The Auditorium

The Auditorium Building is a mixed-use early skyscraper at 430 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built between 1887 and 1889, it was designed by Adler & Sullivan, the partnership of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. The building occupies the northern side of Ida B. Wells Drive between Michigan and Wabash avenues. It originally included the Auditorium Theatre, offices, and a hotel; the theater still exists, but the rest of the building has since been converted into classrooms for Roosevelt University. The building is a Chicago Landmark and a National Historic Landmark, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Following the success of the 1885 Grand Opera Festival, Chicago businessman Ferdinand Peck formed a syndicate to develop a theater, office, and hotel building. The building was dedicated on December 9, 1889, and the hotel opened the next year. Originally, the Chicago Auditorium Association (CAA) owned the building, and ownership the land was split three ways. The CAA began looking to replace the building as early as 1922; it subsequently went bankrupt, and the landowners took over in 1932. The building was renovated but was closed in 1941. It was briefly used as a servicemen's center during World War II before being taken over by Roosevelt University in 1946. The university converted the former offices and hotel into classrooms, and the theater inside was renovated between 1958 and 1967. The building has undergone additional modifications throughout the years, including renovations in the early 2000s. The building is generally 10 stories high, except for a 17-story, 240-foot-tall (73 m) tower to the south. The facade is generally made of darker granite and lighter limestone and is divided into three horizontal sections. Its structural design includes a foundation of grillages and pyramidal footings, along with an iron and steel superstructure. Inside, the theater occupies 40% of the building's volume, with 4,200 seats spread across three seating levels. Surrounding the theater is classroom space formerly used by the hotel to the east and the offices to the west.