Chicago's last remaining cast iron front

The Page Brothers Building is a commercial building at 177-191 North State Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Its north facade, facing Lake Street, features the city's last remaining cast iron front. Although this example was built after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, iron facades were a common construction technique before the fire, and many of those iron fronts melted due to the intense heat.

The original 5-story structure was built by John Mills Van Osdel, a prominent post-Fire architect known for buildings in the Jewelers Row District and Old Main at the University of Arkansas. In 1902, the west facade facing State Street was remodeled and another floor was added, reflecting the reorientation of commercial activity from Lake to State Street.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1975, and was later designated a Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983. The Page Brothers Building stands next to the Chicago Theatre, another Chicago Landmark whose marquee is a cultural and physical landmark that commonly appears in film, television, artwork, and photography.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons