The Loop District in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

333 North Michigan Building

Holabird & Root, architect; 1928

— Chicago Landmark —

333 North Michigan Avenue Building Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 31, 2025

1. 333 North Michigan Avenue Building Marker

Inscription. This outstanding Art Deco-style skyscraper helps define one of the city's finest urban spaces. Its prominence is further heightened by the jog in Michigan Avenue, where it crosses the Chicago River. The base of the building is sheathed in polished granite, in shades of black and purple. The upper stories are clad in buff-colored limestone and dark terra cotta, and are dramatically set back in accord with the city's 1923 zoning ordinance.

Designated on February 6, 1997
Richard M. Daley, Mayor

Erected by Commission on Chicago Landmarks, City of Chicago.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Roads & Vehicles • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Illinois, Chicago Landmarks Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1928.

Location. 41° 53.27′ N, 87° 37.459′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in The Loop District. It is on North Michigan Avenue south of East Wacker Drive, on the right when traveling north. The marker is the to the left of the main entryway into the building. Touch for map.

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Marker is at or near this postal address: 333 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60601, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named 333 North Michigan Building (a few steps from this marker); Old Fort Dearborn (within shouting distance of this marker); Kin Link, 2023 (within shouting distance of this marker); Regeneration (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Dearborn (within shouting distance of this marker); Chicago River (within shouting distance of this marker); Chicago's Movable Bridges (within shouting distance of this marker); Chicago River Wildlife (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker.

333 North Michigan Building entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 31, 2025

2. 333 North Michigan Building entrance

This building is an extreme rarity among official Chicago Landmarks in that it is adorned with two of the landmark commission’s stately square plaques, one on either side of the main doors into the building. The only other confirmed instances of duplicates are at Alta Vista Terrace in the north-side Lake View neighborhood, which has identical markers at the street’s north and south entrances, and at the Chicago Cultural Center, about three blocks south of here on Michigan Avenue.

This particular sign has identical text to the one on the right side of the doorway. However, based on the font and the sheen of the marker, coupled with archival photos from Google Street View, it is clear that this is a modern (likely between 2021 and 2025) replacement of an older plaque. The identical plaque on the right of the doorway appears to date to somewhere around the time when this building was designated a Chicago Landmark.

The building’s landmark report (linked below) appears to have been written in 1987, and says that the recommendation to be a Chicago Landmark occurred in 1987. However, based on both the plaques on the building as well as

333 North Michigan Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 31, 2025

3. 333 North Michigan Building

the Chicago Landmark website, it appears that it did not become an official landmark until 1997.

Also see . . . Chicago Landmark report: 333 North Michigan Building. (Submitted on January 2, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

333 North Michigan and the London Guarantee & Accident Building image. Click for full size.

4. 333 North Michigan and the London Guarantee & Accident Building

The Indiana Limestone Photograph Collection was a previously unknown collection of more than 25,000 photographs found in a house owned by the Indiana Limestone Company in Bedford, Indiana. The photos document the use of Indiana limestone in prominent buildings across the United States. This photo, likely from the 1930s, features two famed Chicago buildings constructed of Indiana limestone: the art-deco 333 North Michigan Avenue, and, to the right, the London Guarantee & Accident Building (now the LondonHouse Hotel), which sits on the site of old Fort Dearborn.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 2, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 65 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 2, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 4. submitted on November 7, 2023, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.