On my recent trip to Chicago I passed the Chicago Tribune newspaper building called the Tribune Tower many times, as I walked from one place to another, and each time I had to stop to admire this beautiful building. Located at 435 N. Michigan Ave, the Tribune Tower is the headquarters of Tribune Company, founded in 1847. The Tower building was erected in 1925. The Tower design was the result of an international competition for "the most beautiful office building in the world," held in 1922 by the Chicago Tribune newspaper. (All photos in this post will enlarge is double clicked on)
The winning design, out of 286 submissions from around the world, was that of a 36 story Gothic skyscraper, awarded to New York City architects John Mead Howells and Raymond M. Hood.
The detailed stone screen above the entrance depicts characters from Aesop's Fables..
Prior to the building of the Tribune Tower, correspondents for the Chicago Tribune brought back rocks and bricks from a variety of historically important sites throughout the world at the request of Colonel McCormick who was the head of the newspaper at the time. Many of these reliefs have been incorporated into the lowest levels of the building and are labeled with their location of origin.
I was fascinated to see how many artifacts and bricks and stone that there were all around the exterior walls, above door ways and windows and under exterior lighting fixtures.
I tried to find and photograph as many as I could.
I felt like I was on an archaeological treasure hunt!
The stones and artifacts are from all around the world. It includes fragments of Abraham Lincoln's original tomb, India's Taj Mahal, China's Forbidden City, the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt and the Great Wall of China. Others, like the Berlin Wall are of recent history.
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Every state in the USA is represented at least one bit of natural or man-made wonder.
I am displaying just some of the over 150 artifacts from around the country and the world in these photos mosaics. Make sure you double click on them to enlarge them for easier viewing and use your browsers back arrow each time to come back to the post.
Try as I might, I know I must have missed photographing a few of the artifacts, but it will be fun to, hopefully, go back some day and see if I can find more.
As a New Yorker, this artifact was the most significant and touching of all -- a twisted piece of metal that came from the destruction of one of the World Trade Center Towers. I said a prayer for all lost on that terrible day.
I'm linking this post to Mary's "Mosaic Monday" event on her blog Little Red House. Please visit Mary's blog to see her beautiful mosaic and links to all the blogs participating today!
