London Guarantee and Accident Building, Chicago, Illinois, Elevation and Details

Alfred S. Alschuler conceived the London Guarantee and Accident Building at a high moment for Michigan Avenue during the influential international competition for the Tribune Tower and the construction of the shimmering Wrigley Building. Planned for an irregular site along the Chicago River, Alschuler’s elegant building employed a distinctive concave façade that commanded the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. The elaborate Neoclassical elements used in the façade, including faux Roman porticos and a round lantern cresting the roofline, were intended to mark the building’s important contribution to the city as a new monument to commerce. This Chicago landmark stands at a watershed in the history of modern architecture, when Europe began to advance new ideas for steel-and-glass construction, and the United States pioneered a range of decorative styles for skyscrapers, from Beaux-Arts to Art Deco. Like many drawings in the Burnham Library, these sheets were donated to the Art Institute by Alschuler’s successor firm.