Inland Steel Building: Model of Final Design

Architecture and Design

c. 1954/55

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects; American, founded 1936
Bruce J. Graham, designer; American, (1925–2010)

As one of the first two high-rise buildings constructed in downtown Chicago after the Great Depression, this model represents part of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill’s push to reimagine the corporate office building, along with the Lever House in New York. The architects separated the functions of the Inland Steel Building into two towers: a 19-story office block and a 25-story service unit. As a result, the floor plans have no interior columns or partitions, allowing maximum flexibility and a bright new image of the modern office, with a green tinted-glass curtain wall and bright stainless-steel mullions.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Architecture and Design

Artist: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Architect)
Title: Inland Steel Building: Model of Final Design
Place: Monroe Street, 30 West (Building address)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1949–1960
Medium: Mixed media model
Dimensions: Vitrine: 122.5 × 64.5 × 82 cm (48 1/4 × 25 3/8 × 32 1/4 in.); Base: 60 × 51 × 69 cm (23 5/8 × 20 1/8 × 27 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Ryerson Tull, Inc., Chicago
Reference Number: 2001.572

The Art Institute of Chicago, “Past Forward: Architecture and Design Collection at the Art Institute,” September 12, 2017–July 11, 2019.
Loan to Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, “At the End of the Century: 100 Years of Architecture,” 1999-2000.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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