burnham and root brain dump: a repository of architectural images, artifacts and ephemera

the bldg. 51 archive has amassed several images, artifacts and ephemera pertaining to the architectural firm of burnham and root over the past several years, with the intention of creating a "virtual collection" to be easily accessed by any and all who have an interest in the firm from its inception in 1873, to the time of root's untimely demise in 1892 - shortly before the world's fair of 1893. when time permits, additional material relating to d.h. burnham and company will be included, but for the time being, the "brain dump" reflects the work of burnham and root.

note: the materials below were digitized and edited over the past two years by eric j. nordstrom for the bldg. 51 archive. additional sources include the collections of donald hoffman and richard nickel of the burnham and ryerson archive, art institute of chicago and the collection of john vinci. 

union stockyard water tower shortly before demolition. the images were taken by john vinci (possibly mid-1960's).
the water tower observatory and stockyard gate were the first two of many structures built at the yards by burnham and root during the late 1870's.
the tower (enclosing a standpipe) was used to regulate water pressure. if i recall correctly, the lookout was used by visitors and fire watchmen.
richard nickel standing at base of tower in third image.

courtesy of the john vinci collection. 

images of john root-designed, copper electroplated rookery building interior iron staircase was fabricated by helca iron works, ny. the rookery was designed by the architectural firm of burnham and root (1888).

original undated chromolithograph of burnham & root's rookery building (1888). possibly from american architect and building news.

collection of bld. 51 archive. 

stunning view of burnham and root's masonic temple building, erected in 1892. the 21-story skyscraper was destroyed in 1939. inland architect press.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive. 

undated richard nickel photo of the rookery building (1888) atrium. burnham and root, architects. the covered skylight, (consisting of strongly geometric cast iron and translucent glass) was covered over on the outer surface with a waterproof membrane and painted a uniform gray on the inner surface. thankfully the skylight has been restored, but it must have been dark and gloomy during that time.

rare image of burnham & root's masonic temple (completed in 1892) taken by acme on may 1, 1939. according to the article accompanying the print, the building was slated for demolition when engineers determined that its "floating foundation of wood piles would have to be replaced by cassions when the new subway is dug."
the ornamental iron was designed by john root and executed by the winslow brothers. the article states it was "hand wrought." i cannot recall if my period winslow catalogs mention this. burnam and root's kansas city board of trade (also demolished) was adorned with both cast and wrought iron.
with the exception of a few doorknobs and elevator indicators, both interior and/or exterior ornament went to the landfill.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive. 

original historically important cast aluminum monadnock building (1891-1893) doorknob and backplate designed by john w. root. the mondanock was one of the earliest commercial buildings to use aluminum as ornament.
burnham and root, holabird and roche, architects.
the lettered doorknobs (i.e., m,k, and w) indicated which building offices resided in ( "k" represented mount kearsarge in new hampshire).

collection of tim samuelson.

john root-designed exterior carved stone lunette detail - william e. hale house (1885-86). burnham and root, architects. hale later commissioned burnham and root to design the reliance building (1890-95).
hale was best known as an innovator in elevator technology. louis sullivan stated that hale - who developed hydraulic and electric elevators - was one of two men "responsible for the modern office building." he later sold the company to the winslow brothers foundry.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive. 

original inland architect lithograph of burnham and root's woman's temple (1892). the 12-story office building was located on the sw corner of monroe and la salle streets.
the building's interior contained bower-barff ornamental iron fabricated by the winslow brothers.
the temple was destroyed in 1926 to make way for the 22-story state bank of chicago.
the solid granite cornerstone - weighing in at 10 tons - contained the emblem and date of the society's organization. the entrance arch was lined with granite blocks from "every state in the union."

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive. 

john vinci kodachrome slide of union stockyards (burnham & root, 1879) in june, 1962.

1960-65 richard nickel silver gelatin print of rookery building's light well and oriel staircase. burnham and root, architects. completed, 1888. image courtesy of john vinci collection.

rookery building (1888) exterior terra cotta detail. burnham and root, architects. the building's terra cotta was fabricated by the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills.

rarely seen richard nickel photographs of burnham and root's kansas city board of trade building (1888) shortly before it was demolished in 1968.

a year before, the building owners terminated maintenance, turned off heat and electricity, and chained the doors shut.
thankfully ornamental iron (bower-barff finish) located throughput the skylighted concourse (fabricated by the winslow brothers) was salvaged during the building's demolition. i'm not sure if any of the exterior's red terra cotta ornament survived. would love to see.

the images of the grain trading hall are hard to look at. the gargantuan stone mantel is/was stunning. the ornamental door hardware was fabricated by the yale & towne mfg. company. i'm so thankful nickel made the trek down there to document the exterior/interior (in great detail based on the number of contact sheets). it's always we have... the images and some ornament.

nickel prints and ornament courtesy of the ryerson and burnham library archive, john vinci collection and bldg. 51 museum collection.

burnham & root's heavily fortified armory building shortly after completion in 1891 and again during its demolition in 1967. richard nickel and john vinci documented the armory (interior an exterior) before and during its demolition.

inland architect lithograph and kodachrome slide courtesy of the john vinci collection.

richard nickel photographic image of burnham and root's heavily fortified brick and rusticated stone armory (1891) shortly before its demolition in 1967. cannot recall if this image was ever published. found on a contact sheet with other buildings.

image courtesy of the ryerson and burnham archive, chicago art institute.

original woman's temple building (1892, burnham and root) advertising card distributed to prospective office tenants.
the office building was located on the sw corner of monroe and la salle streets. the building's interior contained bower-barff ornamental iron fabricated by the winslow brothers.

the temple was destroyed in 1926 to make way for the 22-story state bank of chicago. sadly, there are very few images of the temple around the time of its demolition.

the solid granite cornerstone - weighing in at 10 tons - contained the emblem and date of the society's organization. the entrance arch was lined with granite blocks from "every state in the union."

double-sided card courtesy of the bldg. 51 archive.

photographic image of burnham and root's daily news building (1890-1891). the facade was a remodeling of an existent building. a 4-story structure with raised basement was built at the rear, employing georgia pine wood post and beams. the building was demolished in the 1931.
image courtesy of donald hoffman collection, ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.

the oriel staircase in burnham and root's mills building (1892) located in san francisco was executed by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills. the stringers and risers were plated bronze. the railings were made of wrought iron with hand-hammered leaf work and finished in bower-barff. amazing work by architect and foundry. it's such a tragedy he left us at the age of 41.

courtesy of john vinci collection. 

burnham and root's 4-story romanesque style art institute of chicago, completed in 1886. the exterior was built using a combination of connecticut brownstone and and denver red sandstone. if you look closely, root designed a rather odd "sculpture" (above the three portraits) featuring a human torso as the finial. the building was demolished in 1929.

image courtesy of ryseron and burnham archives, art institute of chicago.

i spent the afternoon at ryerson scanning images of burnham and root buildings from donald hoffamnn's archive.
this undated image of john wellborn root and son, john wellborn root jr., was by far the greatest "find."

image courtesy of ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago.

undated image of burnham and root's kansas city board of trade building (completed, 1888) exchange hall. richard nickel later documented the board of trade (including images of the hall seen here) before its demolition in 1968.

images courtesy of ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago.

looking up at skylight from central court in burnham and root's rookery building (1888). 

POSTS FROM 2018:

burnham and root's house for edward e. ayer, a wealthy chicagoan who made his wealth as a supplier of railroad ties. the exterior rubble walls were comprised of split granite boulders. the ironwork was truly remarkable as seen in the hinged gate, massive strap hinges on the entrance doors, and stair railings flaring out from the arched entrance. the oak paneled stair hall, art glass windows, and stone fireplaces with root-designed carved wood overmantels were equally stunning.

the majority of the images were taken by richard nickel in the early months of 1966. by then, the house had fallen in disrepair, with most of the interior left in shambles. it was demolished soon after. at the very least, nickel made a thorough visual record of the exterior and interior before it was smashed. i'm not entirely sure what was salvaged, but i suspect john vinci, david norris, and nickel rescued some ornament.

images courtesy of habs (taken by harold allen for earl reid) and richard nickel archive, burnham and ryerson library, art institute of chicago.

richard nickel images of burnham and root's romanesque style church of the covenant (1889) shortly before and during its demolition in 1971 i believe. note the "possessed" doll head photos... cannot recall what the significance was other than a bit of humor.
vinci, nickel, and david norris managed to salvaged architectural elements, including column capital panels (see image of norris in window), along with four-sided exterior red slip terra cotta heads between the long and narrow arched windows. the church was located at the southeast corner of halstad and belden.
covenant was destroyed by cleveland wrecking. terra cotta face blocks, dentil moldings, and other ornament were sold in their yard for sometime after. the "heads" were selling for 75 bucks a pop.
i don't want to sound like an alarmist, but i am concerned that the fate of burnham and root's saint gabriel's (1887) could very well be in jeopardy, ever since the archdiocese announced a wave of school and church closures. despite being extensively altered on multiple occasions (i.e., 1922, 1940, 1949, and 1954), its considered to be one of root's finest ecclesiastical works.
it seems unfathomable that saint gabriel could end up going out the way covenant did, but you never know.

images courtesy of john vinci collection and richard nickel archive, burnham and ryerson library, art institute of chicago.

POSTS FROM 2019-2020:

construction of burnham and root's 17-story monadnock building (north half, 1891) nearing completion. the structure was built by george a fuller company, known as the creator of the modern contracting system in building construction.
root referred to monadnock as his "jumbo." it was his last project - he died suddenly at age 41 while it was under construction.

courtesy of john vinci collection.

john vinci kodachrome slides (dated, apr, 1966 and may of 1967) of burnham and root's heavily fortified brick and rusticated stone armory (1891) taken a few years before its demolition in 1967.

the first image of the rusticated stone wall, with all of its layers, crudities, color, and character is truly a sight to behold. the second image is the the first image blown-up to get a better grasp on the stone configuration and surface character. the building is undergoing demolition in the last image.

both vinci and richard nickel recorded the building's demolition - inside and out, with vinci shooting in color and nickel black and white. i believe they both shot using hasselblad 500 c medium format camera.

the calm before the storm... richard nickel images of burnham and root's heavily fortified first regiment armory building (1891) shortly before it was set to be demolished in 1967. many more images of the armory during its demolition will be posted in the next few days.
it was a rather productive afternoon at ryerson, where i digitized nickel images of the armory, the holabird and root's cable building (including the ornament inventory booklet), and piles of letters between nickel and siskind (from the 1950s), ruth moore and joe benson on garrick, ralph marlow line (early photographer of sullivan's work), and a personal favorite, author and professor, carl condit.

images courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

an intimate look at john root-designed interior ornament for burnham and root's woman's temple (1892). the staircase, electroliers, and open-cage elevator surrounds were executed in cast and wrought iron with bronze electroplated finish by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills.
description of building and its ornament featured in winslow's 1894 issue of "ornamental iron."
the woman's temple was smashed in 1926. nearly 13 years later, another burnham and root masterpiece, the 1892 masonic temple, which was also outfitted with equally stunning root-designed winslow brothers ornamental ironwork, was destroyed in 1939.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

james w. taylor albumen print of burnham and root's 16-story 500 room great northern hotel completed in 1891. the structure's iron and steel framing was concealed with brick facade accentuated with small amounts of ornamental terra cotta executed by the northwestern terra cotta company.
the hotel building was destroyed in 1940.

image courtesy of burnham and ryerson art institute of chicago.

original james taylor mounted albumen print of burnham and root's 16-story terra cotta-clad ashland block, with adler and sullivan's schiller theater to the east. the ashland block was destroyed in 1949 and replaced by a greyhound bus station. schiller or garrick (1892) was demolished for a parking garage in 1961.

courtesy of bldg. 51 museum collection.

after weeks of negotiating, i managed to purchase an original john wellborn root-designed kansas city board of trade building (1888) panel for the bldg. 51 architectural ornament collection. when the combination cast and wrought ornamental iron header panel arrived the other day, i spent nearly all afternoon documenting it. in my humble opinion, this is some wellborn's very best ornament - akin to louis sullivan's mccormick house radiator grille.

chicago-based winslow brothers executed the board of trade's ornamental iron work - including the oversized panel (it measures ten feet in length by three feet in height). the bower-barff finish wore off long ago - with the weathered panel exhibiting allover rust and light pitting, restoration work will be necessary.

william winslow's chicago-based foundry (founded in 1887) fabricated some of the finest metalwork during the late 19th and early 20th century, including sullivan's mccormick grille, the owatonna bank teller cages, guaranty building and stock exchange ornament, and so on.

note: the additional images, taken by richard nickel shortly before burnham and root's board of trade was demolished, shows the header panels "in situ." it's unclear how much of the ironwork was saved - i know of only two other existing panels.

images and/or ornament courtesy of bldg. 51 archive. 

a seldom seen photo of burnham and root's masonic temple building (1892) undergoing demolition in 1939. judging from what's left of john wellborn root's ornamental staircase (note the brown brothers company glass vault lights in the risers) and supporting columns from the sky-lit central court, the ornamental iron - executed by winslow brothers - was no doubt smashed, torched, and tossed into scrap heaps. horrifying.

images courtesy of the ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago.

undated (likely early 20th century) image of burnham & root's heavily fortified armory building (1891). the armory was demolished in 1967.

image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

john vinci image of burnham and root's union stockyards (1869) taken in 1960 from the water tower shortly before its demolition.

courtesy of john vinci collection.

two early 20th century 8 x 10 silver gelatin prints of the 16-story monadnock building (1891-1893 - burnham and root, north half and holabird and roche, south half). views of north and east facades, looking southwest. unidentified photographer.

courtesy of the ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago

albumen print of burnham and root's drafting room located on the top floor of the rookery building (burnham and root, 1888).

there's a lot going on here if you look closely at the image. the coiled wire waste baskets, dietzgen stools, wall gasoliers with deep bowl shades, view of the atrium, bentwood chairs, and the built-in wall safes or vaults with heavily ornamented spiral staircase immediately caught my attention. the desk in the foreground has a few door hardware "samples" that were likely provided by orr and lockett. i could go on and on...

if i had my copy of hoffman's "the architecture of john wellborn root" on hand, i could likely pinpoint where this room was located. if i recall correctly, hoffman's book has a floor plan of burnham and root's offices in the rookery.

the date and/or photographer is not known. image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, archive, art institute of chicago.

original 1930s silver gelatin prints of burnham and root's masonic temple building erected on the corner of state and randolph in 1892. the 21-story skyscraper was demolished in 1939. sadly, john wellborn root and the masons' primary representative, norman gassette, died during its construction.
rapp and rapp's 1925 chicago theater and giaver and dinkelberg's 1927 jewelers' building located to the left.

courtesy of ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.

after reading several letters between architectural historian and john root's biographer donald hoffman and richard nickel, i felt compelled to revisit nickel's documentation of burnham and root's kansas city board of trade building (1888) before it was set to be demolished in 1968.
the images take on a completely new meaning now that i have greater insight into nickel's mindset before, during, and after his visit to see hoffman and document the board of trade. i was surprised to learn that on multiple occasions nickel expressed disappointment in the work he did there, perhaps from the lack of proper equipment, limited time, lighting conditions within the building, and so on.
when i carefully reexamined his contact sheets, i quickly realized there were several images that i either missed or did not have time to digitize when i fired off my first post.
i included images from the first post to provide a more exhaustive and well-rounded visual narrative of the building, both inside and out.

images courtesy of the ryerson and burnham library archive, art institute of chicago. ornament courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

image documenting interior renovation of reliance building's eleventh floor lobby during it's transition to "hotel burnham." the boutique hotel was later purchased in 2016 and renamed the "staypineapple" by its new owners.
the original ornamental cast and wrought iron open-cage elevator with bower-barff finish was walled in during the 1930s-1940s - cannot recall exact date.
thankfully, enough of it remained largely intact for partial reuse in the newly-installed elevators and walls on each floor.
the gothic style cast iron staircase and elevator surrounds where executed by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills.
with the exception of the cage elevators being walled-in, the original mahogany woodwork, doors, marble and cast iron staircase remained intact. the office and corridor "school house" light fixtures were added during the depression.
the building was designed by john root and charles atwood, 1890-95.

image courtesy of the ryerson and burnham archive, art institute of chicago.

original early 20th century chief engineer master office key rings made for the reliance building. the lightly incised rings contain a series of closely spaced punch holes made for master keys corresponding to numbered office doors located on a given floor.

the 19th century chicago skyscraper was designed by john root of burnham and root and charles atwood between 1890-95.

courtesy of the bldg. 51 museum collection.

james w. taylor albumen of burnham and root's 17-story monadnock building taken shortly before it completed in 1891.
a large painted wood "for rent" rests against the north facade and building materials line the sidewalks along the east facade.
owen aldis's building management company handled operations and management of monadnock along with several other chicago skyscrapers (e.g., marquette, pontiac, rookery, etc.) during the late 19th and early 20th century.
aldis frequently collaborated with prominent chicago builder/contractor george a. fuller, who built many of the buildings aldis managed.

image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

original unrestored cast plaster interior ceiling escutcheon lunette designed by john w. root for burnham and root's hayden house completed in 1879. the house was demolished in the 1970s.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

large silver gelatin print of the reliance building (burnham, root, and atwood, 1895) likely taken in the 1930s. the miller-wohl clothing store occupied multiple floors (note the neon signs prominently displayed in building's expansive plate glass windows). the ground level included a walgreen driugs located at northeast corner of building. the building is already blackened with soot and upper floors appear entirely vacant.

courtesy of the ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

john root-designed interior monadnock staircase balusters, executed in aluminum and copper-plated cast iron.
like holabird and roche's venetian (1892) and william le baron jenney's isabella (1894), the monadnock (burnham & root, 1891) was outfitted with ornamental aluminum in the lobby and copper-plated cast iron on the upper floors.
the ornament in all three buildings was fabricated by the winslow brothers, chicago, ills.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

images of chicago commercial building hardware by richard nickel.

the image of the custom-designed interior office door handle and escutcheon (fabricated by yale and towne with bower-barff finish) from burnham, root, and atwood's reliance building (1895) was photographed by richard nickel.

the image of the custom-designed interior office door handle and escutcheon (fabricated by yale and towne with bower-barff finish) from burnham and root's kansas city board of trade building (1888) was photographed by richard nickel.

images courtesy of ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago.

seldom seen richard nickel contact sheet images of burnham and root's george h. wheeler residence (1884) taken shortly before it was set to be demolished in 1968.
the house situated between wheeler and h.h. richardson's extant glessner house (1887) to the north, was cobb and frost's richardsonian o.r. keith house (1886), which i believe was wrecked around the same time as wheeler's house.
despite wheeler's house being abandoned and wide open to the elements and vandals, the interior remained somewhat intact, although the image of the entrance doors kicked in and trashed was hard to digest. other than majolica fireplace tiles salvaged by vinci, i don't know of any other ornament being saved.
the kodachromes were taken by charles cushman in 1948 and john vinci in 1960 respectively.

images courtesy of ryerson and burnham, john vinci, and charles cushman.

matching set of 19th century richly colored stained interior residential stained glass windows salvaged from the palmer v. kellogg mansion (burnham and root, 1883) during the depression. the two high victorian windows - featuring several jewels, swag, fruit baskets, foliated scrollwork, and fired enameled glass - were removed from the house in 1929, when it was purchased from philo adams otis (prominent chicago hymn composer) and was converted into several apartments. photographer charles cushman documented the house while it was being wrecked in 1941.

windows courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

original 8 x 10 silver gelatin print of burnham & root's masonic temple (1892) taken by acme on may 1, 1939. according to the article accompanying the print, the building was slated for demolition when engineers determined that its "floating foundation of wood piles would have to be replaced by cassions when the new subway is dug."

the ornamental iron was designed by john root and executed by the winslow brothers. the article states it was "hand wrought." i cannot recall if my period winslow catalogs mention this. burnam and root's kansas city board of trade (also demolished) was adorned with both cast and wrought iron.

with the exception of a few doorknobs and elevator indicators, both interior and/or exterior ornament went to the landfill.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

richard nickel image of burnham and root's phenix building (1887) during its demolition by national wrecking in 1959.
the first floor, including the elaborately decorated arched entrance on jackson, is all that remains of the 11-story building (the two additional stories were added in 1892 by western union).
the images were taken for a.w. skempton, a building engineer at the imperial college of science and technology. together, both nickel and skempton documented and discussed the building's materials and methods (similar to the analysis done on tacoma and home insurance). the images and letters are fascinating.

side note: the phenix building is credited as being one of the first buildings for which hardware - executed by yale & towne - was custom-designed for use throughout (see image of monogrammed doorknob). other than some hardware, nothing was salvaged during its demolition. in fact, nickel writes skempton about witnessing the grand entrance arch being pulled back and crumbling under the crane's clamshell bucket.

image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

richard nickel images of burnham and root’s first regiment armory building (1891) during its demolition in 1967. as I sidenote, i need to create a future post including john vinci’s kodachrome slides, which were taken at the same time when both were documenting the armory’s ruins. vinci’s images are equally compelling, especially since he shot in color.
the exterior consisted of massive 35-foot walls comprised of rusticated or rock-faced michighan brownstone. the distinctive small slotted windows wrapped around the corner turrets were protected with wrought iron basket grating that still existed at the time of demolition.
the original drill room floor was comprised of polished black oak. interior company quarters and officers’ rooms were supported by three-hinged braced trusses and steel cables suspended from the roof. the “hanging” upper stories were equipped with bathrooms, banquet halls, kitchen, serving rooms, and lockers. vinci documented a few of these rooms that hadn’t been altered much since the time it was built.

courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

early 20th century photograph of burnham and root's 10-story rand mcnally building (1889). the image provides a detailed look at root's ornament about one of two entrances along adams street. the terra cotta panels surrounding the entrance were executed by the northwestern terra cotta company. the building was demolished in 1911.

image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

digitizing some interesting images from david lowe's archive this week, including this 1906 street level view of lasalle street looking south with burnham and root's rookery (1888), wm. boyington's old board of trade building (1885), and several horse carriages and wagons on street.

courtesy of david lowe archive, ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

albert levy albumen print of the sydney kent house nearing completion. note the tradesmen or contractors in the window, the entrance boarded up, the sawhorse and surrounding woodwork located below the bay window, a sign posted on the facade identifying the builders, and art glass windows have yet to be installed. the extant house was completed in 1883 by burnham and root.

image courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago

burnham and root's midland hotel (1888). donald hoffman photographed the kansas city building shortly before it was demolished. the ornamental iron was executed by the winslow brothers company, chicago, ills. the door hardware that survived, looks virtually identical to burnham and root's rookery building (1888).

images courtesy of the ryerson and burnham library, art institute of chicago. hardware courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

recently acquired original 8 x 10 james w. taylor or ralph cleveland albumen photographic print of state street looking north of madison in 1891.
this is the first image i've seen showing burnham root's 21-story masonic temple (completed, 1892) under construction with exposed steel framing for its pitched rooftop gables.
i've included a taylor albumen showing the temple nearing completion in 1892 (note the building materials scattered along the sidewalks and streets and scaffolding erected under the building's massive granite entrance arch feet wide that opened into the great rotunda).
the last image was taken in 1939, when the building was destroyed. judging from what's left of john wellborn root's ornamental staircase (note the brown brothers company glass vault lights in the risers) and supporting columns from the sky-lit central court, the ornamental iron - executed by winslow brothers - was no doubt smashed, torched, and tossed into scrap heaps.

photos courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

richard nickel image of the rusticated lemont limestone union stock yard gate as it appeared in april of 1971. the adjoining structure to the left (demolished) was used a police station or guard house.
the centrally located hand-carved rondel with bull head above the main arch is often referred to as "sherman," after a prize-winning bull owned by stockyard founder john b. sherman.
the gate and water tower observatory were the first two major structures built at the yards by burnham and root around 1897. the water tower was demolished in the 1960s.

courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.