Several weeks ago I fulfilled a request for images of the Equitable Building at 180 W Washington. After walking by several more times, I felt that there was more to the building than can easily be seen from the street. So on my way home from work recently, I took an elevator to the top of the parking garage across the street to get a better look. The weather was a bit sucky, and my images are a bit washed out, but I still felt that you should get a chance to see just what is at the top of this over the top building.

Looking down to the street, the familiar red sign for Hannah’s Bretzel can be seen.

Now back to the top. There is so much going on here that I don’t know where to begin. As I stated in my first post on this building, this is an absolute symphony of terra cotta detail. It’s like the building owner got ahold of the terra cotta parts catalog and circled all of the designs he wanted to the architects to include.

When the building was completed in 1929, there wasn’t a twelve story parking garage across the street, and I can only guess that the building that was there was shorter, allowing “L” riders to get a view of the building.

A close up of the center medallion reveals incredible detail. What I find even more amazing is that the building owners have somehow managed to maintain this facade, and it has not fallen to economics and been dismantled or shoddily rehabbed. (Cheezy arched window replacement not withstanding.)

Random Mondays will show up randomly sometime this week.

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