History

Columbia College's Main Building was built in 1906-1907 by Christian A. Eckstorm, an architect popular for his industrial and warehouse designs, to serve as the headquarters of the International Harvester Company. 600 S. Michigan was a modern skyscraper of its era, built with a steel skeleton, high-speed elevators, electric light, the most advanced mechanical systems available and a floor plan designed to maximize natural light for all of its interior office spaces.The 15-story brick-clad building with classical stone detailing has an Art Deco lobby that retains much of its original marble. In 1937 the building was purchased by the Fairbanks-Morse Company, makers of railroad engines, farm equipment and hydraulic systems. It was acquired by Columbia College in 1974. In its early years as the home of Columbia, it was adaptively reused to house classrooms, the library, darkrooms, studios, and an auditorium. When the campus expanded through the acquisition of other buildings, especially after 1990, some of these functions, such as the greatly expanded library, were moved to other locations, and the spaces were again adapted for new uses. The building continues to serve as the administrative center of the college, and houses the Museum of Contemporary Photography on its first two floors, along with the 180-seat Ferguson Memorial Theater, photography darkrooms, two professional television studios, film/video editing facilities, and classrooms.

Design Philosophy

The neoclassical design philosophies of the Parisian Ecole des Beaux-Arts became the preferred stylistic expression in public architecture at the turn of the 20th century in the United States. This was particularly true in Chicago, site of the World’s Columbia Exposition of 1893, which was known as the White City for its predominantly classical revival landscape and building designs. This event spurred what came to be known as the City Beautiful movement, an attempt to reorganize American urban spaces on a classically-inspired hierarchical model. In order to emphasize order in civic life, planners and architects envisioned an urban environment wherein the design of buildings and their placement indicated their relative civic importance. In this hierarchy, public buildings and cultural institutions were held in the highest esteem, and were therefore given the most prominent locations and elaborate decorative schemes. Prominent businesses, although not as highly regarded, were also expected to perform civic duties through their business practices and charitable patronage. As such, they too commissioned buildings of architectural significance in prominent locations.

The 600 South Michigan Building is a neoclassical style building facing one of Chicago’s most prominent public amenities, Grant Park. It is detailed with classical motifs in stone on its lower floors, has brick bands reflecting this rustication on the corner bays of its intermediate floors, and has stone detailing on the brick walls of its 13th through 15th floors, including a massive bracketed cornice. The style, quality of materials, scale, and location of the 600 South Michigan Building make it an exemplar of the City Beautiful movement, and its date, 1907-08, makes it a contributor to the ideal of civic conscientiousness that anticipates the famous Plan of Chicago of 1909, by architect Daniel Burnham.

Description

The 600 South Michigan Building is a 15 story with basement metal frame structure, faced with Bedford limestone on the first three floors of its Michigan Avenue and Harrison Street frontages, with brick on its upper floors and side elevations. Stone trim is used for window sills and on the upper floors, which are crowned by a massive stone cornice.

Campus Preservation Plan

• Volume V: 600 South Michigan Avenue [123 pages]
• View entire plan