1104 Center

Ludington Building, 1104 Wabash Campus
1104 S. Wabash Ave.

Building Directory

Basement	Student Government / HUB / Graduate Studies
1st Floor	Glass Curtain Gallery / Conaway Center/ Internet Caf� / Student Leadership
2nd Floor	Book and Paper Center
3rd Floor	Film/Video Dept. / Screenwriting / Producing
4th Floor	Film/Video Dept. / Documentary Center / Animation / Graduate Center
5th Floor	Film/Video Dept. / Advanced Camera Center
6th Floor	Film/Video Dept. / Post-Production Center
7th Floor	Film/Video Dept. / Audio Center
8th Floor	Film Row Cinema

History

1104 S. Wabash Avenue, built in 1891, is a City of Chicago Landmark (1996) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1980). Built by William LeBaron Jenney, acknowledged as the inventor of the skyscraper for his fire-proofed metal skeleton-frame designs, the Ludington building represents his continuing experimentation as the first entirely terra cotta-clad skyscraper. The Ludington is also a rare survivor, one of only two extant loft buildings in Chicago built by Jenney.

Description

The Ludington Building is an eight-story, steel frame structure. One reason for its national significance is its status as the first entirely terra cotta-clad skyscraper in history. Its principal facades, facing Wabash Avenue and 11th Street, are faced with unglazed red terra cotta that was, at some point in its early history, painted white. Its side walls are common brick, although the terra cotta facing wraps around the corner at the alley. Rare for buildings of its period, the Ludington retains its original terra cotta cornice. The other two elevations are faced with common brick.

The Ludington is a Chicago Commercial Style building, characterized by the clear expression of its structural frame, by the lack of thick masonry in imitation of load-bearing walls, particularly at its base, and by windows of historically unprecedented size.

The terra cotta cladding on the facade carries classical revival details that have been called Lombard Renaissance in style:

"Jenney decorated the frame with classical motifs that foreshadowed the Classical Revival initiated by the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. The Ludington exhibits a Neo Grec adaptation of the Lombard Renaissance. This style can be seen in the flat decoration of the pilasters and the clustering of candelabra and other ornament around the doorway. The choice of the Lombard Renaissance was appropriate. Terra cotta and brick were the natural materials of northern Italy, and the weightlessness of the style suits the light skin of the Ludington." (Turak, Theodore. William LeBaron Jenney, A Pioneer of Modern Architecture, p. 299.)

The Ludington Building is among the most significant buildings in Chicago, and is a milestone in the history of the skyscraper.