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originalchicago · 3 years

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Who has been to the Auditorium for a concert or a play? Did you know the Auditorium was opened on December 9, 1889 as Chicago's 3,982-seat opera house, with a hotel on the Michigan Avenue side and offices facing Wabash and Congress Avenues? It was the first mixed use building and one of the first with electric lighting, an air conditioning system that required tons of ice, and fireproofing throughout the entire structure..In June 1888 the Republican National Convention was held in the theater, before the building was even completed.

Designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, Sullivan moved his office into the top floor of the tower. Among his staff at the time was Frank Lloyd Wright, who assisted Sullivan with the Auditorium's interior decoration. Walking through the south side entrance, the crowd entering was compressed in the lobby with a low ceiling, upon entering the auditorium they walked into a seven story glittering display of Sullivan's intricate ornamentation and dramatic lighting, with a brilliant 24-karat gold-leafed ceiling, and Alder's perfect acoustics.

The Auditorium also has the distinction of having served 24 million meals by WWII’s end, and also saw its magnificent stage used as a bowling alley by servicemen.

The Congress Parkway was envisioned as early as Burnham's 1909 plan as a grand entrance to the city and in 1952, the Congress Parkway was widened, bringing the curb to the southern edge of the building. To make room for a sidewalk, some ground-floor rooms and part of the theater lobby were removed and a sidewalk arcade created.

A great Chicago architectural treasure.

#chicago #auditorium #louissullivan #dankmaradler #franklloydwright #congressparkway #1889 #republicannationalconvention

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