State and Lake Streets

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Landmark Images:
Cor. Lake & State Streets; Louis Kurz for Jevne & Almini, Lithograph, 1866-67 (ichi-64272)

Cor. Lake & State Streets; Louis Kurz for Jevne & Almini, Lithograph, 1866-67 (ichi-64272)

The view is east along Lake Street toward Michigan Avenue and the lakefront.  On the north side of Lake Street is a row of ten five-story buildings with cast-iron fronts that were constructed in the mid-1850s.  These faced similar structures on the south side of the street.  An exception to this building type was the City Hotel, on the southeast corner of State and Lake, which was made of brick.  The City Hotel was succeeded after the fire by the six-story cast iron Burton Building, designed by architect John M. Van Osdel in 1872.  While it has undergone multiple ownership and name changes and has been renovated several times--its State Street side received a new facade in 1902--the Burton Building still stands.  One of the oldest structures in the Loop and one of the very few with a cast iron front, it was designated a city landmark in 1983.