The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is the head of the 7th District of the United States Central Bank and home to large amounts of currency that sit in a secure vault 3 floors beneath ground level.1 For this reason, architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White wanted to create a structure that was synonymous to its safekeeping duties. They achieved this through neoclassical architecture, which is most prominent in the building’s Corinthian colonnade.
Corinthian Columns
Although the Corinthian order is only present on one side of the building, it is sufficient to reveal a reception made by Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White, at the time of their design. The Greco-Roman architectural style is one of three Architectural Orders, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.2 The Corinthian order is often regarded as the most elegant of the three orders, and also characterized as more masculine – making it an interesting choice for the Chicago Reserve, since banking and government officials were primarily males. The Corinthian order consists of an ornate capital with two rows of acanthus leaves and four scrolls. Its shaft has 24 flutes, or indents, and is commonly ten diameters high. The Corinthian pillars, like those of the ancient temples, give off an impression of impenetrability.
The Chicago Reserve’s archive states that its 65 feet tall Corinthian colonnade produce “the impression of dignity and strength, in harmony with the power and purpose of the institution,” a reference to the impenetrable temples of Greece and Rome.
Greek Temples
Temples in Greece, such as the temple of Apollo in Delphi, served as banks with credit systems. These temples were believed to be inviolable and even had guards to inspire confidence in depositors.The Temple of Apollo, built as a tribute to Phoebus Apollo,4 has gone through a couple of incarnations. The final reconstructed temple is what remains today and consists of a peristasis of 6 columns on the short edge and 15 columns on the long edges.3 Although the temple itself was not used as a treasury, the path leading to the entrance of the temple had numerous treasuries.4 These temples continued to function as public treasuries even while under the rule of the Roman Empire.
Roman Temples
Temples in Rome, such as the temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum, served as public treasuries but did not function as banks. Today, only the northern facade of the temple remains 5 which consists of 8 columns.5 While the Temple of Saturn served as a public treasury, it was not a banking institution with a credit system. Even so, the impenetrable aspects of the temple are in dialogue with the Corinthian colonnade of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, making it the first temple to influence the power and stability of banks constructed in the following centuries.
1"Our Building." Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. <https://www.chicagofed.org/utilities/about-us/our-building>.
2Topic, By. "Doric." Classical Orders of Architecture. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. <http://www.cmhpf.org/kids/dictionary/classicalorders.html>.
3Sakoulas, Thomas. "Temple of Apollo at Delphi." Ancient-Greece. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-temple-of-apollo.html>.
4"Delphi." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi#Dedication_to_Apollo>.
5Cartwright, Mark. "Temple of Saturn, Rome." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., 06 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2016. <http://www.ancient.eu/article/636/>.