The Chicago Building or Chicago Savings Bank Building is an early skyscraper, built in 1904–1905. It is located at 7 W. Madison Street in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Designed by the architecture firm

Holabird & Roche The 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 to Art Deco to Modern ...

, it is an early and highly visible example of the Chicago school of architecture. The building's features characterize this style through the use of large "Chicago windows", metal frame construction, distinctive bays, and

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

cladding. The combination of the north side projecting bay windows, and the east side rectangular "Chicago windows" with movable

sashes Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections. The island is located between Hedsor Water and the present navigation cha ...

is representative of the two typical Chicago school window types. The building is prominently located on the southwest corner of State Street and Madison Street, with visibility increased by an offset in the alignment of State Street. The building is a critical component of a grouping of significant structures, including

Carson Pirie Scott Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (also known as Carson's) is an American department store that was founded in 1854, which grew to over 50 locations, primarily in the Midwestern United States. Sold to the holding company of Bon-Ton in 2006, but still op ...

and the former Mandel Brothers Store, at what was once labeled the "World's Busiest Corner". The building was designated a Chicago landmark on March 26, 1996. In 1997, it was converted to a dormitory for the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

. The corner of the 3rd floor of the Chicago Building contains the cornerstone of Chicago. It is the 0-0 degree point of the city, and is the location from which all addresses in Chicago begin.

Notes

Commercial buildings completed in 1905 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Residential skyscrapers in Chicago Chicago school architecture in Illinois 1905 establishments in Illinois Chicago Landmarks {{CookCountyIL-NRHP-stub