This was a look at the Reliance Building which is an architecturally and historically significant building not only for Chicago but for the development of cities worldwide. Our docent Mary Jo was very thorough in telling us and showing us why.

This beautiful and historically important building is very worth a brief stop if you are in The Loop. Very elegant and detailed work.

This building is famous architecturally, and stunning. Destined to be famous for the great, chic hotel that has opened here a few years ago. I remember this building when I would walk to work in the Loop and was thrilled when I stumbled upon it when researching hotels to stat at during my recent visit with my daughter. Kudos to the city and businesses for keeping the amazing architecture alive and preserved. It's the Chicago way!

I remember when the Prudential Building was the tallest building in Chicago. How times have changed. Of course, there was a time when the Reliance Building, was recognized as a skyscraper, all 14 floors of it. Located at 1 West Washington Street, at State Street, in the center of what once was known as That Great Street, the Reliance Building was designed by architect John Root in 1890 and completed by Charles Atwood in 1895. It was the first skyscraper to have large plate glass windows make up the majority of its surface area, foreshadowing a design feature that would become commonplace in the 20th century. It remains significant for other reasons, including its white glazed terra cotta facade and steel frame superstructure. It also was one of the first skyscrapers to offer electricity and telephone service to all of its offices. The lobby is a showcase with its 20-foot-high ceiling, Italian marble, elegant mosaic floor tiles and an old-time metal elevator grill with decorative wrought iron. Today, the building boasts the popular Atwood Cafe on the first floor with a fashionable boutique hotel, the 122-room Staypineapple, formerly the Hotel Burnham, filling the rest of the space. The Reliance Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. Visitors still marvel at the proto-Modernist structure, which reflects the growth of Chicago's central retail district. How could it have been built in 1895?

As an architecture buff, I was wowed by this 1895 skyscraper gem when I visited on a Chicago Architecture Foundation tour. I initially thought that the building -- one of the stops in Historic Treasures of Culture and Commerce -- went up in the middle 1900s. That's because the structure has a more modern look due to its two-story-column design that helps support many large glass windows. The 14-story building also appears light and airy because of the white glazed terra cotta that contributes to the facade. But the almost sparkling beauty does not reflect careful maintenance for more than a century. Instead, it displays restoration work by a developer, who in 1999 transformed the former office building into the boutique Hotel Burnham (now The Alise Chicago). We entered the hotel from Washington Street and continued to the long elevator lobby, which can be accessed directly from State Street. This lobby shows off a 20-foot-high ceiling, intricate mosaic floor tiles, Italian marble, a metal elevator grill and decorative wrought iron. Photos on the wall show what the building, which is a National Historic Landmark, looked like throughout the years. The Reliance Building is near Millennium Park and the Chicago Art Institute and across the street from Macy's on State Street. That department store is also worth a stop for a look at its magnificent Tiffany glass dome.