Building 51 | Building 51 | original historically important museum quality red slip glazed terra cotta dana (formerly erie) hotel building facade exterior romanesque style pilaster capital or endcap
11697
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original historically important museum quality red slip glazed terra cotta dana (formerly erie) hotel building facade exterior romanesque style pilaster capital or endcap

51-23907-16

Category

Chicago Buildings

About This Item

single original and important late 19th century dana hotel exterior red slip glaze terra cotta facade endcap attributed to the northwestern terra cotta company, chicago, ills. the richly ornamented endcap features deeply grooved acanthus leaves throughout. the slightly curved terra cotta fragment contains an older allover crazed red paint finish over the terra cotta. the dana hotel was demolished in 2007 with only a small amount of ornament recovered from its distinctive facade. the pier cap has been thoroughly cleaned and reconfigured by removing the rear cavities that gave it “dead weight.” in addition the terra cotta fragment, limestone sections and decorative tin panels were salvaged during the hotel’s demolition. the erie hotel, (later named the dana hotel), was built in 1891 by architects normand s. patton and reynolds fisher, who were an established architectural firm dealing in chicago queen anne architecture. their commissions include, but are not limited to, the armour institute, chicago academy of sciences, and several additional documented commercial and residential buildings located throughout the city. located at 666 north state street, the hotel was demolished in 2009 to make way for a new hotel, aptly named hotel dana. at the time of demolition, the dana was the city’s oldest continually-operated hotel, one of the few remaining 19th century hotels and/or large scale queen anne style buildings left standing in chicago. the five and one half story was designed in the queen anne style with the facade containing largely intact and unaltered richardsonian romenesque ornament in the form of carved limestone, red glazed terra cotta and stamped tin panels wrapped around the three protruding window bays. despite numerous cobbled or botched renovations and later, prolonged neglect and abandonment taking its destructive toll on the building’s interior fabric, the exterior facade retains much of its original architectural integrity, with a tripartite bay window configuration accentuated with ornamental tin and flanked by pilasters emphasizing the facade’s verticality, a finely carved indiana limestone base with rusticated slabs flanking a monumental archway bedecked with elegant foliated design motifs, and a patterned brick cornice combined with red glazed terra cotta end caps and frieze. with the exceptional of the fire escape and newer illuminated sign mounted directly above the arched entrance, the ornamental building materials used to bolster the facade’s character were in great overall condition.