What Chicago building, completed in 1929, features a dark green and gold terra-cotta crown?

The Carbide & Carbon Building in Chicago, completed in 1929, features a dark green and gold terra-cotta crown.

Designed by the Burnham Brothers, the skyscraper stands at 230 North Michigan Avenue and is a striking example of late-1920s Art Deco commercial architecture. Its dark green terra-cotta tower is accented with gold leaf, while the lower exterior uses polished black granite and other dark materials.

The color scheme inspired a popular comparison to a champagne bottle wrapped in gold foil. That image is memorable, but the building’s decorative program also has a more deliberate industrial theme: stylized leaf forms refer to the prehistoric plant matter associated with the formation of coal and carbon deposits.

The building was commissioned for Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, and its lobby was designed to display the company’s products and subsidiaries. It later became the St. Jane Chicago hotel before conversion to offices. It should not be confused with the nearby Wrigley Building or Tribune Tower, whose façades use very different architectural languages.