Chicago, IL, USA. Demolished 1965
The Disappointed Tourist: Chicago Federal Building,
Ellen Harvey, 2025. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 24 x 18” (61 x 45.7 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard
A immense and beautiful stone structure with a tall dome that once you were inside, you looked up to an illuminated painted sky. Fascinating for me as a child. John F.
Also requested by Tony R.
The Chicago Federal Building was constructed between 1898 and 1905 in the Beaux Arts style by architect Henry Ives Cobb. It housed the Midwest Federal courts, the main Chicago Post Office and other government agencies. Despite preservation efforts, it was demolished in 1965 and replaced with the larger Kluczynski Federal Building. The massive columns of the building were salvaged and form part of the Cancer Survivor’s Memorial in Grant Park.
The painting is based on an old uncredited postcard – looking at old photographs, I’m not sure about the accuracy of the postcard.
No. 297