Saturday, June 27, 2009

AIC: [Original] Chicago Stock Exchange entrance arch [By Louis Sullivan]





Chicago Stock Exchange Entrance Arch ..
Designed by Louis Sullivan .
The east entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago is marked by the stone arch entrance to the old Chicago Stock Exchange. Designed by Louis Sullivan in 1894, the Exchange was torn down in 1972, but salvaged portions of the original trading room were brought to the Art Institute and reconstructed.














The upper spandrels of the arch are two commemorative medallions, four feet in diameter. The left medallion depicts the house of P.F.W. Peck, the first structure on this site. The right medallion originally carried the legend: "The First Brick Building Built in Chicago Was Built upon This Site". As the Stock Exchange was nearing completion, this was discovered to be untrue, and the right medallion was replaced with the date "1893," the year construction began.



# Also check out the origianl Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room.. at the Art Institute.. click here..
For more on.. [click on the link]..
# The Art Institute of Chicago...

REF: Chicago Stock Exchange Arch or Louis Sullivan Arch.. click here..

3 comments:

Lethe said...

What an immense sense of shame the sight of this monumental arch must engender in the souls of native Chicagoans. To know that the City allowed and even encouraged the destruction of such works of art is heartbreaking...wander into the Trading Room of the original stock exchange, housed within the AIC, to see a small part of what has been willfully lost through neglect and avarice, and know that here be fools.

Ms Norma said...

Another monument lost to the decaying of mans modern thinking on advancement at any cost! There are preserved places all over the world like Egypt,Rome even the south American jungles. But America Nothing will stand in the way of their advancement! So its forward ho or onward ho!
As "Onward or forward ho" on the old Wagon Train series. The ho is sort of a placeholder. In the army someone would say forward march. But in a wagon train people are walking, running, riding, herding animals etc. Rather than say Forward walk, run, ride, herd etc the wagon master just says Onward or Forward ho and everyone knows it's time to move forward in whichever manner they prefer.

LyndaDi said...

Jyoti, I also found this arch to be something special. I photographed it as well and posted it on Flickr along with a link to your blog as you have some good information on this piece of Chicago art. I hope you don't mind my linking to you. http://www.flickr.com/lyndadi