Chicago, IL: Jewelers' Building

(3D Satellite)

Fran Anderson Lyons posted
I took this in 1989 - 35 E Wacker, aka Jewelers' Bldg. Completed in 1927, at the time it was considered the tallest building outside of New York City. Previous names were Pure Oil Building and North American Life Insurance Building.
John Kierig: the Stratosphere Lounge (up in the dome) was reputed to be a Capone operation/hangout and is now the office of architect Helmut Jahn.
Bill Downes: Someone might post the details about how you and your automobile were taken by elevator to your jeweler on 22..or whichever.

Eric J. Norstrom posted

seldom seen original 8 x 10 photographic image of giaver and dinkelberg's jewelers building (1927) with the four corner roof tanks and 17-story tower under construction.

the 40-story cream-colored terra cotta building (renamed the pure oil building in 1928) was erected by the starrett-dilks company of chicago.

courtesy of bldg. 51 archive.

[The buildings that were along the river have been removed to make room for Wacker Drive.

And we see the west end of the C&NW State Street Yard on the right.]

Taylor Rosen posted three photos with the comment: "35 East Wacker, also known as the Jewelers' Building, is a 40-story 523 ft (159 m) historic building in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and East Wacker Drive, facing the Chicago River. It was built from 1925 to 1927, and was co-designed by Joachim Giæver and Frederick P. Dinkelberg. At the time of its completion in 1927, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City."

Joe F. Guerra: This building had an elevator that could fit a car and Al Capone would go up to his penthouse alongside his car and chauffeur. In this building, I had a great sandwich at a street level restaurant that faces Wabash Avenue. Crisp lettuce, very delicious, just the way I like it...

Tom Bodeep: i worked there for a couple years.. The building has a car elevator that you enter from the basement. Jewelers could keep their jewels in the car until they reached their floor and unload the car into their suite (back in the day)

Patrick Carroll: Wrong. 52-story Terminal Tower in Cleveland at 709' (771' to the tip) was the second tallest building in the world when it was completed and the tallest building in North America outside NYC from 1927 to 1964.

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I don't believe the customers use the car elevator, they were not carrying enough jewelry. It was the owners that used the elevator to take their inventory to their shop.

"Twenty-five percent of the entire structure, or 51,148 square feet on each of the first twenty-three floors, will be devoted to garage space, accommodating 625 cars." [Chicagology]

Ken Roubik posted
Jonathan Billig Used as Gotham City Hall in the Christian Bale Batman movies.
Laura Lewis Decepticon's headquarters (from the Transformers movie) or the Jewelers Building. It also has Feeding America's headquarters.
Chris Vanderhoof I believe there is a car elevator in the building that jewelers used to drive into so they wouldn't have to unload their jewelry on the street
Joseph Trankina Indeed there is/was!Lowell Beyer You used to be able to take an elevator all the way to the top. The story was Al Capone had an office there.
Christopher DjAbsolute Gomez The four towers on each corner used to have cast iron tanks in them connected with the building, fill with water, serving as an early form of a sprinkler system.
Sherry Drew I've still got my "return postage guaranteed" key ring from when I officed there.
Karin Pattydukeellington Pritikin Al Capone owned a speakeasy on the top floors. So the "most secure building" downtown was also a gathering place / watering hole for many of the city's most devious crooks n criminals.
Here is a para from a Crain's Chicago Business. article about the Building when the lease was acquired by Murphy Jahn. There are many references to the venue in the press of the time as well:
The cupola space originally was a restaurant and speakeasy called the Stratosphere Lounge, which is rumored to have been run by Al Capone. When the Jewelers Building was completed, it "was the tallest building outside of New York City," says Keith Palmer, vice-president of Murphy/Jahn. "This was in the stratosphere.Bruce Ross When it was finished in 1926, it was christened with that name--mainly because of the many "jewelers" that occupied that space. Pure Oil was one of the names that the Jewelers' Building used--circa 50s-early 70s period.

Kenneth Swedroe posted

On the same day I came across Ken's photo, I came across Kenneth's photo. The Jewelers' Building is in the middle of the photo just to the left of yet another box building.

Zachary Taylor Davis - Chicago Architect posted
The Jewelers Building (1925-1927 - Giaver & Dinkelberg, engineers and architects with Thielbar & Fugard as the supervising architects) features prominently in this photo from 1935.

MWRD posted
A view of the budding Chicago skyline, including the Jewelers Building (now 35 East Wacker) at right, is seen looking east from the Main Stem of the Chicago River towards a swing bridge at Clark Street on September 14, 1926.
Jeff Bransky Old Republic Building near middle of photo. Still standing but impossible to see from this point of view today.