Ceres - Chicago, IL
Posted by: adgorn
N 41° 52.656 W 087° 37.929
16T E 447546 N 4636379
32-foot tall, 6500 pound Roman goddess of grain holding a bag of corn in her right hand and a sheaf of wheat in her left. Her blank face and classical gown show the ultimate degree of Art Moderne streamlining.
Waymark Code: WM7H34
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/25/2009
Views: 10
From the Arts inventory site:
Highly stylized, full-length figure, actually an amalgam of 40 sections of geometric cast aluminum shapes. Her face is an oval without features, the folds of the gown are sharply cut parallel sections. Her proper left hand holds a sheaf of grain and her proper right hand grasps what is believed to be a bag of money. The figure is installed atop the pyramidal roof of the forty-five story Board of Trade building.
From TIME magazine Monday, Jun. 16, 1930
"To Rome its milk-giving she-wolf, to crumbling Athens its Pallas Athene. The goddess of Chicago is Ceres, deity of grain, harvest, plenty. Last week a glittering aluminum Ceres took her place on the city's skyline, poising her twinkling magnificence on top of Chicago's tallest office pylon, the new 44-story, 609 ft. Board of Trade building.* Designed by Sculptor John H. Storrs, Ceres of Chicago went up to her perch in 40 pieces and was hurriedly assembled, a bit late for the Boards opening day ceremonies."
Learn more about the sculptor John Storrs here: (
visit link)
I am grateful to waymarker CHI-TOWN ROMEO for his great aerial photo of Ceres.