THE MONADNOCK BUILDING

FUN FACTS

• The Monadnock Building was the largest commercial structure in the world at the
time of its completion in 1892. However by today’s standards it is intimate and
charming.

• The North half of the building was the last structure designed by John Wellborn
Root, the premier architect of the Chicago School. The only other surviving
Burnham and Root building in Chicago is the Rookery. The Monadnock and the
Rookery were built by the same developers, the Brooks Brothers of Boston.

• Because John Wellborn Root died of pneumonia in 1891, while the north half of
the building was under construction, the south half of the building was designed
by Holabird and Roche. It was one of that firm’s earliest major commissions, and
it is very different from the north half.

• The north half of the building is sometimes referred to as the fountainhead of

modern architecture. This is because it was the first major building built without
exterior ornamentation. The structure itself is a sculptural form, as are many of
the most modern structures.

• The north half of the Monadnock Building is the tallest building ever built that is
supported primarily by brick load bearing walls. At the ground level, these walls
are six feet thick, making the Monadnock Building one of the heaviest buildings
in the world. Half of the south half is built the same way; the other half of the
south half is built on a steel frame.

• Although it was built in two stages, the building has four sections. Each section
sat on its own land parcel and had its own heating system, elevators, entrance,
mortgage and name. The names of the four sections of the building were (from
north to south: Monadnock, Kearsarge, Katahdin, and Wachusett.).