Completed in 1888 by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root, who kept their own offices here, the Rookery is considered the oldest standing high-rise in Chicago. Its twelve stories rise 181 feet above LaSalle Street in the Loop.
The building stands at a turning point in skyscraper history. Heavy outer walls of granite and brick carry part of the load, while an inner frame of cast iron, wrought iron and steel carries the rest. Beneath it, Root designed a grillage of iron rails and beams set in concrete, spreading the weight across Chicago's soft, swampy soil.
At its heart is a two-story light court under a skylight of some 5,000 panes of glass. Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the lobby between 1905 and 1907, adding white marble with Persian-style gilded ornament. It is his only work in the Loop.
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