Photo: Travis Rozee

S.R. Crown Hall is one of twenty Mies van der Rohe buildings you can visit at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

In 1938, the Armour Institute of Chicago (now called the Illinois Institute of Technology) lured a German man named Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to the Windy City to head the school’s architecture department—and the Second Chicago School was born.

Mies’s 20 IIT buildings still stand, including his most famous design, S.R. Crown Hall. Want to see them all? Take it from Chicago's Bronzeville insider's guide: This campus is a must-see stop on a trip to the historic South Side neighborhood.

To guide you on your architectural odyssey, here's a nice map of the campus with all the buildings called out on the list below. 

IITRI Minerals and Metals Research Building
1942-1943

This research building (IITRI refers to IIT Research Institute) was Mies’s first work completed in America.
It’s located at 3350 South Federal Street.

IITRI Engineering Research Building
1944-1946

Located at 3440 South Dearborn Street.

Institute of Gas Technology Complex
1947-1955

This two-building complex is located at 3424 South State Street.

IIT Alumni Memorial Hall
1945-1946
Located at 3201 South Dearborn Street.

Boiler Plant
1945-1950

You can find this plant near 34th Street, between Federal Street and the old railroad tracks.

IIT Central Electrical Vault
1946
This one was notable for its brick wall-bearing construction.

Siegel Hall
1945
The first of three academic buildings (and named for IIT trustees), Siegel is located at the corner of 33rd Street and Dearborn Street.

Wishnick Hall
1945-1946
Located just across 33rd Street from Siegel Hall.

Perlstein Hall
1945-1946
The third academic building from 1945 is at 10 West 33rd Street.


American Association of Railroads Complex
1948-1956

These three buildings, found at 31st Street just past Dearborn Street, house IIT offices and laboratories as well as VanderCook College of Music.

Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel of St. Savior
1949-1952

This chapel, located at 65 East 32nd Street, is the only church Mies ever built.

S.R. Crown Hall
1950-1956

The landmark Mies building is just east of State Street at 34th Street.

IITRI Life Sciences Research Building Built
1951-1952
Located at 35 West 34th Street.

Carman Hall Apartments
1951-1953

Located at 650 East 32nd Street.

Bailey Hall Apartments
1952-1955

Located at 3101 South Wabash Street.

Cunningham Hall Apartments
1952-1953

Located at 3100 South Michigan Street.

Commons Building
1952-1953
Located at 3200 South Wabash Street.

To learn more about Mies van der Rohe’s tenure at IIT, check out the College of Architecture’s website.