Main Building and Machinery Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology

Address: 3300 S. Federal St. (Main Building); 100 W. 33rd St. (Machinery Hall) Year Built: 1891 - 1893 Main Building; 1901, Machinery Hall Architect: Patton & Fisher , Patton, Fisher & Miller Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: May 26, 2004

These two Victorian-era educational buildings, now part of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) campus, exemplify the historic importance of the Armour Institute of Technology, a technological college that was a predecessor institution to IIT. The two buildings are finely-crafted, red brick and granite buildings designed in the Romanesque Revival architectural style, and are prominent visual "landmarks" when seen from the adjacent Dan Ryan Expressway and Chicago Transit Authority Red Line. They were built with the generous financial support of noted Chicago industrialist Philip D. Armour, Sr., and his family. The Main Building boasts a fine stained-glass window dedicated to Philip D. Armour, Jr., located on the first landing of the building's main staircase. The buildings also exemplify the role of educator Frank Gunsaulus, Armour Institute's first president. The architects of the two buildings, Patton & Fisher and their successor firm, Patton, Fisher & Miller, were significant designers of institutional buildings, designing, among other buildings, more than 100 "Carnegie" libraries throughout the Midwest.