Object Information
Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room: Reconstruction at the Art Institute of Chicago, 1893-94 (original built)
1972 (original demolished)
1976-77 (reconstructed)
Mixed media recreation of room
Room is roughly 5,704 square feet (not including gallery)
Gift of Three Oaks Wrecking Company, RX23310/0002
Chicago has been the major center for American architecture since the late 19th century. One of the city's most important early architects was Louis Sullivan, who, with his partner, Dankmar Adler, designed the Chicago Stock Exchange, built in 1893–94. When the Stock Exchange was demolished in 1972, sections of Sullivan's elaborate stenciled decorations, molded plaster capitals, and art glass were preserved from the Trading Room, the magnificent centerpiece of this 13-story structure. Using these fragments, the Art Institute was able to reconstruct the Trading Room in its new wing in 1976–77.
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
Space open to the public in the museum's Rubloff Building.
Publication History
Vinci, John, ed. 1989. The Trading Room: Louis Sullivan and The Chicago Stock Exchange. Art Institute of Chicago.
Art Institute of Chicago. 1990. Fragments of Chicago's Past: The Collection of Architectural Fragments at The Art Institute of Chicago. Exh. cat. Art Institute of Chicago, cat. no. 68, pp. 139-141.
Zukowsky, John, and Martha Thorne. 2004. Masterpieces of Chicago Architecture. Art Institute of Chicago/Rizzoli, pp. 44–45.