Photo credit: Bill Zbaren

STOP the Demolition of the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room!

Miraculously saved from the wrecking ball in 1972, shockingly it’s once again threatened with demolition.

Designed in 1893 by architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, the Chicago Stock Exchange Building was celebrated as an architectural masterpiece. 

And its crown jewel was the breathtaking Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room.

Despite a passionate effort to save it, the Chicago Stock Exchange Building was demolished in 1972. It was an immense loss. But it catalyzed the historic preservation movement in Chicago and throughout the world.

The demolition claimed more than a revered building. Richard Nickel, the legendary architectural photographer, lost his life during the demolition while photographing and rescuing building fragments. 

Richard Nickel has since become the martyred prophet of the historic preservation movement.

The precious architectural fragments he helped save from the Chicago Stock Exchange made their way into the collections of the world’s leading museums - including MOMA, the Met, the Musee d’Orsay, the Victoria and Albert Museum - where the ornate staircase balustrades, ornamental terra cotta, decorative elevator grilles and polychrome stenciled panels are permanently displayed with reverence.

But none of the fragments compare with the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – which incredibly was saved and rebuilt in its entirety at the Art Institute of Chicago.  

Making this seemingly impossible project happen took the dedication of two passionate architects, five years, the unwavering support by the Art Institute and over one million philanthropic dollars. The resurrection of the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room in 1977 was celebrated around the world.

The ability to step into the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room today is a powerful experience. The two-story, 100-foot by 75-foot trading hall includes massive Sullivan ornamental columns, intricate stained-glass skylights and beautiful organic wall stenciling with 52 distinct hues in muted tones of gold, green and yellow in stylized patterns that reference the natural world.

But now, nearly 50 years later, the Art Institute of Chicago appears to no longer appreciate or value the precious legacy with which they have been entrusted.  

Investigative reporting by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times have verified the rumors: there are closely guarded plans underway for a new wing that will be built on the site of the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room. 

Demolition would be a terrible mistake.

The Art Institute of Chicago is an important cultural institution that Preservation Chicago has supported for decades, and we want to see it grow and thrive. After a year of unproductive private conversations to encourage them to change course, we had no choice but to bring this issue to the public’s attention.  

Fortunately, there is a win-win solution which allows the new wing can be built without destroying the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room.

The best location to build the new Art Institute wing is over the sunken railroad tracks which the museum wraps around. Filling in this gaping hole would improve museum circulation, hide the railroad tracks, and protect the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room and McKinlock Court from demolition.

This is a proven strategy for success. Directly across the street, Millennium Park was built over the same railroad tracks and has since become the most popular tourist destination in Chicago. 

Please sign this petition to stop the demolition. Only a Chicago Landmark Designation will permanently protect the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room from demolition. Landmarking would also protect the McKinlock Court Garden. 

AND the Art Institute of Chicago could still move forward and built the new wing over the railroad tracks.

Press Reporting:

The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room and McKinlock Court at The Art Institute of Chicago, a 2026 Chicago 7 Most Endangered

Most endangered Chicago buildings list includes Pope Leo’s childhood church and Art Institute trading room, Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 3/4/26

Will Art Institute expansion leave Louis Sullivan’s Chicago Stock Exchange room in the cold? No decision has been made, but the museum says “the east side of the building — where the Trading Room is located — represents the area where gallery space could increase the most.”, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/4/26

These are the most endangered places in Chicago, Dennis Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business, 3/4/26

Art Institute announces $75M gift to create new gallery building on Michigan Avenue campus, Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 10/10/24