Civic Opera Building Reliefs - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 52.978 W 087° 38.230
16T E 447134 N 4636978
Nude female figures personifying the arts. Masks representing comedy and tragedy. Over entrances to Civic Opera House, home of Chicago's Lyric Opera.
Waymark Code: WM8R9A
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 05/06/2010
Views: 5
From (
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"A mixed-use structure, the Civic Opera Building houses both a 3,400-seat auditorium and more than half a million square feet of office and retail space. Its architecture clearly expresses its joint role as a civic monument to culture and commerce. The ornate, French Renaissance Revival-style, Exterior Detail two-story portico and monumental pedestrian colonnade, which face Wacker Drive, are appropriate to the style and use of a grand opera house. River Facade In contrast, the building's Art Deco-style facade facing the Chicago River is shaped like an enormous armchair; its 12-story "seat" is the opera house, its 22-story "arms" are office annexes, and its 45-story "back" is the office tower. Critics at the time referred to the building as "Insull's throne," in reference to its builder, utility magnate Samuel Insull. The interior of the opera house features a sumptuous lobby and fire curtain, both detailed by noted muralist and designer Jules Guerin."
From wikipedia:
"Henry Hering was an American sculptor who was born New York City on February 15, 1874 and died there on January 17, 1949. He was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens at Cooper Union and of Philip Martiny at the Art Students League of New York. He then went to Paris where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts."
Over entrances on N. Wacker Dr., one near Washington the other near Madison.