Completed in 1889 by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, the Auditorium Building combined a grand theater, a hotel and offices under one roof on Michigan Avenue. It was built for the businessman Ferdinand Peck, who wanted Chicago to have a great hall for opera and concerts.
The 4,200-seat theater fills much of the building's volume, wrapped by the hotel and offices. On Chicago's soft soil, the heavy building rests on grillages and pyramid-shaped footings beneath an iron and steel frame. Outside, dark granite gives way to lighter limestone above, and a 17-story tower rises 240 feet on the south side.
The building closed in 1941 and served as a servicemen's center during World War II. Since 1946 it has been home to Roosevelt University, while the restored Auditorium Theatre still presents performances.
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