The Chicago Board of Trade is a true landmark of the city. Traditionally a commodities market for centralized trading, the building now houses additional business and retail functions. The soaring structure terminates the busy thoroughfare of LaSalle Street and anchors the city’s financial district. Buildings along LaSalle Street perfectly frame the skyscraper, emphasizing the perspective and building’s prominence.
Completed in 1930, the Chicago Board of Trade is constructed of steel and clad in grey limestone. The tower is designed in the Art Deco style, the epitome of modern during its period. As many buildings of this time referenced classical architecture, the Chicago Board of Trade represented the present era. The vertical lines of the façade & geometric form emphasize its height. The ornamentation and materials of the skyscraper evoke the machine age of steam liners, aircrafts, and locomotives. The buildings most iconic feature is the 30-foot faceless statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, atop its copper pyramidal roof. The 6,500-pound statue was created by Chicago modernist sculptor John Storrs and fashioned out of solid aluminum.
The skyscraper’s historic significance is undeniable and was named a Chicago landmark in 1977. In 1978 the Chicago Board of Trade as named a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places.
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