333 North Michigan is a skyscraper in the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style located in the Loop community area of

Chicago 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 ...

, Illinois, United States. Architecturally, it is noted for its dramatic upper-level setbacks that were inspired by the 1923 skyscraper zoning laws. Geographically, it is known as one of the four 1920s flanks of the

Michigan Avenue Bridge The DuSable Bridge (formerly the Michigan Avenue Bridge) is a bascule bridge that carries Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue across the main stem of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. The bridge was proposed ...

(along with the

Wrigley Building The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located at 400–410 North Michigan Avenue on Chicago's Near North Side. It is located on the Magnificent Mile directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower. Its two towers in an elaborate style ...

Tribune Tower The Tribune Tower is a , 36-floor Gothic Revival architecture, neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 Magnificent Mile, North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The early 1920s international design competition for the tower bec ...

and the London Guarantee Building) that are contributing properties to the

Michigan–Wacker Historic District The Michigan–Wacker Historic District is a National Register of Historic Places District that includes parts of the Chicago Loop and Near North Side community areas in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The district is known for the Chicago ...

, which is a U.S. Registered Historic District. Additionally, it is known as the geographic beneficiary of the jog in Michigan Avenue, which makes it visible along the

Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile (sometimes locally abbreviated to the Mag Mile) is the approximately one-mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street (Chicago), Oak Street on the Near North Side ...

as the building that seems to be in the middle of the road at the foot of this stretch of road (''pictured at left''). The building was designed by Holabird & Roche/Holabird & Root and completed in 1928. It is 396 feet (120.7 m) tall, and has 34 stories. It 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 February 7, 1997. It is located on the short quarter mile stretch of Michigan Avenue between the

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 ...

and the

. The building is managed and leased by MB Real Estate. Designed by John Wellborn Root Jr., the building's long and narrow footprint and towering structure are a tribute to Root's father

John Wellborn Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated National Hist ...

's earlier Chicago

Monadnock Building The Monadnock Building (historically the Monadnock Block; pronounced ) is a 16-story skyscraper located at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the Chicago Loop, south Loop area of Chicago. The north half of the building was designed by the firm of B ...

;

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 ...

's tall-building canon; and

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

's second-prize entry in the

design contest. The building was such a success that

Holabird and Root Holabird is the name of various people and places, including: People * William S. Holabird ( – May 20, 1855), American lawyer, politician, and the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. *William Holabird (September 11, 1854 – July 19, 1923) ...

took commercial residence there. The building's long and slender design optimized use of natural lighting. The building's interior represents

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

era

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

, especially its

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Tavern club. The building is embellished by a polished marble base, ornamental bands, and reliefs depicting frontiersmen and Native Americans at

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort, first built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by U.S. troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secre ...

, which partially occupied the site.

Gallery

Image:20070516 333 North Michigan (3).JPG, 333 North Michigan Image:20070530 333 North Michigan and Carbide & Carbon Building.JPG,

Carbide & Carbon Building The Carbide & Carbon Building is an Art Deco high-rise built in 1929, located on Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The 37-story, landmark is clad in black granite, green and gold terra cotta, with gold leaf and b ...

behind 333 North Michigan Image:333 North Michigan, 360 North Michigan and 35 East Wacker.JPG, 333 North Michigan,

360 North Michigan The London Guarantee Building or London Guaranty & Accident Building is a historic 1923 commercial skyscraper whose primary occupant since 2016 is the LondonHouse Chicago Hotel. This building, which was formerly named the Stone Container Building ...

Mather Tower Mather Tower (later Lincoln Tower, as designated on the Michigan–Wacker Historic District roster; now identified primarily by its address) is a Neo-Gothic, terra cotta-clad high-rise structure in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is locat ...

and

35 East Wacker 35 East Wacker, also known as the Jewelers' Building, is a 40-story historic building in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and East Wacker Drive, facing the Chicago Riv ...

Image:20070516 333 North Michigan (2).JPG, 333 North Michigan

plaque Image:20070701 Michigan Avenue Bridge Traffic.JPG,

traffic (Background includes 333 North Michigan,

, London Guarantee Building,

) Image:Foot of Magnificent Mile in 1951.gif, ca 1951 File:Diesel switch engineer moving freight cars at the South Water street freight terminal of the Illinois Central RR, Chicago, Ill.jpg, From

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

freight yard, the current

Lakeshore East Lakeshore East is a master-planned mixed use urban development being built by the Magellan Development Group in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the northeastern part of the Loop, ...

(April 1943)

Notes

{{Chicago Landmark skyscrapers Chicago Landmarks Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago Office buildings completed in 1928 Art Deco architecture in Illinois 1928 establishments in Illinois Projects by Holabird & Root New Eastside