Carbide & Carbon Building
| Carbide & Carbon Building | |
|---|---|
The Carbide & Carbon Building (2016)
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial offices, hotel |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Location | 230 North Michigan Avenue |
| Country | United States |
| Construction started | 1928 |
| Completed | 1929 |
| Owner | Hard Rock Hotel Chicago |
| Height | |
| Roof | 153.32 metres (503.0 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 37 |
| Floor area | 26,942 m2 (290,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Burnham Brothers |
| Designated | May 9, 1996 |
| References | |
The Carbide & Carbon Building is a Chicago landmark located at 230 North Michigan Avenue. The building, which was built in 1929, is an example of Art Deco architecture. It was designed by Burnham Brothers. The Carbide and Carbon Building was originally home to the regional office of Union Carbide and Carbon Co., which later became Union Carbide Corp. The skyscraper was designated a Chicago Landmark on May 9, 1996. Built as a high-rise office tower, the Carbide & Carbon Building was transformed more recently into the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago; work on the renovation began in 1998 and was completed in 2004. The conversion was directed by Lucien Lagrange & Associates. The building has 37 floors and is 503 feet (153 m) tall. The current hotel capacity is 383 guest rooms and 13 suites.
The exterior of the building is covered in polished black granite, and the tower is dark green terra cotta with gold leaf accents. The use of stylized representations of leaves on the building's exterior was an intentional reference by the architects to the prehistoric origins of subterranean carbon deposits in the decay of ancient plants. The ground floor was specifically designed to display the products of Union Carbide and Carbon's subsidiaries. The lobby features black Belgian Marble and Art Deco bronzework trim. The exterior base is black granite with black marble and bronze trim, whereas the central shaft is clad in dark green and gold terra cotta and the greenish cap (which looks from a distance like malachite but is not) is trimmed in gold leaf.
According to popular myth of the era, Burnham Brothers supposedly designed the building to resemble a dark green champagne bottle with gold foil at the top. Beginning on November 16, 2007, the gold-leaf tower was permanently illuminated at night, which further encouraged this urban legend. The design of the building has been compared to architect Raymond Hood's American Radiator Building in New York City, which allegedly inspired this one. According to an article in the April 1930 issue of Western Architect, the high profile of the Carbide & Carbon Building project allowed the Burnham Brothers to secure a commission for the Cuneo Building, another proposed skyscraper of contrasting colors; that was planned for the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street in mid-1929 and was intended to be 657 feet or 60 stories tall. However, the Stock Market Crash of October 1929, followed by the Great Depression, forced cancellation of the Cuneo Building proposal along with many other architectural projects. Thus, the Carbide & Carbon Building was the practice's last major commission before the Great Depression ended, by which time the firm had become Burnham & Hammond.
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