Copyright © 2006–2020, Some rights reserved. By clicking OK, you are confirming that this image is only to be used for the rights in the existing license. One worker eventually found it, cracked open its strong box, only to find some old newspapers. . Frederick Durland. So the real mystery here is not the mystery of how the statues ended up in Glen Ellyn. These two statues, one symbolizing agriculture and the other industry, once stood over the main entrance of the Board of Trade Building built in 1885. *wikipedia The word cereals derives from Ceres, commemorating her association with edible grains. During the 1920s, many buildings in downtown Chicago had become archaic and thus met the wrecking ball. Illinois. Al Capone’s Chicago: 5 Sites He Actually Knew. Second, I wanted it to be symbolical of the business which the organization the structure was to house. So why does the plaque say the Greek sculptures were “lost forever” when there is documentation that Cutten got his hands on them? “Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”, 1. We are a passionate team of educators, historians, artists and storytellers, and are proud to be one of very few tour companies in Chicago that is rated five stars on both Google and TripAdvisor. In his efforts to make the sculpture symbolic of the building’s purpose, Storrs turned to the Classical subject of Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain, alluding to the board’s activity as the world’s biggest grain exchange. . How the statues made the journey from LaSalle Street to the Cutten estate is a mystery. These ladies adorned the entrance of the CBOT building that was demolished before the current art deco skyscraper was built. The building was designed in Art Deco style by architects Holabird Root. Forest Preserve District official uncovered the twelve-foot, five and one-half ton granite statues at Hidden Lake Forest Preserve near Downers Grove, Illinois in 1978. Alamy and its logo are trademarks of Alamy Ltd. and are registered in certain countries. The statues greeted commodity traders and the public for 45 years. The Chicago Board of Trade was the tallest building in Chicago from 1930 to 1965; surpassed by the Richard J. Daley Center. During demolition, the statues went missing and were rumored to have been destroyed. This Art Deco building incorporates sculptural work by Alvin Meyer and is capped by a 31-foot (9.5 m) tall statue of the Roman goddess Ceres in reference to the exchange's heritage as a commodity market. Appropriately, Ceres holds a sheaf of wheat and a … These ladies adorned the entrance of the CBOT building that was demolished before the current art deco skyscraper was built. Williamstown, Massachusetts, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, John Storrs and John Flannagan: Sculpture and Works on Paper, Nov 7–Dec 28, 1980. How Has Chicago Responded to Historic Epidemics? The most valuable part was the copper used to bind the box to the cornerstone. The Chicago Board of Trade's Statues. Sitemap. The Chicago Board of Trade’s Statue of Agriculture, 4. I decided to do some digging and the results have wound up in our private group “Architecture of Money and Power” Walking Tour of the Financial District. Copper-alloy plated with nickel, then chrome. But if you take a few, you might notice something strange: no two tour guides seem to agree as to why the statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture who stands atop the building, doesn’t have a face. Chicago Board of Trade with the famous Ceres statue at the top. “From the street the statue will appear to pedestrians mostly in silhouette. In fact most of the articles I found use that very word, “wrecked,” to describe the rubble of the 1885 building. This building replaced the old Board of Trade Building, which was the tallest building in Chicago from 1885-1895. John Storrs is the sculptor. "Masterful Sleuthing" - NYT Bestselling author Steve Hodel, We haven't restarted in-person tours yet, and don't plan to this year. Copyright © 20/10/2020 Alamy Ltd. All rights reserved. USA, Sorry, this image isn't available for this licence. Download this stock image: Chicago Board of Trade with the famous Ceres statue at the top. These two statues, one symbolizing agriculture and the other industry, once stood over the main entrance of the Board of Trade Building built in 1885. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Price Charts and Quotes for Futures, Commodities, Stocks, Equities, Foreign Exchange - INO.com Markets Chicago. The author of more than 20 books, he is frequently seen on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, and more. The workers tearing down the building made great care to save the cornerstone. The vertical lines of the building itself are retained in the lines of the statue. It is in Chicago in Cook County Illinois, 2. Harris, member of construction company. The outline of a woman’s figure is suggested rather than rendered exactly. The face, too, is suggested, inasmuch as there are no regular features.”, He also noted that he considered the top of the Board of Trade to be “one of the most commanding positions for a statue to be found in America.”. The work of casting the statue in hard aluminum is now in progress at Providence, R.I., and officials of the Board of Tra e hope that it will be put in place in time for the ceremonies which will mark the opening of the world’s most important food trading market. Though now dwarfed by the supertall skyscrapers around it, the art deco building is still stunning to behold, and pointed out by every architecture tour. The article reports that the original Board of Trade had stained glass windows which were salvaged and sold to our Corn King. There they took center stage in a 1991 sculpture exhibit. To help improve this record, please email . The museum is closed today. Ceres sculpture atop the Chicago Board of Trade Building - from which cereal was named, seriously! But I found a clue in a Chicago Tribune article published in 1928, a year before the demolition. (podcast). Information about image downloads and licensing is available here. 67.3 × 16.2 × 12.4 cm (26 ½ × 6 3/8 × 4 7/8 in.). Storrs also synchronized his sculpture with the building’s Art Deco architecture, emphasizing the figure’s streamlined form and employing modern materials.