Century Building
- Architect
- Holabird & Roche, William Sevic
- Year
- 1915
- Style
- Chicago School
- City
- Chicago, IL
- Collection
- the chicago school
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The Century Building at 202 South State Street was built in 1915 for the Buck & Rayner drugstore chain, which occupied the corner store and basement while renting upper floors to tenants, including Lake and State Savings Bank, later renamed Century Trust and Savings Bank, which gave the building its current name. Designed by Holabird & Roche, it captures Chicago high-rise design mid-transition from the Chicago School to Art Deco.
the building
Neo-Manueline ornament. The building's north and east facades carry Neo-Manueline ornamentation, an unusual Portuguese-derived decorative choice that marks the Century as a transitional design between the Chicago School and the coming Art Deco era.
the style
Holabird & Roche designed the Century Building as Chicago high-rise architecture was shifting from the structural clarity of the Chicago School toward Art Deco ornament, and its Neo-Manueline detailing records that in-between moment.
More on Chicago Schoolsignificance
The Century Building is a contributing property to the Loop Retail Historic District and was designated an individual Chicago Landmark (L-396) on April 19, 2025. Now vacant and owned by the federal government, it was proposed for demolition in 2022 alongside the neighboring Consumers Building, with $52 million earmarked for tearing down both.
nearby
- Consumers Building
- Chicago Federal Building
- Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse
- Palmer House Hotel
- Marquette Building
- McClurg Building