Civic Opera Building—Chimeras—Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
honeychile
N 41° 52.948 W 087° 38.322
16T E 447007 N 4636923
Quick Description: Chicago's Civic Opera Center boasts fascinating singing gargoyles.
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 9/24/2009 5:07:45 PM
Waymark Code: WM79QK
Views: 3
Long Description:The Civic Opera Building is located at 20 North Wacker Drive in the
Loop. Coordinates given will place you across the narrow Chicago
River from the Civic Opera Building, where you can view the
gargoyles best and make photos, if you like.
The art-deco architectural ornamentation on this building date
to 1929. They are unconnected with water conveyance and thus are
not gargoyles in the true sense of the word, but are chimaera,
architectural ornamentation. These chimaera are unique to opera, as
their mouths are wide open, singing. They are festooned with laurel
leaves indicating praise. Smaller examples have a theater motif and
are used tile-like as a mosaic around other building
ornamentation.