Wingfoot Air Express crash

Ceres Cafe is a diner in the lobby of the Chicago Board of Trade Building. It takes its name from the Roman goddess Ceres, which is a statue on the top of the building. It has been known as a place for commodities traders that serves very strong alcoholic beverages.

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, 604-foot (184 m) Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading venue of the CBOT and later the CME Group, formed in 2007 by the merger of the CBOT and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 2012, the CME Group sold the CBOT Building to a consortium of real estate investors, including GlenStar Properties LLC and USAA Real Estate Company. The CBOT has been located at the site since 1885. A building designed by William W. Boyington stood at the location from 1885 to 1929, being the tallest building in Chicago from its construction until its clock tower was removed in 1895. The Boyington building became unsound in the 1920s and was demolished in 1929, being replaced by the current building designed by Holabird & Root. The current building was itself Chicago's tallest until 1965, when it was surpassed by the Richard J. Daley Center. The current structure is known for its Art Deco architecture, sculptures and large-scale stone carving, as well as large trading floors. An aluminum, three-story Art Deco statue of Ceres, goddess of agriculture (particularly grain), caps the building. The building is a popular sightseeing attraction and location for shooting movies, and its owners and management have won awards for efforts to preserve the building and for office management. The building was listed as a Chicago Landmark in 1977 and a National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places honoree in 1978.

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other exchanges (CME, NYMEX, and COMEX) now operate as designated contract markets (DCM) of the CME Group.

LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Robert de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (informally the Chicago Fed) is one of twelve regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, make up the United States' central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the state of Iowa. In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government, and monitors economic conditions in its District.

The Phenix (aka Phoenix) Building was an office building in Chicago designed by the noted Chicago architectural firm of Burnham and Root. It was built by the Phenix Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Brooklyn, New York and occupied the block fronting Jackson Boulevard between Pacific Avenue (now LaSalle Street) and Clark Street. When completed in 1887, the building was seen as "the latest addition to Chicago's magnificent architectural structures". It was later owned by the Western Union Telegraph Company, who sold the building to the manufacturer and philanthropist Frederick C. Austin (1853-1931) in 1922. Austin donated it to Northwestern University in 1929 with the understanding that the income derived from it would "provide scholarships for the training of business executives". The building was demolished in 1957 and replaced by what today is known as the TransUnion Building, a twenty-four story office building designed by A. Epstein and Sons.

The Grand Pacific Hotel was one of the first two prominent hotels built in Chicago, Illinois, after the Great Chicago Fire. The hotel, designed by William W. Boyington and managed for more than 20 years by John Drake, was located on the block bounded by Clark Street, LaSalle, Quincy and Jackson. It was a replacement for the Paficic Hotel, which had been built in 1871 (also designed by Boyington), only to burn in the fire later that year.Drake hosted "Great Game Dinners" featuring exotic cuisines at this hotel. These dinners were a Chicago social institution for more than 50 years. Newspapers devoted 4 inches to its menu and guests.Along with contemporary Chicago luxury hotels such as the Palmer House, Tremont House, and Sherman House, it was built in the palazzo architectural style of the day. The hotel also accommodated wealthy permanent residents in addition to transient guests who enjoyed the palace hotel.Many notable celebrities stayed here, including Oscar Wilde on his first visit to Chicago as part of his 1882 lecture tour of America. James A. Garfield stayed at the hotel during the 1880 Republican National Convention, during which time he was nominated on the 34th ballot to represent the party in the election for President of the United States. The hotel was the site where Standard time was adopted on October 11, 1883.The western half of the 1873 structure was demolished in 1895 in order to make way for the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank building. The remaining eastern half was remodeled by the architectural firm Jenney and Mundie. It reopened March 12, 1898, with 188 rooms, and remained open until 1921. In 1921, it was demolished to make way for the Continental Illinois Bank building.

The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpiece buildings, and was once the location of their offices. The building is 181 feet (55 m) in height, twelve stories tall, and is considered the oldest standing high-rise in Chicago. It has a unique construction style featuring exterior load-bearing walls and an interior steel frame, providing a transition between accepted and new building techniques. The lobby was remodeled in 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright. From 1989 to 1992, the lobby was restored to Wright's design. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark on July 5, 1972, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 17, 1970 and listed as a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975.

The Continental and Commercial National Bank is a historic office building located at 208 S. LaSalle Street in Chicago's Loop. The 21-story building was built in 1911-14 for the Continental and Commercial National Bank, at the time one of the largest banks in the nation. Architect Daniel Burnham designed the building in the Classical Revival style; Burnham, who was perhaps best known for his 1909 plan of Chicago, was a proponent of the style and used it in office buildings in multiple cities. The building's main entrance features a three-story colonnade with eight Doric columns; the eighteenth through the twentieth floors feature a matching colonnade, which forms the building's capital. A frieze and belt course separate the fourth and seventeenth floors from the shaft of the building, giving the building a small amount of horizontal emphasis. An open court occupies the center of the building, allowing natural light to reach its interior offices.The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 2007.Prior to merging with the Continental National Bank to form the Continental and Commercial Nation Bank, the Commercial National Bank was previously located in the now landmark Commercial National Bank Building.

The Rand McNally Building (1889–1911) in Chicago, designed by Burnham and Root, was the world's first all-steel framed skyscraper.

The Clark Adams Building, also known as the Bankers Building, is a skyscraper located at 105 West Adams Street in Chicago, Illinois. The building was designed by the Burnham Brothers who designed other buildings in Chicago such as the Carbide and Carbon Building. The building stands at 476 feet tall and has 41 floors. Construction of the Clark Adams Building began in 1926 and was completed in 1927.

LaSalle/Van Buren is a Chicago "L" station in downtown Chicago serving the CTA's Brown, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. LaSalle/Van Buren is one of the eight stations in the Loop. The station opened on October 3, 1897. LaSalle Street Station, terminal for Metra's Rock Island District trains, is less than a block from the station. The station is seen in the 1986 film Running Scared with Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal. All of the surroundings, including the platforms and the station, are still the same now as they are in the movie. The station was also a location in one of the final scenes of the 1987 film Planes, Trains and Automobiles with Steve Martin and John Candy. The station is also seen in the 1974 film Three the Hard Way. The Chicago Board of Trade Building is one block to the north.