The Continental and Commercial National Bank Building, located at 208 S. LaSalle Street in Chicago’s Loop, is a historic 21-story office building constructed between 1911 and 1914. It was originally built for the Continental and Commercial National Bank, which was one of the largest banks in the nation at the time. Designed by architect Daniel Burnham in the Classical Revival style, the building reflects Burnham’s affinity for classical architecture.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 2007. In 2010, the JW Marriott Chicago opened on the building’s first 12 floors, and The LaSalle Chicago hotel followed in 2022.

The historic preservation of 208 South LaSalle has been a project many years in the making. As part of the effort to recreate a water table that was originally included in the building’s design, the architect considered GFRC as a solution, since reinstalling traditional terracotta on-site would be challenging.

By using steel framing anchored to the structure behind the existing brick, the architects collaborated with the ARC team to develop a design that allows GFRC panels with integrated framing to hang from the new steel structure.

In addition to the water table, approximately 170 individual units needed to be replaced around the building’s vast facades. There were many types of units—about 60 different variations—but some of the most unique featured lion’s heads atop scrolls, visible from the ground.