wasn't that photogenic, having a water tower crammed inside.

Are these even the same building?

View attachment 31584View attachment 31585

Don't appear to be.
Just found this site which may contain something of interest; with scaffolding partially erected, burnham and root's 1888 rookery building latest to undergo facade restoration | Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

 

[Archive]

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Username: Banta
Date: 2019-10-13 21:21:38
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This site makes a claim about when the water tower was built:

The site formerly was occupied by a city water tank, built about 1842 and surrounded, after the great fire of 1871, by a two story structure that served temporarily as City Hall. The Rookery borrowed its name from the water tank, a favorite nesting place for birds. The tank, incidentally, was the first “home” of the Chicago Public library.

The Rookery

More pictures of City Hall #4:

Not sure any of the pictures of this building are the same. Also, same site claims this is a picture after the fire, but of where?

Then and Now: Chicago's City Halls

 

[Wildfire2000]

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Username: WildFire2000
Date: 2019-10-14 04:05:16
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Again, in the last picture of the first post, that guy on the right in the foreground looks to me like Abraham Lincoln. Surely I'm not the only one that sees that right?

 

[Archive]

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Username: studytruth
Date: 2019-10-14 05:39:59
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Again, in the last picture of the first post, that guy on the right in the foreground looks to me like Abraham Lincoln. Surely I'm not the only one that sees that right?

Wow you might be correct. If that is not Lincoln then it is a twin given the photos we supposedly have. If it is then a) the fire happened in 1871 and Lincoln was still alive. b) the fire happened when Lincoln is claimed to be alive, thus before 1863 c) the whole thing with the fire and Lincoln's time frame is totally off.

 

[Archive]

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Username: jd755
Date: 2019-10-14 07:27:55
Reaction Score: 1

This site makes a claim about when the water tower was built:



The Rookery

More pictures of City Hall #4:
View attachment 31587
View attachment 31586
Not sure any of the pictures of this building are the same. Also, same site claims this is a picture after the fire, but of where?
View attachment 31588
Then and Now: Chicago's City Halls

At least those two are the same building!
As for the destruction picture it could be any fire anywhere. To the only things in it to give away the probable location is the arch to the left background and the very tall structure a church spire maybe in the middle background.

 

[Archive]

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Username: Banta
Date: 2019-10-14 14:21:05
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Wow you might be correct. If that is not Lincoln then it is a twin given the photos we supposedly have. If it is then a) the fire happened in 1871 and Lincoln was still alive. b) the fire happened when Lincoln is claimed to be alive, thus before 1863 c) the whole thing with the fire and Lincoln's time frame is totally off.

I'm not sure that man looks exactly like what we expect Lincoln to look like, also doesn't mean it wasn't supposed to be him at some point. I am not convinced any of these pictures, especially the ones of ruins, are what they are claimed to be of or from the year claimed.

Abraham Lincoln did make a pretty famous appearance at the shapeshifting Fourth City Hall.

Eventually, the Cook County courthouse was reached. Lincoln's casket was removed from the hearse and placed inside the building as the courthouse bell rang so loudly it could be heard throughout the city of 300,000. The building like all the others in the city was covered in mourning. The photo below shows how it appeared that day. Look at the blurred line of visitors streaming down the steps after they had paid their respects to the president.

Looks more like a dust storm of "visitors". Man, they're really moving that line along!

The doors didn't open to the general public until 6:00 p.m. that day. Inside visitors were presented with a colorful patriotic display tempered by mourning as they approached the president's remains. It was dimly lit, but enough of Lincoln could be seen so as to both gladden and shock the mourners who filed past. Below is an image of a print which gives a general idea of how it appeared.

Chicago's Huge Funeral For Lincoln
Maybe there is some related imagery in the links in these threads now too:
Funeral trains, flags, mummies or when did Lincoln really die?
Lincoln's funeral procession and Zwarte Piet

Back to the Rookery, though this is really all interconnected, I think.

The Rookery Building: Crows and Corruption

The Rookery Building, 209 South LaSalle Street, is a landmark of Chicago architecture and a favorite spot for photographers, tourists, and private events. It also houses major corporations, such as U.S. Bank and Brooks Brothers. Yet, its unusual nickname, which many wish didn’t stick as well as it did, has little to do with the positive presents.

The site of the Rookery originally housed “water works” for the south side of the Loop. It included a large water tank that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This tank became, of all things, Chicago’s first public library. Architects transformed the top of the tank into a skylight roof and placed bookshelves around the interior. At the same time, the city began to construct a new City Hall around the tank. By 1873, this odd structure was complete, and people had begun to call it the “Rookery.”

The large water tank used by water works was turned into Chicago’s first public library in the late eighteen hundreds.

City Hall first acquired the nickname because it was infested with crows. A rook is a crow-like bird, but was also commonly used as a generic term for similar birds, and a rookery is a breeding or gathering place for crows or rooks. Variations of rook also referred to corrupt politics of the eighteen eighties; locals felt that Chicago’s politicians produced as much squawking as a colony of crows. Perhaps, however, the shabby construction of City Hall inspired the name, which can refer to a dilapidated building. In any case, and most likely because of all three, the nickname stuck.

When City Hall moved in 1885, new owners Peter and Shepherd Brooks hired Burnham & Root architects to design a completely new structure for their Central Safety Deposit Company. John W. Root created a sheer masterpiece, combining Venetian and classical influences with steel rods and a floating foundation. He crafted a stunning glass ceiling to make a “light court,” and designed the now-famous Oriel staircase. At eleven stories tall, the structure was one of the tallest buildings in the world.

Given the money spent on this new structure, one can understand the frustration when everyone in Chicago kept calling it the “Rookery.” A colleague wrote to Peter Brooks, “I do not like the name which has been given to the Central Safety Deposit Company building. … Many of our contracts are signed under the name of the ‘Central Building,’ but no human being in Chicago knows of any other name for it, or will repeat any other name, than ‘The Rookery.’ ”

And so the nickname lived on, even as the structure began to fade. By 1905 (less than 20 years after it was BUILT), Frank Lloyd Wright was hired to update the lobby. Wright added white marble and geometric designs, but respected the original design. His protégé William Drummond made larger alterations in 1931. This was the Depression era, and financial concerns outweighed artistic ones. Drummond separated the lobby into two floors and covered large sections of the light court.

Decades passed before The Rookery was restored to its original grandeur. L.T. Baldwin III purchased the building in 1988 and hired McClier Architects to revive the original designs of John Root and Frank Lloyd Wright. By this time, the Rookery had gained Chicago Landmark status and joined the National Register of Historic Places. The name, however, remains unchanged.

The Rookery Building: Crows and Corruption

No photos of this old Rookery waterworks\tower library place. No construction photos of the current Rookery. Sparse construction details, for that matter and I'm not sure what year it was actually built now, because half of what I run into says 1886. This site says it was built from 1886 to 1888, which makes sense, but is probably just splitting the difference. Also these:

offering a rare glimpse at the evolution of a historically significant architectural masterpiece, bldg. 51 has recently obtained a set of linen work drafts for the historic chicago rookery building. designed for burnham and root under the project name “order no. 918”, the fourteen iron and glass skylight design linens create a collection of deeply informative and highly technical drafts with scrupulous notes.

these linens are a rare glimpse at the building’s famed skylight and the process of their evolution over the months leading up to the rookery’s completion in 1888. although further research is needed to demystify the many unknowns about the origins of these linen drafts, they offer great scholarship potential to the study of the rookery building as a significant development of american architecture and chicago’s place in the race to construct the first skyscraper.

likely inked by a draftsman working in the rookery’s top floor office of burnham & root, there are in total fourteen rare and historically important architectural drawings with schedules, section plans, and drafting lines of the rookery building skylight dated from january-march 1887. in addition to gathering further information to build a more cohesive narrative on the exact origins of the drawings, plans are in motion for the delicate drawings to undergo exhaustive conservation in preparation for digitization and storage.

the dated rookery building drawings, identified as "work order 817," were likely drawn by a draftsman working in the office of burnham and root at the time the building was being constructed (the building was delivered in 1888). further research will hopefully demystify the many unknowns about the origins of the drawings.

19th century architectural drawings of burnham and root's rookery's skylight acquired by bld. 51 museum archive | Urban Remains Chicago News and Events

 

[madroona]

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Username: madroona
Date: 2019-12-04 11:46:33
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Makes one wonder if this is the origin of the phrasing: "getting rooked"..

 

[Archive]

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Username: Starmonkey
Date: 2019-12-04 13:52:21
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Makes one wonder if this is the origin of the phrasing: "getting rooked"..

Or all of the fun monikers for our family Corvidae. Parliament of rooks, murder of crows...