Located in the heart of Chicago’s loop, the Hotel Burnham is one of the most important early skyscrapers in America.
Located in the heart of Chicago’s loop, the Hotel Burnham is one of the most important early skyscrapers in America. Originally built as the Reliance Building, it was designed by John Root and Charles B. Atwood of the Burnham and Root architectural firm. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. David W. Dunlap wrote in the New York Times (July 25, 1999):
“Six decades ahead of its time, the crystalline Reliance Building soared skyward in 1895 as a scintillating rebuke to its own somber masonry surroundings like a diamond in the rough-hewn loop.”