The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 had destroyed a by swath of the city between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan , and subsequent commercial development expanded into the area far south of the main business district along the river that would come to be known as " the Loop " . Between 1881 and 1885 , Aldis bought a series of lots in the area on Peter Brooks ' behalf , including a 70-by-200-foot ( 21 by 61 m ) site on the corner of Jackson and Dearborn streets . The location was remote , yet attractive for several reasons . The construction of the Chicago Board of Trade Building in 1885 had made nearby LaSalle Street the city 's prime financial district , driving up property values , and railroad companies were buying up land further south for new terminal buildings , creating further speculation in the southeastern end of the Loop . Brooks commissioned Burnham & Root to design a building for the site in 1884 , and the project was announced in 1885 , with a brief trade journal notice that the building would cost $ 850,000 ( $ in dollars ) . The Chicago building community had little faith in Brooks ' choice of location . Architect Edwin Renwick would say : Early sketches show a 13-story building with Ancient Egyptian ornament and a slight flaring at the top , divided visually into five sections with a lotus-blossom decorative motif . This design was never approved , as Brooks waited for the real estate market in the south Loop , still mostly warehouses , to improve . Where Root was known for the detailed ornamentation of his designs ( as seen in the Rookery Building ) , Brooks was known for his stinginess and preference for simplicity . For the Monadnock , Brooks insisted that the architects refrain from elaborate ornamentation and produce instead " the effect of solidity and strength , or a design that will produce that effect , rather than ornament for a notable appearance . " In an 1884 letter to Aldis , he wrote : While Root was on vacation , Burnham had a draftsman create a " straight up-and-down , uncompromising , unornamented facade . " Objecting at first , Root later threw himself into the design , declaring that the heavy lines of an Egyptian pyramid had captured his imagination and that he would " throw the thing up without a single ornament "
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Monadnock Building