The Rookery Building (209 S. LaSalle St.) is landmark that makes architecture buffs all weak-kneed. Burnham and Root built it in 1888, and Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled the atrium 19 years later. Its magic is that while it looks like an imposing fortress on the outside, its interior is just the opposite – as bright and airy as a spring daisy.
The building inherited its name from the previous structure on-site, which was a favorite of roosting pigeons. The architects incorporated the bird motif. Check out the crows carved into the arched front entrance.
Learn more about it on the Chicago Architecture Foundation's tour today at 12:15pm. Actually, CAF runs sweet 45-minute tours every Monday through Thursday at lunchtime, which provide access into famous buildings' nooks and crannies you wouldn't get if you strolled in on your own. The price is a mere $5.
