Chicago Board of Trade Building vs Racine County Courthouse

Comparing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Racine County Courthouse is compelling because they were both designed by Holabird & Root, yet they stand in different cities (Chicago, IL and Racine, WI), and were completed more than 8 years apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places at roughly the same time (8 years isn't that much time when it comes to urban context and architecture).

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 604ft (184m) with 44 floors above ground, while the Racine County Courthouse reaches 157ft (48m) with 11 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Racine County Courthouse were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

The Chicago Board of Trade Building was designed at a moment when the Art Deco style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Racine County Courthouse style was already in decline, making it more of a lingering expression of the movement. In contrast, the Racine County Courthouse was built when the style still carried greater cultural weight.

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is primarily commercial, while the Racine County Courthouse is primarily governmental.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.