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Ceres by John H. Storrs

Photo credit: Alan Brunettin
High atop the Chicago Board of Trade stands Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Photo credit: Alan Brunettin
Photo credit: Chicago History Museum
John Storrs Photo credit: Chicago History Museum

The female figure standing 45 stories above LaSalle Street is an iconic image for most Chicagoans. It depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, in honor of the commodities exchanged in the Chicago Board of Trade building below.

The figure was sculpted by artist John H. Storrs, and though he employed a model with a very pretty face, the statue itself is faceless. Storrs reportedly thought that the building was so tall that no one would be able to see the statue's face; when the building was constructed in 1930, he couldn’t even imagine soaring structures such as the nearby 110-story Willis Tower .