Metropolitan Building - LaSalle Street - Chicago
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Metropolitan Building - LaSalle Street - Chicago
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Drawn to the vertical symmetry and sleek lineal appearance of the first two floors of the Art Deco Metropolitan Building on LaSalle Street, I chose to exaggerate that with a head-on elevational type photograph. This gives the image miniaturized appearance, focusing on the entry with its amazing Art Deco lettering, flanked by the two outdoor sconces, and topped with that fabulous pop of color.
Originally known as the Eitel Building, an Art Deco and Classical Revival skyscraper, it was constructed in 1926 as an office building, hotel, and theater by German immigrant brothers Emil and Karl Eitel. They made their money as pioneers in commercial refrigeration, installing ice boxes in hotel kitchens and air conditioning in hotel restaurants. The Brothers ran the first Bismarck Hotel on this site in 1894 and demolished it to build this new skyscraper. Besides the 22-story Metropolitan Office Building, the Eitel Block included a 19-floor 600-room hotel, now the Hotel Allegro, and a 2500-seat theater, now the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
The Metropolitan, with its Art Deco façade, is on LaSalle Street, not to be confused with the same-named building on Michigan Avenue; this was considered the building’s main entrance, while the theatre and hotel entrances are located on Randolph Street.
The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the West Loop - LaSalle Street Historic District.
Copyright 2022 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
July 16th, 2022
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Viewed 1,667 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/20/2024 at 7:51 AM
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