Philip Johnson and John Burgee's only project in Chicago stands on the corner of the LaSalle Street canyon in the heart of the financial district. Classified as both postmodern and historicist, inspiration clearly came from Burnham & Root's 1886 Rookery building. The overall design is loosely based on John W. Root's Masonic Temple, built in 1892 and demolished in 1939.
The five-story rusticated base is built of red granite. The 50-foot-high entrance arch leads into an over-scaled barrel-vaulted lobby. The elevator cabs have gold-leaf-covered vaulted ceilings and marble floors. Huge bronze chandeliers hang above the black and white marble checkerboard floor, enhanced by the "Chicago Fugue", a sculpture by Sir Anthony Caro.
Designed by Philip Johnson Architects, the concrete core, steel framed tower features an exterior granite curtain wall with punched windows. The five-story base is of honed-finish red imperial granite with the remainder of the tower in Spanish pink granite.
New amenities added to the building include a ground floor restaurant and on-site health club. The top floor includes "The Library," a private club for tenants, as well as the Five-Star Service and Conference Center. The building has close proximity to all train stations and parking on-site