Second Leiter Building facts for kids
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Second Leiter Building
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(2009)
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| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
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| Built | 1891 |
| Architect | William Le Baron Jenney |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000695 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | January 7, 1976 |
| Designated NHL | January 7, 1976 |
The Second Leiter Building, also known as the Leiter II Building, is a famous building in Chicago, Illinois. You can find it at the corner of South State Street and East Ida B. Wells Drive. This building is special because it was one of the first large buildings to use a metal frame inside, like a skeleton. This made it very strong and helped it resist fire.
It's important not to confuse this building with the Willis Tower, which used to be called the Sears Tower. The Willis Tower was built by the company Sears, Roebuck & Company, but it's a different building entirely. The Second Leiter Building is a great example of the "Chicago school of architecture," which was a style of building design popular in Chicago around the late 1800s.
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History of the Second Leiter Building
The Second Leiter Building was built in 1891. A man named Levi Leiter (1834-1904) had it constructed. The person who designed it was a famous architect named William Le Baron Jenney. He was the one who decided to use a steel frame inside the building. This made the building much safer from fires.
When it was first finished, a department store called Siegel, Cooper and Company rented the building for about seven years. After they left, different businesses used the space. In 1931, the well-known company Sears, Roebuck and Company made it their main store in downtown Chicago. Sears stayed there until 1986, when they closed the store. Since then, other businesses have rented parts of the building.
Building Design and Features
The Second Leiter Building has eight floors and takes up a whole city block on State Street. It stretches between Ida B. Wells Drive and Van Buren Street.
The front of the building on State Street has nine sections, separated by wide, flat columns called pilasters. These pilasters have simple tops, and a plain border called a cornice runs along the very top of the building. The sides of the building on Ida B. Wells Drive and Van Buren Street are about 143 feet long and have three sections each.
The building is covered with a pretty pink granite stone. Each floor is very large, about 50,000 square feet, which is like having a huge open space. The ceilings are also very tall, about 16 feet high. This design allowed the building to be divided up easily, so different businesses could rent parts of each floor.
Landmark Status and Use Today
Before this building, William Le Baron Jenney designed another building called the First Leiter Building in 1879. That building was torn down in 1972.
The Second Leiter Building is very important in American history. In 1976, it was named a National Historic Landmark. This means it's recognized as a place that has special meaning to the history of the United States. It was also named a Chicago Landmark on January 14, 1997, which means it's important to the history of Chicago.
Since 1998, the building has been home to the Chicago campus of Robert Morris University-Illinois.
See also
- Second Leiter Building para niños (Second Leiter Building for kids in Spanish)
