Be sure to join us as we host our friends from the Benjamin Marshall Society for an evening short-film screening and following discussion on one of Chicago's most prolific architectural geniuses. The pioneering architect of East Lake Shore, the city will be celebrating Marshall's 150th anniversary in 2024! 

Benjamin H. Marshall was a major influence in the architectural history of modern Chicago. Marshall created traditionally detailed buildings that functioned within modern society, ingeniously juxtaposing conservative and modern features.

Self-taught architect extraordinaire, Marshall became a full-fledged partner at the architectural firm of Marble & Wilson when he was only 19. The architect of most of East Lake Shore Drive including the Drake Hotel, he was obstinate in his vision of a greater urban plan that took its cue from Burnham’s conservation of the lakefront. Marshall fundamentally defined the new urban Chicago between his Blackstone Hotel on south Michigan Avenue and East Lake Shore Drive. While building grand hotels, residences (also along our North Shore like the Cuneo & Lansdowne), theaters, even factory plants mostly in Chicago, he built and designed from New York to Los Angeles.