The Schiller Theater Building was designed by

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, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

and

Dankmar Adler Dankmar Adler (July 3, 1844 – April 16, 1900) was a German-born American architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his fifteen-year partnership with Louis Sullivan, during which they designed influential skyscrapers that boldly addr ...

of the firm

Adler & Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan w ...

for the German Opera Company. At the time of its construction, it was among the tallest buildings in Chicago. Its centerpiece was a 1300-seat theater, which is considered by architectural historians to be one of the greatest collaborations between Adler and Sullivan.

History

Establishment

Opened in 1891, the Schiller Theater was originally funded by former ''

Illinois Staats-Zeitung ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' (''Illinois State Newspaper'') was one of the most well-known German-language newspapers of the United States; it was published in Chicago from 1848 until 1922. Along with the ''Westliche Post'' and '' Anzeiger des Wes ...

'' publisher Anton C. Hesing (1823-1895) and other German investors and was projected to be used for German-language operas and cultural events."Anton C. Hesing Dead: Demise Due to a Second Stroke of Paralysis"
''The Daily Inter Ocean''. (Chicago). vol. 24, no. 8 (April 1, 1895). pp. 1, 3. One of the more tangible references to its German heritage was a series of

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, terracot ...

busts of prominent German figures on the second story arcade. A portion of this arcade is now integrated into the façade of

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toront