The Masonic Temple Building was a skyscraper built in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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in 1892, and from 1895 to the 1920s the tallest building in Chicago.

History

Burnham and Root Burnham and Root was one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century. It was established by Daniel Hudson Burnham and John Wellborn Root. During their eighteen years of partnership, Burnham and Root designed and b ...

and built at the corner of Randolph and State Streets, the building rose 21 stories. When the clock tower was removed from the 1885 Board of Trade Building in 1895, the Masonic Temple became the tallest in the city. The building was owned by Oriental Lodge #33 which still meets to this day. The building featured a central court ringed by nine floors of shops with offices above and meeting rooms for the Masons at the very top. These meeting rooms also served as theaters, which contributed to the building's obsolescence; its elevators proved inadequate for these crowds, and the building rapidly fell from favor with commercial tenants. Chicago's building height regulations enacted in 1892 (the year the Temple was built), didn't allow taller buildings, until that was amended in the 1920s. In 1939 the Masonic Temple was demolished, in part due to its poor internal services, but also due to the construction of the new

State Street subway The State Street subway is an underground section of the Chicago "L" system in The Loop which serves as the center of the Red Line. It is long and has a boarding average of 53,601 passengers every weekday as of February 2013. It owes its name t ...

, which would have necessitated expensive foundation retrofitting. Also, in 1926 the New Masonic Building had opened nearby. A two-story "

taxpayer A taxpayer is a person or organization (such as a company) subject to pay a tax. Modern taxpayers may have an identification number, a reference number issued by a government to citizens or firms. The term "taxpayer" generally characterizes o ...

" housing a

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...

drug store was erected in its place, and the

Joffrey Tower The Joffrey Tower is a high-rise commercial real estate development on the northeast corner of North State Street and East Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States that is the permanent home ...

currently stands on the former site of this building. Both the building's primary designer,

John Wellborn Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated a National ...

, and the Masons' primary representative, Norman Gassette, died of natural causes during its construction.

Gallery

File:Knackstedt & Näther Stereoskopie 0530 Chicago. Freimaurerhaus. Bildseite Masonic Temple (Chicago, Illinois), um 1900.jpg, About 1900: Stereoscopy as postcard No. 530 by (

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) File:Masonic Temple (Chicago).jpg, Masonic Temple, 1900 File:Later Masonic Temple with new Marshall Field Building.jpg, Masonic Temple with new

Marshall Field and Company Building The Marshall Field and Company Building, which now houses Macy's State Street in Chicago, Illinois, was built in two stages—north end in 1901–02 (including columned entrance) and south end in 1905–06, and was the flagship location of the ...

, 1911

References

External links

– ''Scientific American'', February 10, 1894. {{Buildings in Chicago timeline Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago Burnham and Root buildings Former Masonic buildings in Illinois Former skyscrapers Former buildings and structures in Chicago Masonic buildings completed in 1892 Buildings and structures demolished in 1939 1939 disestablishments in Illinois Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago Chicago school architecture in Illinois 1892 establishments in Illinois

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links