The Prairie State

Urbs in Horto.

Erected just prior to the World’s Columbian Exposition, Thalia Hall offers a glimpse into Chicago’s most celebrated design era.

Featuring several contemporary influences the interior holds traces of rising art movements, one of which would formally organize near the venue’s locale. Decorative use of iron and glass alongside folk inspired woodwork shows a migration that would soon give way to the distinct rectilinear designs of the iconic Prairie School. Complimented by a local interest in native gardens, we celebrate the relationship between the arts and natural world via the state’s most pervasive biosphere.

Elicited by the relevant aesthetics, our icon is reimagined into something more Mackintosh while adopting a display type more akin to William Morris. Floral motifs lifted from the building patterned into a linear field evoke prairie restoration wherever you may roam.

Finally, honoring the venue’s namesake, a tool of the prairie preserved for more practical instruction as a classic keepsake, an Inkbend ballpoint pen. Wrought in nostalgia and symbolism, this item was intended to hook impulse buyers at the box office, bar and other point-of-sale locations.