Chicago Architecture - Monadnock Block and more! Traditional Cache
Reviewer Smith: The cache listing no longer meets the guidelines for caches placed near railroad tracks.
Reviewer Smith
Chicago Architecture - Monadnock Block and more!
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As with many caches in an urban setting, the buildings will give your GPSr fits. Be sure to check the maps before heading out and as always the hint can be a big help.
A wonderful collection of buildings located on this corner. Northwest - The Monadnock Block, Northeast - The Fisher Building and Southeast - The Old Colony Building.
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Monadnock Block - Year Built: North half 1889-91; South half 1891-93 Architect: Burnham & Root; Holabird & Roche
The north half of the Monadnock "Is the tallest structure in the world" built with load bearing walls "taller than the great cathedrals of Europe".
The two halves of this building provide a unique perspective for examining the history and development of modern architecture. The north part--famed for its lack of traditional ornamentation--is a masonry, wall-bearing structure, the last skyscraper to employ this method of construction, with six-foot thick walls at the base. The south addition, on the other hand, is an early example of steel-frame construction, its underlying structure revealed through narrow piers and wide windows. Together, they mark the end of one building tradition and the beginning of another.
I Love the first floor hallway! :)
The Fisher Building - Year Built: 1896; north addition, 1907 Architect: Burnham & Co.; Peter Weber, addition
Cladding this early skyscraper with Gothic-inspired, terra-cotta tracery was not a casual stylistic choice. Its designers looked for inspiration to the early Gothic cathedrals of Europe, which shared common characteristics of tallness and often having more glass than masonry. Eagles and mythical beasts decorate the upper stories, and aquatic creatures and seashells--a visual pun on the name of the building's original owner, Lucius G. Fisher--are found at the base. A later addition to the north is largely a repetition of the original design, except for the absence of bay windows.
The Old Colony Building - Year Built: 1894 Architect: Holabird & Roche
Rounded corner bays, a feature of many early skyscrapers, enliven the silhouette of this commercial structure. Continuous vertical piers divide the building's long Dearborn Street facade into tall, narrow sections, while continuous horizontal spandrels serve to visually widen the narrow Van Buren Street facade. The structure is a critical component of a dramatic stretch of landmark structures along South Dearborn that also includes the Fisher and Manhattan buildings.
Thanks to Greenback for allowing me to reuse his cache container from the now archived 'Advance to Go' series. Hard to believe that container lasted 10 years!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
AJ pbeare abegu snpr zntargvp
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