January
3, 1928 -- Samuel Insull comes closer to
his dream of helping the city build a new home for the Chicago Civic Opera,
completing a transaction that gives him control of an entire block of the Loop,
bounded by Madison Street on the south, the river on the west, Wacker Drive
(Market Street at the time) on the east and Washington Boulevard on the
north. On this date the purchase of the
southeast corner of the property, the piece necessary to complete the plan, is
filed with the recorder of deeds. Plans
are to create an opera house that has about the same amount of space as the
1889 Auditorium Theater’s performance space with a modern office tower rising
above it. The Chicago Daily Tribune reports, “Plans for the building are being
somewhat hampered … because of the difficulty of harmonizing the office
building and the opera house into one beautiful building. However, Architect Ernest R. Graham said he
is confident of planning a structure at once sightly and with profitable
renting space.” Just 22 months later the
new Civic Opera Building would open with Rosa Raisa playing the title role in Aida.
For more information on opening night, please follow this link. The above photo shows the Civic Opera Building rising quickly in February of 1929.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment