“The former Robert Morris University building on State Street — right across from the Harold Washington Library — is one of the nation’s most architecturally important structures, though you might not be able to tell by looking at it.

“Built in 1891 and designed by famed skyscraper architect William Le Baron Jenney, the vacant commercial building at 401 S. State St. is a city landmark that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The historic structure sits empty and lifeless at the otherwise busy corner of State Street and Ida B. Wells Drive. It was scheduled to be sold at auction like some common warehouse this week, the tail end of a saga that began five years ago when Robert Morris University moved out and merged with Roosevelt University.

“A nearly 500,000-square-foot historic and architecturally important property situated at a Downtown gateway deserves a better fate.

“‘Every good city has some great buildings that are worth fighting for; I think this one is no exception,’ Justin Wortmann, architect and senior associate at Perkins & Will, said. ‘Chicago has a long history of showing the world what’s possible.’

“Built for businessman Levi Leiter, the eight-story commercial building is a skyscraper. You just have to turn your head sideways to really see it. Instead of going vertical, Jenney — a pioneer in steel frame construction techniques that made tall buildings possible — went horizontal. The result was a building that unfurled down a full block of State Street, with deep, less-obstructed floor plates that were perfect for retail showrooms.

“No wonder its original client, department store Siegel, Cooper & Co., took up shop there, followed by the former retail powerhouse Sears, who made the building its Chicago flagship store from 1931 to 1986.

“‘This building saw two world wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement and the advent and creation of modern technology,’ Wortmann said.

“‘It’s seen more than any of us can claim that we have seen. So if we are intent on preserving what makes Chicago Chicago, we have to save these buildings,’ he said. (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/15/25)

“Renowned as one of the nation’s most important early examples of skeletal-frame commercial architecture, this building is discussed in every major history of American architecture. A National Historic Landmark, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney, the so-called ‘father of the skyscraper.’ This building was erected by Levi Leiter; later, it was leased by Sears, Roebuck & Co. for its flagship department store. It is the city’s oldest surviving department store, a type of building that contributed to State Street’s development as a retailing thoroughfare. The so-called ‘first Leiter’ building, built in 1879 at Wells and Monroe, was demolished in 1972. (Landmarks Division, City of Chicago)

Preservation Chicago is optimistic that Leiter II will be restored and reactivated after a long vacancy and auction. The Second Leiter/Leiter II Building is a very important building and has been widely published in numerous books around the world, and the oldest of the buildings of the Chicago School of Architecture on State Street. It’s also the oldest remaining former department store building on State Street. Also, Levi Leiter was a business partner with Marshall Field and even Potter Palmer of the Palmer House Hotel fame, as well as the Marshall Field department store, in those early days of Chicago. Much of Chicago’s retail and architectural history is tied to this seminal building.

The Second Leiter/Leiter II Building is an exceptional Chicago Landmark, designed by the “Father of the Skyscraper,” William Le Baron Jenney, and one of our 11 candidates for a UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as part of the “Early Chicago Skyscrapers.” The road to being a UNESCO site is long and can take more than a decade, but just wanted to share that despite being submitted in 2017, by many of us, including Preservation Chicago and the City of Chicago, one day this will be part of this legendary group of structures

Read the full story at the Chicago Sun-Times

• Old Robert Morris University building pitched as housing, student athletics center; An architecture firm and an engineering company created the proposals on their own, not for a prospective client. Their work represents the type of thinking needed to generate some excitement around the vacant landmark, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/15/25
• 401 South State Auction Listing from RImarketplace on Aug. 13, 2025
• Leiter II Building, 1891, William Le Baron Jenney, 403 S. State St. Designated a Chicago Landmark on January 14, 1997