Carbon and Carbide Building

The Carbon and Carbide Tower was designed and built by Daniel and Hubert Burnham. The tower was originally built to be a high-rise office building. Daniel Burnham was also the designer for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The Carbon and Carbide Tower is constructed of black granite and black marble. Granite is an igneous rock whereas marble is a metamorphic rock. Some characteristics of the rock granite are unyielding firmness and endurance. A characteristic of the rock marble are that it reacts with hydrochloric acid (HCl). Granite is a very hard natural igneous rock formation of visually crystalline texture formed essentially of quartz and orthoclase or microcline. Marble is formed by the metamorphism of limestone composed mostly of calcite. Black marble is an unusual limestone. This building was deemed a Chicago landmark because of the significance of its builders. An interesting fact about this building is that the opening scene of the movie Wanted was filmed here. Also, the black marble used in this building often contains the fossil snail Maclurites Magnus. This indicates that the black marble was not altered by mountain building forces during the Paleozoic era in the north east. Presently, the carbon and carbide building is the Hard Rock Hotel.

By: Carrie and Sarah