Chicago's NPR News Source

Higher education: The view from the top of the Roosevelt University Auditorium Building

Higher education: The view from the top of the Roosevelt University Auditorium Building

WBEZ/Lee Bey

untitled%20shoot-050.jpg

The Adler & Sullivan-designed Auditorium Building has complemented the streetscape and skyline since 1889.

And looking out on the city from the top of the tower that crowns the 122-year-old landmark (and home to Roosevelt University), the building returns the favor. Nineteen stories above the corner of Congress and Michigan, it’s a view few get to see--but, man, is it a good one. The above photo looks south and you can see the EL snaking down the right side of the photo; the Congress Hotel is on the left. In the distance you can see the residential towers along Roosevelt Road seven blocks south.

And below, an eastward look. At the center of the photo, Congress Street splits Grant Park before dead-ending at Buckingham Fountain. And just beyond that, the sky and the lake become one:

untitled%20shoot-042.jpg

And here, a view to the southwest.

untitled%20shoot-071.jpg

I was on the roof of the Auditorium building because I was photographing the new 32-story Roosevelt Tower, a Roosevelt University dorm building under construction next door to the college on Wabash. The $118 million structure was designed by VOA Architects. I’ll post some photos soon. Imagine what the views from that place will look like.

The Latest
Liesl Olson started as director at The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum earlier this month. She joins WBEZ to talk about her future plans for this landmark of Chicago history. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Lauren Frost
The city faces criticism for issuing red light camera tickets at intersections where yellow lights fall slightly short of the city’s 3-second policy. And many traffic engineers say the lights should be even longer.
There was a time Chicago gave New York a run for its money. How did we end up the Second City?
Union Gen. Gordon Granger set up his headquarters in Galveston, Texas, and famously signed an order June 19, 1865, “All slaves are free.” President Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday last year.
As the U.S. celebrates the second federal holiday honoring Juneteenth, several myths persist about the origins and history about what happened when enslaved people were emancipated in Texas.