The Chicago Varnish Company Building is a building built in 1895 as the headquarters of one of the leading

varnish Varnish is a clear transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not a stain. It usually has a yellowish shade from the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmented as desired, and is sold commercially in various ...

manufacturers in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the Chicago Varnish Company. The building is a rare example of

Dutch Renaissance The Renaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in the Northern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in the Low Countries (corresponding to modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders). Culture in the Low C ...

Revival-style

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

in Chicago, and is marked by a steeply pitched roof paired with stepped gables of red

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and light stone in contrasting colors. The building was designed by

Henry Ives Cobb Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Victorian Gothic styles. ...

, a nationally recognized

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

whose other significant works include the former Chicago Historical Society Building, the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

, and the original buildings for the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

campus. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on June 14, 2001, and was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, archite ...

on July 25, 2001. After an extensive rehabilitation, including replacement of the multigabled clay tile roof and rebuilding the stepped parapets,

Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse is an Americans, American steakhouse restaurant chain, chain specializing in steak and Italian-American cuisine. The restaurant was established in 1987 in Chicago's River North neighborhood, in the former Chicago ...

opened in the building on October 23, 1987. The restaurant has received numerous awards for its food and service, and features many items of memorabilia, including a "Holy Cow" wearing the trademark Harry Caray eyeglasses that was sourced from Chicago's CowParade. The building is distinctive for its use of the Dutch Renaissance revival style, with its stepped gables, steeply-pitched tile roof, and contrasting brick and stone masonry.

References

External links

Chicago Varnish Company Building
{{Chicago Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Chicago Landmarks Office buildings completed in 1895 Stepped gables

See also

References

External links