our venue: the rookery

We are thrilled to be getting married at a true Chicago landmark, The Rookery in Chicago’s downtown Loop. A striking example of the world’s earliest skyscrapers, The Rookery was designed by the prestigious partnership of Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root during the architectural boom that followed the Great Chicago Fire. At eleven stories high and incorporating Moorish, Byzantine, Venetian and Romanesque design motifs, The Rookery was one of the grandest and most innovative buildings in the world at the time it was completed in 1888.

In 1905, Frank Lloyd Wright—who would come to be known as “the greatest American architect of all time”—won the commission to update The Rookery’s Light Court. He brightened and modernized the space, encasing the original ironwork in gilded white Carerra marble and adding planters and light fixtures in the style of his iconic Prairie School. The Rookery stands as Wright’s only work on any building within the downtown cityscape. A second renovation, completed in 1931 by one-time Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice William Drummond, added a mezzanine and grand staircase to the Light Court and incorporated majestic Art Deco accents.

In 1970, The Rookery was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and two years later, the City of Chicago designated The Rookery an official Chicago Landmark. More recently, The Rookery’s famous facade made appearances on the big screen—as Elliott Ness’ police headquarters in The Untouchables, and as Duncan’s Toy Chest in Home Alone 2—a little nod to Erin's favorite movie of all time!

Learn more about The Rookery.

The Rookery is located at 209 South LaSalle Street in Chicago.