Foundational Interruption

A. Wittemann, “Entrance Hall - Board of Trade,” Paris of the Midwest: Chicago, 1837-1987, accessed October 25, 2016,http://parisofthemidwest.omeka.net/items/show/71.

This image shows the interior of the Chicago Board of Trade, circa 1890. This building was constructed in 1885 and was the first commercial building in Chicago to have electricity.

Despite its innovations, it was found to be unsound less than fifty years after it was built and was demolished and replaced by the current Board of Trade building in 1930. The construction of the Federal Reserve Bank building across the street contributed to its demise.  The Federal Reserve’s massive foundation undermined the integrity of the Board of Trade’s structure and it was condemned.[1]