“The old Chicago Stock Exchange Building trading room — Adler & Sullivan’s gilded age space rescued from demolition 54 years ago — could be uprooted from its longtime Art Institute of Chicago home under preliminary expansion plans being considered by the museum.
“‘As we have assessed which part of our campus has the most potential for expansion, the east side of the building — where the Trading Room is located — represents the area where gallery space could increase the most,’ the Art Institute said Tuesday in a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“The statement marks the first time the Art Institute has publicly announced the possibility that the historic room could be affected by its expansion plans.
“The trading floor is listed on Preservation Chicago’s 2026 list of the city’s seven most endangered places, announced Wednesday.
“Located near the Columbus Drive entrance, the ornate two-level 5,700-square-foot trading room was the centerpiece of the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan-designed Chicago Stock Exchange at 30 N. LaSalle St., a wondrously beautiful building that was wrecked in 1972 and replaced by a run-of-the-mill skyscraper.
“But before the building was demolished, a team lead by architect John Vinci deconstructed the trading room piece-by-piece, then oversaw its reinstallation at the Art Institute.
“The reconstructed space has been on exhibit — and an event venue for rent — since 1977.
“The Stock Exchange Building’s entry arch was also moved to the museum and sits outside at Columbus Drive and Monroe Street.
“In 2024, the museum received a $75 million donation from art collectors Aaron Fleischman, an Art Institute trustee, and Lin Lougheed to help fund campus expansion plans, including additional exhibition halls.
“But Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said the new spaces shouldn’t come at the expense of the trading room.
“‘We understand the need for these institutions to grow and for their collections to be exhibited,’ he said. ‘But we’re of the opinion that these things can occur without damaging some of the really sacred and much-beloved spaces at the Art Institute of Chicago.’
“Miller said the museum could instead build on the air rights above the sunken Metra tracks and busway that partly separate the Michigan Avenue side of the Art Institute from the Co
“Preservation Chicago’s ‘Chicago 7’ list, and a bonus building, also includes the Art Institute’s McKinlock Court.
“Miller said the group fears McKinlock could be lost or altered under the museum’s expansion.
“Art Institute officials said there are no plans to remove the classical, open air courtyard.
“Another endangered site is Pope Leo XIV’s boyhood church, the now-deteriorating and vacant St. Mary of the Assumption at 138th Street and Leyden Avenue.” (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/4/26)