On May 1, 1924, work crews began the final phase of demolition on the second Chicago Board of Trade Building, a structure that had defined the city's skyline for nearly four decades. Located at the foot of LaSalle Street, the 1885 edifice was designed by architect William W. Boyington in a style often described as a mix of High Victorian Gothic and French Renaissance. Despite its initial status as the tallest building in the city upon completion, the structure became a victim of Chicago’s treacherous soil conditions and the rapid evolution of financial infrastructure during the early 20th century. The removal of the building marked the end of an era of masonry-heavy commercial architecture and paved the way for the Art Deco skyscrapers that would eventually dominate the Loop.
The 1885 building was significant not only for its height but for its role as the nerve center of global grain and livestock trading. However, the weight of its 322-foot clock tower, which utilized massive stone masonry without the benefit of a modern steel skeleton, caused the building to settle unevenly almost from the moment it was completed. By the turn of the century, the structural integrity of the tower had become a primary concern for the Board’s directors, leading to the eventual decision to truncate the spire and eventually replace the entire facility with a more efficient, modern structure.
What happened
The demolition process was a meticulously planned engineering feat that required the suspension of trading activities in specific wings while stone blocks were lowered into the dense traffic of the financial district. The dismantling of the 1885 Board of Trade occurred in several distinct phases, reflecting the difficulty of removing a masonry structure of its mass from a central urban location.
- Phase I: The Tower Removal (1895):Long before the 1924 demolition, the top 70 feet of the clock tower were removed due to the risk of collapse. The tower had settled over eight inches more than the rest of the building, causing deep cracks in the foundation.
- Phase II: Internal Stripping (January–April 1924):Interior fixtures, including massive mahogany trading desks and ornate brass light fixtures, were sold or salvaged. The grand trading floor, measuring 152 by 115 feet, was cleared of its specialized equipment.
- Phase III: Structural Dismantling (May–August 1924):The granite and sandstone exterior was dismantled from the top down. Hand labor was required for much of the work to prevent falling debris from damaging the neighboring Illinois Merchants Bank Building and the Rookery.
The Engineering Failure of the 1885 Foundation
The primary reason for the building's relatively short lifespan—only 39 years—was the inadequacy of its foundation. Architect W.W. Boyington designed the building before the widespread use of caisson foundations that would later allow Chicago skyscrapers to reach greater heights safely. Instead, the Board of Trade rested on a "floating" foundation of timber and rubble. Given the weight of the massive stone walls and the concentrated load of the clock tower, the building pushed into the soft blue clay layer beneath the city.
| Structural Feature | 1885 Specification | 1924 Replacement Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Total Height | 322 Feet (original) | 605 Feet (Holabird & Root design) |
| Foundation Type | Timber and Rubble Grillage | Concrete Caissons to Bedrock |
| Primary Material | Granite and Sandstone | Steel Frame with Indiana Limestone |
| Interior Floor Area | Approx. 120,000 sq. Ft. | Approx. 560,000 sq. Ft. |
Lore of the Trading Floor
Local historical records and police blotters from the era recount numerous eccentricities associated with the 1885 building. The "Pit," as the grain trading area was known, was a site of intense human drama that often spilled into the streets. In the winter of 1902, a local legend known as the "Wheat King" reportedly lost a fortune in a single afternoon and barricaded himself in one of the private telegraph offices for eighteen hours. Such stories humanized the imposing granite facade, making the building a repository of local folklore. The 1924 demolition was seen by many long-time residents as the removal of a public theater where the fortunes of the Midwest were performed daily.
The Salvage Operation
During the 1924 dismantling, significant portions of the building were repurposed rather than discarded. The massive granite blocks were used as riprap for the Lake Michigan shoreline near Hyde Park, contributing to the expansion of the city's park system. Furthermore, many of the smaller ornamental carvings—gargoyles, stone cornices, and decorative lintels—were purchased by private collectors and can still be found today in the gardens and courtyards of North Shore estates. The bronze statue of Ceres, which topped the original tower, was misplaced during the transition and was famously rediscovered in a suburban garden decades later before being returned to the Board of Trade museum.
"The removal of the old Board of Trade is not merely the destruction of a building, but the clearing of a site where the very foundations of the city’s commerce were laid. It was a structure built for a simpler age of trade, now being replaced by a machine for the modern era." — Contemporary report from the Chicago Evening Post, June 1924.
Architectural Legacy
While the 1885 building was ultimately deemed a failure in terms of its structural longevity, its design influenced a generation of Chicago architects. Boyington’s use of dramatic verticality and the integration of large-scale sculptural elements on a commercial building set a precedent for the "cathedrals of commerce" that would follow. The transition from the 1885 building to the current 1930 skyscraper represents the broader shift in urban history from the Victorian emphasis on weight and ornament to the Modernist focus on efficiency, steel, and light.
