The lobby of Century Tower is decorated with red Numidian Marble. This material was extremely rare at the time. It was imported from Algeria, where the Romans used to mine Numidian Marble themselves.

Numidian Marble in the entry staircase of Century Tower. (Photo by Glenn Rogers. Received written permission for use)

Numidian Marble in the elevator lobby of Century Tower. (Photo by Glenn Rogers. Received written permission for use)

This material was used to build several palaces and other important structures throughout Rome.

Here, Numidian Marble is used in the original floors of the eastern exedra of Trajan's Forum in Rome. ("Roma, Foro di Traiano, pavimento originale dell'esedra orientale con disegno di cerchi e quadrati in pietre giallo antico e marmo pavonazzetto (106-112 d.C.)" by MM is licensed under CC0 1.0)

The Roman quarries where the marble was mined weren’t rediscovered until the late 1800s. In 1930, when Century Tower was constructed, this was still a recent discovery. As such, very few buildings at the time used the material. Only the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh and the Union Trust Company in Detroit featured Numidian Marble.