The National is a
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
high-rise building
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
in the
Chicago Loop
The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
and originally named the Commercial National Bank Building.
History
The building was designed by
D. H. Burnham & Company, and is the oldest surviving building in the Loop designed by that firm. It was designed for the Commercial National Bank, which had been formed after the passage of the
National Banking Act of 1863
The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864 were two United States federal banking acts that established a system of national banks, and created the United States National Banking System. They encouraged development of a national currency backed by ...
. It was constructed between 1906 and 1907.
The Commercial National Bank merged with the Continental National Bank in 1910; the merged entity moved into the
Continental and Commercial National Bank
The Continental and Commercial National Bank is a historic office building located at 208 S. LaSalle Street in Chicago's Loop. The 21-story building was built in 1911-14 for the Continental and Commercial National Bank, at the time one of the large ...
building in 1914. The building was renamed the "Edison Building" in 1912 and served as the headquarters of
Commonwealth Edison
Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquois County on the south ...
until 1969.
The Commercial National Bank Building 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, arch ...
on June 22, 2016.
Height
The building has an estimated height of 231.82 ft.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Chicago
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
List of tallest buildings in the United States
The world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago in 1885. Since then, the United States has been home to some of the world's tallest skyscrapers. New York City, specifically the borough of Manhattan, notably has the tallest skyline in the cou ...
*
Marquette Building (Chicago)
The Marquette Building, completed in 1895, is a Chicago landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche. The building is currently owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ...
References
Works cited
*
External links
*
Bluetstar Properties: 125 S Clark
Burnham and Root buildings
Office buildings in Chicago
Office buildings completed in 1907
Commercial buildings completed in 1907
Historic bank buildings in the United States
Chicago Landmarks
{{Chicago-struct-stub