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The scene on the opposite page offers two structures of the first rank among the edifices of the city, the nation, and perhaps the world. These are the Auditorium and the Leiter, or Siegel & Cooper Building. The facades of the foreground look upon the Lake Front Park, and are but a portion of the famous row that, beginning with the Public Library, extends well south toward the new station of the Illinois Central Railroad. The Public Observatory of the Auditorium (admission 25 cents) is here seen, and in its cupola is the station of the United States Signal Service. The new Isabella Building stands beyond. The only church that remains down-town and retains the form of a church is the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian), on Van Buren Street. It would be well to especially note that the South Side Elevated Terminal is at the south end of No. 9, the Siegel & Cooper Building.
Fronts 178 feet on Michigan Boulevard and 173 feet on Congress Street, at the southwest corner. It is a part of the Auditorium Hotel, and is connected therewith by a tunnel under Congress Street. The building, which conforms in appearance with its ante-type, is 152 feet high, in 11 stories and basement, and has 500 rooms. There are 3 passenger elevators. It is among the notable high buildings which elsewhere have a chapter in this guide, and is constructed of steel, New Bedford stone, marble, tile, mosaic, and terra cotta. It was erected in 1892, at a cost of $1,000,000, and a small addition has already been made on the south. This addition is 4 stories high and 60 feet wide on the boulevard.
Fronts 362 feet on Congress Street, 187 feet on Michigan Boulevard, and 161 feet on Wabash Avenue. This celebrated and magnificent structure, the chief architectural spectacle in Chicago proper, has received attention in our chapters on "Hotels," "Amusements," and "Notable High Buildings." It covers 1.5 acres, and the height of the main building is 145 feeet, with 10 stories and basement. The spacious tower, however, is 17 or more stories in height, and measures 270 feet from the ground. The walls are of granite and Bedford stone to the top, and the interior is of steel, terra cotta, and other non-combustible materials. A hotel (to which the Extension belongs), the largest theater in the world, a recital hall, 4 stores, and 136 offices go to make up the building. There are 13 passenger elevators, and 3 entrances to as many parts of the structure. It is estimated that in the mosaics of this great fabric are 50,000,000 pieces of marble, all placed by hand. The builders used 17,000,000 brick, 25 miles of pipes, 60,000 square feet of plate-glass, and 12,000 electric lights. The theater will admit 8,000 people at a convention, 6,000 at a lecture, 5,000 at an opera. The dining-hall of the hotel is 175 feet long. The Auditorium was the conception of Ferdinand W. Peck, who, as president of the Chicago Auditorium Association, brought it to commercial success. Ground was broken in 1887. The Republican National Convention of June, 1888, was held in the theater, and the finished building was dedicated President Harrison during the holidays of 1889-90. Cost, $3,200,000.
At 203-206 Michigan Boulevard, doubtless influenced the architecture of its newer neighbor, the Auditorium, for there is a resemblance in color, height, and general effet. This carriage repository and manufactory has a frontage of 107 feet, a depth of 170 feet, and a height of 135 feet, in 8 stories and basement. It belongs to the class of notable high buildings of Chicago, and receives some description elsewhere. The exterior walls are heavy, and built of red syenite granite and Bedford stone. The two granite columns at the main entrance, 3 feet 8 inches in diameter and 12 feet 10 inches high, are said to be the largest polished monolithic shafts in the country. The first 4 floors display a selection of 2,000 fine carriages. The remaining floors are used as a manufactory of the same class of goods. Erected in 1884 by the famous wagon-makers of South Bend, Ind. Cost, $750,000.
Fronts 90 feet on Van Buren Street and 75 feet on Michigan Boulevard, at the southwest corner, and is an ornate structure which was erected and occupied by the Art Institute. From 1886 until 1892 it was the home of this association, when the property was sold to the Chicago Club, and remodeled to meet the needs of that society. The edifice is 95 feet high, in 4 stories and basement, and is made of steel, Connecticut brownstone, and brick. There are 2 passenger elevtors. Cost, $200,000.
Fronts 102 feet on Michigan Boulevard and 172 feet of Van Buren Street, at the northwest corner, and was once the Beaurivage, Chicago's first "French flats," or fashionable apartment building. The structure is 80 feet high, in 6 stories and basement, with 2 passenger elevators. It was erected about 1878, and burned in 1882. It was rebuilt and stood until 1892, when it was remodeled for the Victoria Hotel, with 278 rooms. Cost, $600,000. (See "Hotels.")
At 243-253 Wabash Avenue, is an imposing structure, which is devoted largely to music. It is 150 feet wide, 100 feet deep, and 80 feet high, in 7 sotries and basement. There are 75 offices for musicians and other professional men, a recital hall, and the ware-rooms of the W. W. Kimball Company, pianos and organs. The building was erected in 1882.
At 44-48 Van Buren Street, is one of the very latest of the steel sky-scrapers. It is 46 feet wide, 78 feet deep, and 165 feet high, with 11 stories and basement. Copper enters conspicuously into its exterior construction. There are 4 stores, 100 offices, and 2 passenger elevators. The Daughters of Isabella have their society halls on the upper floor. Erected in 1893, at a cost of $200,000.
Fronts 80 feet on Wabash Avenue and 200 feet on Congress Street, at the northwest corner, and its 6 stories have a height of 85 feet. The building is a brick one of the old style, with 1 passenger and 2 freight elevators, and is occupied in the lower parts by the carpet company after whom it is named. On the upper floors are some of the heaviest subscription-book firms in the world. Here the Encyclopedia Britannica was photographed and cheaply reproduced, and Stoddard's Views of the World and other popular hits had their origin. Erected in 1886. Cost, $250,000.
Fronts 402 feet on State, 144 feet on Congress, and 144 feet on Van Buren Street. It is 123 feet high, and has 8 stories and basement. It is more fully described in our chapter on "Notable High Buildings," and stands as an example of good taste, munificence, and wisdom on the part of its builder, L. Z. Leiter. It is a steel edifice, with heavy walls of Bedford stone, and has a floor area of about 15 acres. There are 12 passenger and 6 freight elevators. The tenants do a retail business, with 2,000 employes, and practically offer all the conveniences of a small city, with 65 different kinds of stores, a bank, restaurant, butcher-shop, telegraph-office, employment bureau, dentist's office, doctor's office, barber-shop, and a hairdresser for ladies. It is claimed that this is the largest retail establishment in the world. Cost, $1,500,000.