Carbide & Carbon Building
Black granite, dark-green terracotta and a gold-leaf crown: the most theatrical Art Deco tower on Michigan Avenue, designed by the sons of Daniel Burnham.
At a glance
The Carbide & Carbon Building stands at 230 North Michigan Avenue, a 37-storey Art Deco high-rise built in 1929. It was designed by the Burnham Brothers — Daniel Burnham Jr. and Hubert Burnham, sons of the planner of Chicago — for the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation. The tower is clad in polished black granite at the base rising into dark green and gold terracotta, capped with gold leaf, so that it reads as a single dark shaft crowned in light. Converted to a hotel in 2004, it remains one of the city’s most recognisable Deco landmarks.
Key facts
- Built: 1929
- Architects: Burnham Brothers (Daniel Burnham Jr. and Hubert Burnham)
- Style: Art Deco
- Height: 37 storeys, about 503 ft (153 m)
- Address: 230 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601, USA
- GPS: 41.886600, -87.624900 — Open in Google Maps
- Today: Hotel (converted 2004)
History
The building went up in 1929 for the Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, a major chemicals and industrial-gas company, as its Chicago headquarters. The Burnham Brothers, carrying their father’s firm into the Art Deco age, gave it an unusually rich material palette for a commercial tower. A popular legend holds that the green-and-gold scheme was meant to evoke a dark champagne bottle wrapped in gold foil; the architects left no record confirming it.
Designated a Chicago Landmark, the tower was restored and reopened in 2004 as the Hard Rock Hotel, later operating under other hotel brands. The conversion preserved the lobby and the distinctive exterior, which had darkened over decades of city soot and was cleaned to recover its colour.
What you see
From the street the building is a study in contrast: a base of black granite and bronze framing the entrance, then a shaft of deep green terracotta running the full height, then a crown finished in 24-carat gold leaf that catches the sun above Michigan Avenue. Stylised Deco ornament — chevrons, foliage, metalwork — concentrates at the base and the top.
The lobby continues the scheme in marble, bronze and Deco detailing. Because the tower is narrow and dark against its lighter neighbours, it stands out sharply in the Michigan Avenue wall facing Millennium Park and the lake.
Practical information
- Access: A working hotel; the lobby and bar are open to visitors, and the exterior is seen from Michigan Avenue
- Best view: From across Michigan Avenue or from Millennium Park, where the gold crown is visible
- Best light: Late afternoon, when the western sun lights the gold cap
- Time needed: 10–15 minutes from the street
Getting there
The building is at 230 North Michigan Avenue, on the western edge of the avenue facing Millennium Park, in the Loop. The CTA “L” stops at State/Lake and Washington/Wabash are a short walk away, as is the Millennium commuter station. From Millennium Park, the gold-topped tower is directly across Michigan Avenue.
Nearby
- Millennium Park and the Art Institute of Chicago, across Michigan Avenue
- The Michigan Avenue streetwall and the Chicago River, to the north
- Chicago Board of Trade Building — the city’s other major Art Deco tower
Sources
- City of Chicago — Chicago Landmark designation
- National Register of Historic Places — building documentation
- Art Institute of Chicago — documentation on the Burnham Brothers
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