Old Colony Building, Chicago
historic place
The Old Colony Building, a historic place in Cook County, Chicago, was completed in 1894. Located at 407 South Dearborn Street, this seventeen-story structure was designed by the architectural firm Holabird and Roche. Standing approximately 215 feet tall, it was the tallest building in Chicago at the time of its completion. The Old Colony Building is a significant example of the Chicago School of Architecture and one of the city's earliest skyscrapers. Its exterior features terra cotta, brick, and limestone masonry. Notably, it was the first tall building to use a system of internal portal arches for wind bracing, a crucial engineering advancement. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and designated a Chicago Landmark on July 7, 1978. Originally an office building, it was converted to student housing in 2015. This structure represents a key period in Chicago's architectural innovation and the development of early skyscrapers.