Chicago's Beehive Building

Next time you're in Chicago, if you look up 457 feet to the top of the Metropolitan Building at 310 S. Michigan, you will see a 20 foot high beehive that is a blue glow at night. The building is commonly referred to as the Beehive Building and was built in 1924, designed by Graham, Anderserson, Probst & White. It was originally called the Straus Building. For the last 20 years, it was the Britannica Centre after the encyclopedia publisher.

The original owners, the S.W. Straus & Co., an investment banking firm, lost it in the Great depression.

The light, all 20 feet of it, sits atop a pyramid that represents the Egyptians, four carved bison that represent American strength and the Straus family interest in the continental US, and the beehive the industriousness of bees.

Then there is a massive carillon consisting of four huge bells ranging in size from 1500 pounds to three and a half tons that play Handel's "Cambridge Quarters."

So, next time in Chicago, look up. As if you'd have to be reminded to do that in downtown Chicago.

Nov. 15th Chicago Tribune "Blue light special" by Emily Nunn.

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