The Bell Building vs Racine County Courthouse

Comparing the The Bell 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 over two decades apart.

What this will allow us to see, is how the same firm's approach adapted to different places in different periods of time.

The The Bell Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 427ft (130m) with 31 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.

The The Bell Building was designed in the Modern style, while the Racine County Courthouse reflects the principles of Art Deco.

The The Bell Building represents a late expression of the Modern, a style already in decline in 1966 when it was completed. By contrast, the Racine County Courthouse followed the then mainstream Art Deco, embodying the dominant architectural direction of its time.

With 35 years between them, the comparison also reflects how quickly architectural priorities can shift from one dominant language to another.

The The Bell Building is primarily , while the Racine County Courthouse is primarily governmental.

Originally, the The Bell Building was designed for commercial, but over time it was converted to . The Racine County Courthouse by contrast has maintained its original role.

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