The Reliance Building holds a facade of glass and white terra cotta that seems to dissolve the traditional weight of a building. When it opened in eighteen ninety-five, its thin steel frame allowed for massive plate-glass windows that flooded the small offices with light. Daniel Burnham and John Root designed the structure, but Root died before construction began. He left behind a vision of light and space that forced the city to rethink how skyscrapers could capture the sun in the heart of Chicago.
Reliance Building
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