Chase Tower (Chicago)

The Morrison Hotel was a high rise hotel at the corner of Madison and Clark Streets in the downtown Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. It was designed by the architectural firm of Holabird & Roche and completed in 1925. The hotel was demolished in 1965 to make room for the First National Bank Building (now Chase Tower). The hotel was named for Orsemus Morrison, the first coroner in Chicago, who bought the site in 1838 and in 1860 built a three-story hotel with 21 rooms. Destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, this was replaced by an eight-story building. In 1915 Harry C. Moir, who had bought the property from Morrison's nephew, built a 21-floor, 500-room hotel designed by Marshall and Fox. The hotel was expanded by 650 rooms in 1918. In 1925 the firm Holabird & Roche further expanded it, adding a 46-story tower. The hotel had 1,800 rooms in 1931. A fourth, 21-story section was then added, bringing the number of rooms to 2,210, but was sold in 1937, becoming the Hotel Chicagoan; in the 1950s this was operated under lease by the Morrison. In 1952 a syndicate bought the Morrison and renovated it.The 1873 Morrison Hotel housed the Boston Oyster House in its basement. In the skyscraper hotel, the Terrace Casino opened in 1936 with a performance by Sophie Tucker and was an important Big Band venue; the Carousel in the Sky was the world's highest nightclub; the Jockey Club on the first floor was the site of protests by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that forced removal of its black jockey statues. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy and Vice-Presidents Barkley and Nixon stayed at the hotel; boxer Jack Dempsey was also a frequent guest. Gorgeous George was a daily client of the beauty parlor. From 1932 on, the headquarters of the Cook County Democratic machine was on the third floor of the Morrison. Joe "Hold 'Em" Powers spent a world record 16 days on the hotel flagpole in 1927, despite losing six teeth when wind blew him into cables.In 1931, the Air Line Pilots Association was founded in the hotel's ballroom.In June of 1937, the hotel served as the location in which the Chicago Herald-Examiner kept the notorious murderer Robert Irwin sequestered while negotiating terms of his surrender to authorities in Manhattan.Standing 526 feet (160 m) high, the Morrison Hotel was the first building outside of New York City to have more than 40 floors, and for thirty years was the world's tallest hotel. At the time of its razing in 1965, it was the tallest building to have ever been demolished anywhere in the world. At the time it was demolished, it was still the tallest hotel in Chicago.

The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in North America and contains the headquarters and regional offices of several global and national businesses, retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and theaters, as well as many of Chicago's most famous attractions. It is home to Chicago's City Hall, the seat of Cook County, and numerous offices of other levels of government and consulates of foreign nations. In it, at the intersection of State Street and Madison Street, is the origin of Chicago's street grid addresses, established in 1909. Most of Grant Park's 319 acres (1.29 km2) are in the eastern section of the community area. The Loop community area is bounded on the north and west by the Chicago River, on the east by Lake Michigan, and on the south by Roosevelt Road, although the commercial core has greatly expanded into adjacent community areas. The United States Army erected Fort Dearborn in 1803 in what is now the Loop, the first settlement in the area sponsored by the United States' federal government. When Chicago and Cook County were incorporated in the 1830s the area was selected as the site of their respective seats. Originally mixed use, the character of the area became commercial starting in the 1870s, especially after it was mostly destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. At that time some of the world's earliest skyscrapers were constructed in the area, starting a legacy of architecture that continues to this day. In the late 19th century cable car turnarounds and a prominent elevated railway loop encircled the area, giving the Loop its name. Starting in the 1920s many highways were constructed in the Loop, most prominently U.S. Route 66, which opened in 1926 with its eastern terminus in the area. While dominated by offices and public buildings, its residential population boomed during the latter 20th century and first decades of the 21st; its population has increased the most of Chicago's community areas since 1950.

Four Seasons is a mosaic by Marc Chagall that is located in Chase Tower Plaza in the Loop district of Chicago, Illinois. The mosaic was a gift to the City of Chicago by Frederick H. Prince (via the Prince Charitable Trusts); it is wrapped around four sides of a 70 feet (21 m) long, 14 feet (4.3 m) high, 10 feet (3.0 m) wide rectangular box, and was dedicated on September 27, 1974. It was renovated in 1994 and a protective glass canopy was installed.The mosaic was the subject of a 1974 documentary film, The Gift: Four Seasons Mosaic of Marc Chagall, directed by Chuck Olin.

Three First National Plaza is a 57-story office tower in Chicago located at 70 West Madison Street. Completed in 1981, the building is one of the tallest in Chicago at 767 feet (234 m). The 1,439,369-square-foot (133,721.8 m2) building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in a sawtooth shape to minimize obstructions it might cause to nearby buildings. The design also allows for thirteen corner offices on lower floors and nine corner offices in the upper regions. The exterior façade is clad in Carnelian granite and features 10-foot-wide bay windows (3.0 m) suggestive of traditional Chicago school architecture. Three First National Plaza's nine-story atrium used to contain "Large Internal-External Upright Form", a sculpture by Henry Moore. The sculpture was removed and sold in 2016 following a remodel of the lobby. The building features pedway access, and was once connected to Chase Tower by a second-story skywalk.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), an architecture firm and design firm based in Chicago, is engaged in the design and development of energy-efficient and sustainable architecture. AS+GG designs buildings, cities, masterplans and components of these, for an international clientele, with projects located throughout the world. The primary uses of these designs are civic, commercial, cultural, hospitality, residential and mixed-use. AS+GG also specializes in supertall skyscrapers, such as the Jeddah Tower, which will overtake the Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building when completed.

Monroe (also Monroe/Dearborn) is a subway station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line. It is located in the Chicago Loop, Chicago's downtown district.

The Inland Steel Building is a skyscraper located at 30 W. Monroe Street in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the city's defining commercial high-rises of the post-World War II era of modern architecture. Its principal designers were Bruce Graham and Walter Netsch of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill architecture firm. The building is managed and leased by MB Real Estate. The Inland Steel Building was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1998.

The Cort Theatre was a theatre located in Chicago, Illinois at 126-132 North Dearborn Street. It was designed by architect J. E. O. Pridmore. The theatre seated 949 people. It was razed in 1934. Pridmore based his architecture on the amphitheaters of the ancient world, and incorporated images of hanging vines, and a ceiling with a painted sky of a moon and stars into his design. The theatre's curtain contained a painted picture of a Greek theatre in Sicily; possibly modeled after the Ancient theatre of Taormina. The Chicago Evening American stated that the "whole effect is one of being outdoors with a warm Italian sky overhead." The theatre's interior inspired similar architectural designs in theaters internationally. Boxoffice magazine stated in 1937 that Pridmore "is internationally known as the father of the atmospheric theatre, having originated the star and sky effect in the Cort Theatre, Chicago, which has been copied extensively the world over." The Cort Theatre opened on October 25, 1909, with a performance of Harry Von Tilzer, Vincent Bryan, and Stanislaus Stange's operetta The Kissing Girl with the actress Amelia Stone in the title role. In its later year it operated as a movie theatre.

Loop Synagogue is a synagogue in the Chicago Loop, built in 1957–1958. It is renowned for a stained glass artwork by Abraham Rattner.The architects were the firm Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett, who also designed the Richard J. Daley Center.

Adler University is a private not-for-profit university, with two campuses in North America. The university's flagship campus is in Chicago, Illinois, and its satellite campus is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The university also offers online classes and degree programs online for both masters and doctoral students.

McVicker's Theater (1857–1984) was a playhouse in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built for actor James Hubert McVicker, the theater was the leading stage for comedic plays in Chicago's early years. It often hosted performances by Edwin Booth, who married McVicker's daughter and was once targeted there in an attempted murder. Adler & Sullivan designed a remodel in 1883. Although destroyed in two fires, including the Great Chicago Fire, McVicker's remained an operating theater until 1984. It was demolished the next year.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third largest school district in the United States. CPS is only smaller than Los Angeles Unified School District (which is the 2nd largest school district) and the New York City Public Schools (which is the largest school district in the US). For the 2020–2021 school year, CPS reported overseeing 638 schools, including 476 elementary schools and 162 high schools; of which 513 were district-run, 115 were charter schools, 9 were contract schools and 1 was a SAFE school. The district serves 340,658 students.Chicago Public School students attend a particular school based on their area of residence, except for charter, magnet, and selective enrollment schools. The school system reported a graduation rate of 82.5 percent for the 2019–2020 school year. Unlike most school systems, CPS calls the position of superintendent the "Chief Executive Officer", but there is no material difference in responsibilities or reporting from what is traditionally considered a superintendent. CPS reported a student–teacher ratio of 15.84 for the 2019–2020 school year. For the 2020–2021 school year, 46.7% of CPS students were Latino and 35.8% were African-American. 63.8% of the student body came from economically-disadvantaged households, and 18.6% of students were reported as English-language learners. Average salaries for the 2019-2020 year were $74,225 for teachers and $114,199 for administrators. For the 2020–2021 school year, CPS reported 39,323 staff positions, including 21,974 teachers and 516 principals. In 2021, CPS reported a budget of $6.92 billion with $3.75 billion from local sources, $1.85 billion from the State of Illinois and $1.3 billion from the U.S. Federal Government. Per student spending was reported at $13,694 in 2020.In recent years, Chicago Public Schools has led the nation in test score improvement, learned at a faster rate compared to 96% of all school districts in the country, and as of 2020, has an all-time high graduation rate.