| Address | 37-43 S. LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Built | 1893-94 |
| Architect | Jenney & Mundie, 1898 addn; Unknown, 1903 addn |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | July 26, 2006 (Final)City Council Journal of the Proceedings, p. 81492 |
| Neighborhood | Loop |
| Type | Office and commercial building |
| Landmark ID | L-217 |
Interior spaces protected by this designation
- the LaSalle Street and Monroe Street elevations, including rooflines, and the finished return on the north elevation of the Building; the first- and second-floor lobbies of the Building, including, but not limited to, the LaSalle and Monroe Street entrances, staircases, and ornamental features.
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“This ornamentation demonstrates the pervasive influence of the Classicalstyle 1893 World's Columbian Exposition on Jenney's subsequent skyscraper designs. The New York Life Building's lobby is especially noteworthy as a rare surviving example of a 19th-century office building lobby in Chicago, beautifully detailed in marble and Classical-style ornament.”
“It was included in the catalogue of the Seventh Annual Exhibition of the Chicago Architectural Sketch Club, held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1894. The New York Life Building has also been included in publications that include the AIA Guide of Chicago, Chicago's Famous Buildings, and William Le Baron Jenney: A Pioneer of Modern Architecture.”
“The steel-frame-supported New York Life Building fulfilled these requirements by offering the optimum in light, fireproofing, and building technology. Today it stands as a rare example of the state-of-the-art buildings that established LaSalle Street as one of Chicago's premier architectural corridors in the late 19th century.”
“On axis with the Monroe Street entrance is a second staircase to the building's second floor, detailed with Ionic columns and gray marble. THE NEW YORK LIFE BUILDING AND TERRA COTTA CLADDING The New York Life Building displays the major building technology innovations that made Chicago skyscrapers of the late 19th century famous.”
“As one of Chicago's earliest surviving terra-cotta-clad structures, the New York Life Building also marks an important step in Chicago's leadership in the architectural terra cotta industry. Lightweight, easily molded and inexpensive, terra cotta quickly became a popular facing material for some of the city's most prominent buildings in the 1890s and early 1900s.”
“In his seminal work, The Chicago School of Architecture, historian Carl Condit praised Jenney as “perhaps the most original structural talent of the Chicago school." Besides his skyscraper innovations, Jenney was also significant as a park planner and teacher, having planned Chicago's great West Side parks and mentored some of Chicago's most significant architects.”
“At the time of construction, the New York Life Building was claimed to be the first in which the outer walls were clad not from the ground up, but begun at several floors.”
“This great technological advance revolutionized building construction throughout the world. Jenney played a significant role in the development of Chicago, designing the original layouts of Garfield, Humboldt and Douglas Parks on Chicago's West Side, serving on the architectural advisory board for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and as an important mentor of future important architects, including Daniel H. Burnham, Louis H. Sullivan, William Holabird and Martin Roche.”
“The alley side of the building is clad in enameled brick. The New York Life Building's elegant lobby is notable for its superb design and craftsmanship in sumptuous materials.”
What other designation reports say about this building
“Chicago YMCA Board of Managers, 1913. Guarino, Jean. “New York Life Building, 37-43 S. LaSalle Street." Preliminary Landmark recommendation approved by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, November 14, 2002. Hahn, Kandalyn.”
“Van Buren Street (top right, demolished), the New York Life Building at 37-43 S. LaSalle Street (bottom right), and the Ludington Building at 1104 S. Wabash Avenue (bottom left) Sources: Ryerson & Burnham Art and Architecture Archive (top…”
“…several tall office buildings in downtown Chicago during their 14-year partnership, the Central YMCA Headquarters and the New York Life Building at 37-43 S. LaSalle Street (1894) are the only remaining examples of the firm's work in the Loop.”
“Van Buren Street (1892, demolished in 2004), the New York Life Building at 37-43 S. LaSalle Street (1893-4, a designated Chicago Landmark), and the Morton Building at 538 S.”