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Chicago · a catalogue study
Edition 2026-10-09.1
A remote or manually navigated catalogue study. The order follows recorded dates, not a pedestrian route; nearby regional places may be far apart. No walking duration is estimated.
Check each place's actual location and visitor rules. A catalogue pin does not grant entry or confirm present access. Use the atlas record and linked sources to plan a visit.
Automatically assembled catalogue study. Where text is drawn from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 applies to that text. Wikipedia article and contributor links are included with each applicable stop. Passages may be excerpted or abridged and include additional editorial date context. Other sources and original observation prompts retain their own terms.
1. John J. Glessner House
John J. Glessner House · Reported completion / phase: 1887
Rough stone walls enclose a sheltered courtyard in this Prairie Avenue house, whose street frontage gives little hint of the domestic spaces within. 1886–1887. Designed in 1885–1886 and built in 1886–1887. The construction interval excludes the earlier design phase.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.
Record context: 1886–1887. Designed in 1885–1886 and built in 1886–1887. The construction interval excludes the earlier design phase.
Record context: Published coordinate for the identified building; not a city-centre estimate.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=richardson-glessner-house&detail=1
2. 7th District Police Station
7th District Police Station · Recorded year (source inventory): 1888
The 7th District Police Station, or Maxwell Street Station in Chicago, was built in 1888 in response to the need for increased police presence in "Bloody Maxwell", known colloquially as "the Wickedest Police District in the World." The neighborhood, a changing melting pot of Irish, German, Italian and European Jewish immigrants, grew exponentially in the years following the Chicago Fire of 1871. The housing and sanitation situation in the district was substandard, and the residents poor. Criminal activity flourished. The Romanesque style station is architecturally significant as an example of pre-1945 police stations in Chicago. It was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke and Franklin Pierce Burnham. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q4644007&detail=1
3. Rookery Building
Rookery Building · Completed (Wikipedia): 1888
Completed in 1888, the Rookery combines a large commercial structure with Moorish, Byzantine, Venetian, and Romanesque details.
Observe: Trace the arches and carved motifs around the entrance, then compare them with the building's light court.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q3441853&detail=1
4. Auditorium Building
Auditorium Building · Completed (Wikipedia): 1889
Completed in 1889, the Auditorium Building combined a major performance hall with hotel and office uses in a monumental stone exterior.
Observe: Compare the restrained outer massing with the decorated theater interior. What changes when you move from street to stage?
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q546009&detail=1
5. Monadnock Building
Monadnock Building · North half completed (Wikipedia): 1891
The north half dates to 1891 and the south half to 1893. Their differing construction systems make the building a compact study in architectural transition.
Observe: Walk the two halves and compare their brick massing, window patterns, and stair details.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q1199833&detail=1
6. Elizabeth Peabody School
Elizabeth Peabody School · Recorded year (source inventory): 1895
The Elizabeth Peabody School is a historic school building at 1444 W. Augusta Boulevard in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school opened in 1894 to serve the growing number of students in West Town, as immigration and changes to education laws had led to overcrowding at other neighborhood schools. W. August Fiedler, the chief architect of the Chicago Board of Education, designed the school. His design, one of his first after becoming chief architect, combines the utilitarian form of standardized Chicago school designs of the 1870s with elements of the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. The school served students continuously from its opening until it closed in 2013. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 26, 2017. The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Observe: Choose one visible architectural detail. Compare it with another place in this study, then follow a source to check what its date describes.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Record context: The year is the source inventory’s recorded inception date. Construction start, opening and later alterations may have separate dates in the linked article.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q64746998&detail=1
7. Marquette Building
Marquette Building · Completed (Wikipedia): 1895
Completed in 1895, the Marquette Building combines a Chicago commercial frame with bronze reliefs and Tiffany mosaics.
Observe: Look for the bronze and mosaic story panels. How do these decorations change the reading of an office building?
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q6772574&detail=1
8. Chicago Cultural Center — original library
Chicago Cultural Center — original library · Opened as central library (Wikipedia): 1897
The building opened in 1897 as Chicago's central library. Its marble interiors and Tiffany glass dome remain central to its architectural appeal.
Observe: Find the glass dome and compare the exterior's civic formality with its richly finished public rooms.
Access: Catalogue location only. Confirm current access and the observation point before travelling.
Atlas: https://tartariamaps.com/?city=chicago-il&candidate=Q2398614&detail=1