local history in chicago us il
Union League Club of Chicago: A Fourth-Ranked Civic Landmark in the Loop
A private club on Federal Street has quietly shaped Chicago's civic and social landscape for nearly 150 years. The Union League Club, housed in its distinctive Loop building since the early 20th century, ranks among the most prestigious institutions in the nation.
Monadnock Building in Chicago: tallest load-bearing brick skyscraper ever
On West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago's Loop stands a 16-story monument to an engineering ambition that would never be repeated. The Monadnock Building, completed in 1891, holds a record that has never been broken: it is the tallest load-bearing brick and masonry building ever constructed.
Kluczynski Federal Building: Mies van der Rohe's Last Chicago Masterpiece
In 1974, the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building rose 562 feet above Chicago's Loop as the last structure Ludwig Mies van der Rohe would complete in his adopted city. This 45-story modernist tower, named for a U.S. Congressman, stands where an earlier federal building once anchored the heart of downtown.