Dexter Building

The Dexter Building was a seven-story commercial structure with large windows and cast-iron beams, built in 1887 on South Wabash Avenue. It originally functioned as a furniture factory and showroom for a furnishings company.

The building was designed in 1887 by renowned architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, pioneers of modern American architecture. It received Chicago Landmark status in 1996 but was destroyed by a major fire in 2006.

The building took its name from an early tenant and displayed a clean, unadorned facade that reflected the Chicago School approach to commercial design. Its open window rows and structural clarity represented how the city was thinking about functional architecture.

Since the building no longer exists, visitors cannot see it today. However, the site on South Wabash Avenue in South Loop remains easy to reach, and the history of the location can be explored through other nearby structures from the same period.

The facade featured perforated cast-iron girders, a technical detail that would not become standard in modern architecture for many decades. This forward-thinking approach showed how far ahead Adler and Sullivan were in their thinking.

Location: Illinois

GPS coordinates: 41.87360,-87.62610

Latest update: December 13, 2025 11:43