In Progress: Chicago’s 168 North Michigan Avenue’s Restoration

Chicago’s 168 North Michigan Ave. is a historic restoration of the 1916 Atlantic Bank building. It was originally designed by famed architecture firm Marshall and Fox, and after a prolonged state of vacancy, real estate developers at the Oxford Capital Group are now transforming the former 20th century bank into a sleek luxury hotel. The building owners have re-named it the “Hotel Julian” as a nod to St. Julian Hospitaller, patron saint of innkeepers and hospitality.

The scope of the project includes interior and exterior rehabilitation to return the building and its terra cotta facade to its original glory; an additional five floors will also be built to create more space for future guests. The building, clad in a white terra cotta, is located adjacent to the iconic and most often, Instagram worthy, Millennium Park in the heart of downtown Chicago.

In the last blog post about 168 North Michigan, units of terra cotta masonry were beginning to be manufactured and tested in mock-ups. Boston Valley Terra Cotta is continuing their work on manufacturing the terra cotta masonry units that will populate the facade once installation begins.

The terra cotta block has been extruded in the factory and is in our Finishing Department.