The Chicago Stock Exchange Arch
The Chicago Stock Exchange Arch is a relic of the former Chicago Stock Exchange building, which was designed in 1893. Today, the arch is on display outside the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois. Learn more about this iconic building and the arch’s history. You can also learn more about the arch’s acquisition by the Art Institute of Chicago.
Norman Freehling’s chicago stock exchange arch
Former chairman of the Midwest Stock Exchange, Norman Freehling, has died at the age of 88. Freehling, who founded Freehling & Co. stock brokerage firm in Chicago, was honored earlier this year as the oldest living member of the Chicago Stock Exchange. He also served as a neutral arbitrator for securities disputes on a panel of three arbitrators.
Freehling became a member of the Midwest Stock Exchange in 1928, a few years before the re-branding. He praised the new room and the changes that had been made to the original building. Despite the changes, Freehling prefers the old-fashioned look and feel of things. His favorite part of the trading room is the exit signs – the bronze letters and red-lighted background.
The remodeled Exchange Hall includes rooms on the ground floor for brokers. The south end of the main floor will contain the Stock Exchange. The two-story Exchange Hall will be lighted from the south and east sides with large plate-glass windows and skylights. The north side of Exchange Hall will feature a caller’s rostrum. The west end of the Exchange Hall will have a secretary’s room and a coat-room.
Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan’s chicago stock exchange building
One of the most notable commercial structures designed by Dankmar Adler was the Chicago Stock Exchange building. This thirteen-story building featured a trading room used to conduct day-to-day Stock Exchange operations. The interior was decorated with stenciled patterns and lush organic ornament by Louis H. Sullivan. Although the building remained largely unused after the first fourteen years, it was the focus of a preservation battle when it was targeted for demolition in the late 1960s.
Dankmar Adler, a master of acoustics and design, used steel trusses to suspend the trading room’s ceiling. He also transferred the weight of the eleven upper floors to columns in the building’s core. The resulting design featured elegant, lavish ornamentation throughout, including 52-color stencils, massive goldleaf capitals, and 400 sky-lighted stained glass windows.
Art Institute of Chicago’s acquisition of the arch
The Art Institute of Chicago recently acquired the terra-cotta arch, which was once the entrance to the Chicago Stock Exchange building, and other fragments of the building. The arch, along with other original pieces, was installed at the museum in 1977. The reconstructed Stock Exchange Trading Room opened in 1977.
In the late nineteenth century, the city was thriving and the Art Institute of Chicago was born. The Art Institute of Chicago’s first major purchase was El Greco’s The Assumption of the Virgin. The Art Institute raised funds through donations, memberships, and door fees. By 1924, the Art Institute of Chicago was already a cultural powerhouse and helped make Chicago an important city.
The arch features a recessed ornamental band surrounded by a band of plain ashlar. The arch’s spandrels feature medallions of the Philip Peck house. It also contains the date of its construction (1893). The arch was designed by Adler and Sullivan, who were also responsible for the famous Auditorium Building. The former owner of the building wanted to build an opera house, but his son wanted a skyscraper on the site.
