Article: Who Deserves Credit for the Rookery?

DavidC · Post by **DavidC** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:08 pm

Who Deserves Credit for the Rookery?

David

jmcnally · Post by **jmcnally** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:39 pm

Everything I have read points to Wright as merely a remodeler, and nothing seems to detract from Burnham & Root's original work. Someone may be getting overly defensive, but it would be like all the descendants of families who slept in roadhouses in New England complaining that George Washington gets all the attention for sleeping there. It does not detract from other architects' legacies to say that Wright was the greatest American architect of his time.

Wrightgeek · Post by **Wrightgeek** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:05 pm

Certainly, Root deserves the lion's share of the credit for this fine building. Root provided the bones, and Wright gilded the lily 15 years later, in a very fine manor. Wright's contributions should not be downplayed or overlooked, as he elevated an already beautiful building to an entirely new plateau, but his work should not overshadow that of John W. Root. Root deserves his day in the sun for this building, as well as the magnificient Monadnock and Reliance Buildings, all true Chicago School classics, IMHO.

Often overlooked at the Rookery is the 1931 Art Decoish remodel performed by William Drummond. The affects of this remodel are quite subtle, but are there to be found if one looks closely, especially at details such as the elevator doors towards the rear of the infamous FLW designed lobby.

Next time I am in Chicago, I very much look forward to taking the extended FLWPT tour of this beautiful building.

Reidy · Post by **Reidy** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:28 am

You could turn this around and say that, if not for the drawing power of Wright's name, Root wouldn't be getting the attention that he is.

outside in · Post by **outside in** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:41 am

it doesn't seem right to talk about Root this way - the lobby as designed by Root was absolutely incredible. There is no better or worse, just different.

Roderick Grant · Post by **Roderick Grant** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:01 pm

I agree. Before FLW did his work, the lobby was a major work of art.

The tragedy of Root's career is that it ended too soon. He could have been a much more prominent architect had he lived longer.