Architect Louis Sullivan’s life and work are celebrated in two new books published by the Alphawood Foundation of Chicago. Each substantial volume catalogues items displayed during two exhibitions honoring Sullivan’s architectural achievements, both held during the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial. These scholarly works reproduce vast collections of historic photographs, drawings, sketches, watercolor paintings, letters, and other related materials amassed by the authors. Louis Sullivan’s Idea tells of Sullivan’s most iconic building designs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including the Auditorium Building in Chicago, the Guaranty Building in Buffalo, and the Wainwright Building in St. Louis. The book also covers important buildings no longer extant, like Sullivan’s Chicago Stock Exchange Building, the Transportation Building from the World’s Columbian Exposition, and Chicago’s Garrick Theater. Reconstructing the Garrick concentrates on one of Sullivan’s earliest metal-framed skyscrapers, designed in collaboration with his business partner, Dankmar Adler. Many of the Sullivan-related items...
University of California Press