Riverside Plaza
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Architect: Holabird & Root
Year Completed: 1929
Location: 400 W Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois
Style: Art Deco
Riverside Plaza was built by the Chicago Daily News for newspaper production. For obvious reasons, it was previously known as the Chicago Daily News Building.
Holabird & Root were one of the most popular architecture firms in Chicago during the Art Deco Era. They are responsible for an uncountable number of Art Deco buildings in the Chicago as well as other parts of the country.
This building is one of Chicago's great Art Deco structures. It is made up of three sections: floors 1 through 7 are the plaza section; floors 8 through 23 are the shaft of the building proper; and floors 24 through 26 are the crown. This was the first case where a plaza was part of an office building.
Art Deco ornamentation is evident throughout the inside and outside of the building, and is made up of limestone, polished granite, marble, and white metal. The building originally had an outstanding ceiling mural by John W. Norton, a noted Chicago artist, showing the process of producing a newspaper. The mural was removed in 1993 for restoration and is currently in storage. Hopefully it will be restored in the near future, although initial restoration bids were deemed too high by the building's management company.
The second picture above was taken from a boat on the river and primarily shows the plaza section. You can see the rising tower in the background. The crown is visible in the first picture above while the third picture shows the ornamentation at the plaza level. Finally, the fourth picture shows one of the ornate Art Deco entrances.
Across the river from Riverside Plaza is the Civic Opera Building, another of Chicago's important Art Deco structures.