City Hall-County Building

“The first structure the city built for its own use was the two-story, brick and stone Market Building which was constructed in 1848 on State Street just north of Randolph.”

“The cornerstone was laid on March 21, 1906, and the building was completed the following year. The first county offices were moved in on July 6, 1907. The following year, demolition of the old city hall commenced.”

“Although it was an open competition, seven prominent architectural firms--D.H. Burnham and Company, Frost and Granger, Huehl and Schmidt, and Holabird and Roche, all of Chicago; Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge of Boston; and Carrere and Hastings and George B. Post and Son of New York--were specially invited to participate.”

“The building echoes, in a contemporary idiom, the strength and dignity of the City Hall-County Building. It is sited on the north half of the block bounded by Dearborn and Clark streets and Washington and Randolph streets; the south half of that block is occupied by the broad Daley Plaza which provides an impressive view of the City Hall-County Building.”

“The brick structure measured thirty by sixty feet and had a wooden portico with four Doric columns and a pediment across the facade. Chicago's early "city halls" were not as imposing as the courthouse.”

“The city hall-county building called for the same efficient planning of interior space that characterized these office structures, but the facade was to be less a direct expression of structural technique and more an imposing statement of the dignity of local government.”

“The structure was erected in two parts: the County Building was constructed between 1906 and 1907 and City Hall was built between 1909 and 1911. For over seventy years, this monumental edifice has not only served as an imposing symbol of local government, but has also functioned as an efficient office building in which the daily activities of scores of city and county departments are conducted.”

“The following month, the commission reported that construction of a new courthouse was imperative and that a long delay was out of the question. Once again, an architectural competition was held for the design of a new city hall-county building.”