Photo by Michelle & Chris Gerard
The historic Albert Kahn-designed bank building at the corner of Griswold and Lafayette is filled with activity again after it sat empty for 17 years. A three-year renovation is now complete, and Herman Miller office furniture dealer MarxModa has opened a new headquarters in the space.
Walking through the four floors and basement, you’ll notice many original details from the 1924-25 building—the flooring, wood paneling in the board room, the incredible staircase, and of course, that lobby ceiling. The ceiling and exterior stonework were created by famed architectural sculptor Corrado Parducci, who also did extensive work on the nearby Guardian and David Stott Buildings.
Does the building look familiar? It was featured in the 1994 Danny Devito movie Renaissance Man.
Whitney Marx shared some pre-renovation photos with Curbed. In them, we see the board room with the beautiful floor and a huge hole in the ceiling. We also see the largely in-tact Parducci ceiling over a lobby that had been torn apart. They also have a interactive walkthrough available to see more of the building pre-renovation.
