Marquette Building, Chicago

Decades of Loop soot have not been kind to the Marquette Building's once reddish, terra-cotta exterior. However, the original grace of the terra-cotta still shines through these blackened, weathered walls. Named after Pere Marquette, who explored the Chicago region in 1674, this building was erected in 1894 for the George A. Fuller Company. Step inside the unusual, octagonal lobby to admire the intricate mosaics that tell the story of Marquette.