Reliance Building/Hotel Burnham

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Project description: The Reliance Building, designed by John Welborn Root and Charles B. Atwood of D.H. Burnham & Company, and constructed in 1895, is recognized as the precursor of the modern glass and steel high-rise buildings. The Reliance Building is a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Antunovich Associates and McCaffery Interests coordinated on the restoration and conversion of the historic Reliance Building into a 122-room boutique hotel, Hotel Burnham.

This meticulous restoration conformed to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. Phase one included the restoration of the terra-cotta exterior as well as the replacement of the historic cornice and windows above the first floor. The second phase included reconstructing the elegant first-floor storefront, rehabilitating the ornate first-floor elevator lobby and stair, restoring the elevator lobby and corridors on four upper-level floors, and restoring the ornamented stair that connects all upper levels of the building.

Awards:
1998 National Association of Industrial and Office Properties - Retail Development of the Year
2000 Friends of Downtown (Chicago) - Best Restoration
2000 City of Chicago, Commission of Chicago Landmarks - Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence
2000 National Association of Industrial and Office Properties - Chicago Chapter Redevelopment of the Year
2000 American Institute of Architects - Distinguished Building Citation of Merit and Interior Architecture Honor Award
2000 Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois - Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award, Preservation Project of the Year
2001 American Institute of Architects - Honor Award for Architecture
2001 National Trust for Historic Preservation - National Preservation Honor Award

Size: 79,000 SF, 122 Room Hotel

Services: Architecture