Reconstructing the Missing Elements of a Chicago School Masterpiece

The Marquette Building was designed by Holabird and Roche and completed in 1895. The seventeen story building was designed to resemble a stately Italian Renaissance Palazzo, although much taller. The rich brown terra cotta was meant to look like heavy cut stone and the large protruding cornice was an important crowning terminus to the vertical façade. Due to deterioration of the terra cotta, the original cornice was removed ca. 1950.

In 2002, the MacArthur Foundation embarked on a project to utilize attic space on the 17th floor, and an opportunity presented itself to reconstruct the cornice and return the entire façade to its original appearance. Harboe Architects personnel, then with McClier, were the lead restoration architects for the cornice reconstruction. The original cornice was terra cotta; however, due to the cost and weight of terra cotta, the new replicated cornice was constructed of glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels. Historic photographs and drawings were consulted to replicate the original design.

In 2017, Harboe Architects was retained to restore the bronze doors on the east facade, while also creating an accessible entrance. The original doors were previously removed and found to be in poor condition. The design approach consisted of creating new cast bronze doors based on the original ornament and converting the southernmost vestibule into the accessible entrance. Since the original doors at this vestibule were separated by a central mullion, the mullion design was incorporated into one door leaf, creating a larger accessible opening while retaining the original appearance.