The Jewelers Building: the history of the majestic skyscraper in Chicago
Chicago has the most beautiful skyscrapers. Visitors fall in love with high-rise buildings and their architecture at first glance. Every building has its own story. It’s all great Chicago! The city where Al Capone was active and Roosevelt was born, who easily defeated gangsters and corruption by introducing one amendment to the US Constitution, writes chicago-future.com.
Start of construction
The Jewelers Building is a 40-story building that cannot be confused with others. It is located in the picturesque Loop historical district.
It is difficult to take a photo of the whole building due to its height being almost 160 meters. The construction of The Jewelers Building began in 1925. It lasted for 2 years until 1927. The best architects of the city were involved in the work. The skyscraper was designed in the era of art deco style trends, so the influence of Roman and Greek architecture can be traced in its decoration.
It is worth noting that at the time of construction, this building was the tallest not only in New York but also in the whole world.
Features of the skyscraper
The 40-story building housed the offices of industrialists who mined and sold precious stones and diamonds. This is where the skyscraper got its name. From the very beginning, its owners thought about the safety of the tenants. To avoid attacks by bandits and thieves, it was decided to install an elevator for armored cars inside the building. Just imagine its size, if it was able to lift a huge car filled with jewelry boxes from the parking lot on the first level to the 22nd floor.
Thus, the car drove directly into the building. Then, it was moved into the elevator, which raised it to the required level. During the entire history of the skyscraper, thieves have not managed to rob a single truck. It is likely that behind this security was a Chicago gangster who settled on the top floor of the building where the restaurant was located.
If you believe the urban legend, it is known that the owner of this establishment was Alphonse Capone. It was impossible to get into the part of the building where he was, only with the help of the elevator. It was controlled from the tower. If the watchman saw suspicious guests, he simply turned off the elevator. The freight elevator mechanism occupied the entire 24th floor under the first balustrade of the building. Unfortunately, the car elevator was abandoned in 1940 and the shafts were built over to create even more space on the floors.
In addition to offices, the skyscraper housed a workshop where decorative elements for the building were made by hand. All products were used for external and internal works. Soon, the workshop and most other production facilities for building maintenance were moved to the 23rd floor.
The Jewelers Building in modern time
The pride of this building is the towers located at the four corners. They were created not only for the decoration of the building but also for extinguishing fires. A huge cast-iron tank was installed in each tower, which was easily activated in the case of a fire. In a modern building, these gazebo towers are popular among people, because there you can order a table for a small company and enjoy a great view of the city.
In the premises of the legendary restaurant Stratosphere Club, there is an exhibition hall of the famous architect Helmut Jahn. The modern building has 10 high-speed elevators. One of them has been preserved since the construction of the house.
Almost every year, the skyscraper undergoes multimillion-dollar restoration works both inside and outside. The Jewelers Building belongs to one wealthy family. Only the owners and employees of the offices located in it can enter the building. The building has a parking lot, fitness centers and a cafe. Hollywood also couldn’t resist this historic building and filmed several scenes here. The modern building is an architectural masterpiece of Chicago.
