The Gage Group Buildings consist of three buildings located at 18, 24 and 30 S. Michigan Avenue, between Madison Street and Monroe Street, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. They were built from 1890–1899, designed by

Holabird & Roche The architect, architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago school (architectu ...

for the three

millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

firms - Gage, Keith and Ascher. The building at 18 S. Michigan Avenue has an ornamental

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago school (architecture), Chicago ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on November 14, 1985, and was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...

on September 11, 1996. In addition, it is a historic district contributing property for the Chicago Landmark

Historic Michigan Boulevard District The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas in Chicago, community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue be ...

. The façades of these buildings demonstrate two different approaches to the Chicago School, a design movement that led to the creation of modern commercial architecture. The buildings by Holabird & Roche are straightforward, while the facade designed by Sullivan exemplifies his more expressive approach. The tallest building is known as "18 South Michigan Avenue" and was previously called the Gage Brothers and Company Building. Before the Chicago street addresses were changed in 1909, the building had the address of 130 S. Michigan Avenue. The ornamental flourishes at the top of Sullivan's façade were pushed upwards when four stories were added in 1902 by different architects. This is one of only five buildings in Chicago designed by Louis Sullivan as a solo architect that are still standing. The two smaller buildings to the south are also part of the Gage Group Buildings. The Edson Keith and Company Building is connected to the Gage Building and is located at 24 S. Michigan Avenue. The Theodore Ascher and Company Building is also known as the 30 South Michigan Building.

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* * {{Louis Sullivan Chicago school architecture in Illinois Commercial buildings completed in 1890 Commercial buildings completed in 1899 Louis Sullivan buildings Roosevelt University Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Historic American Buildings Survey in Chicago Historic district contributing properties in Illinois 1890 establishments in Illinois Projects by Holabird & Root Chicago Landmarks

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