Rocco Navigato’s 1925 travel poster Chicago Temple turns the soaring landmark into a beacon above the city streets. The composition is emphatically vertical: cars, trams and pedestrians gather in the shadowed foreground, while the building rises through the centre in planes of glowing orange and warm brown. Its slender spire is set against a sky that shifts from dusk blue to cool grey, creating a dramatic contrast between illuminated architecture and the muted city surrounding it.

Created for the Chicago Rapid Transit, whose name appears beneath the title, the poster belongs to an interwar culture in which transport companies promoted not simply a route but an experience of the modern city. Navigato presents the temple as both destination and urban emblem, combining architectural grandeur with the speed, movement and optimism associated with Chicago in the 1920s. The streamlined forms, emphatic geometry and strong colour blocking place the design within the Art Deco language of the period, when memorable silhouettes and immediate visual impact were central to commercial graphics.

A closer look

The street occupies only the lower portion of the scene, yet it is densely animated. Vehicles approach along a gently curving roadway, their roofs and bonnets picked out against the deeper shadows, while small groups of pedestrians establish the scale of the buildings above them. This compressed activity forms a broad visual base from which the temple ascends. Rather than describing every architectural surface equally, Navigato concentrates attention on the upward thrust of the tower.

At middle height, neighbouring buildings appear in subdued blue-grey and brown, their rows of windows creating a quiet urban grid. The temple breaks decisively through this pattern. Warm orange light catches its projecting sections, while darker planes articulate setbacks and recesses; the repeated narrowing of the upper structure carries the eye towards the spire. The glow is especially striking against the cool sky, giving the building clarity without detaching it entirely from the cityscape.

Typography anchors the architectural drama. “CHICAGO TEMPLE” appears prominently at the bottom in a bold, slightly slanted sans-serif, broad enough to balance the narrow tower above. The smaller phrase “by the CHICAGO RAPID TRANSIT” establishes the poster’s promotional purpose without competing with the destination. Navigato’s name is tucked discreetly into the lower-right corner. Even within the lettering, hierarchy is carefully controlled: place first, transport provider second, artist last.

Context and significance

Travel posters of this period had to communicate at a glance, often in busy stations and public spaces. Navigato responds with a design built around recognition: one commanding landmark, a limited palette and an unmistakable title. Yet the lower street scene adds more than atmosphere. By placing cars, trams and foot traffic beneath the tower, the poster links the Chicago Temple to the everyday circulation of the metropolis. It is not presented as an isolated monument, but as a focal point within a functioning modern city.

The result is a persuasive exercise in place branding. Chicago is distilled into contrasts of height and movement, warm illumination and cool evening air, monumental architecture and crowded streets. Small details reward closer attention, but the central idea remains legible from a distance: a city defined by vertical ambition, with the Chicago Temple rising confidently above its urban surroundings.

Choosing the right size and finish

Artwork can feel intimate at smaller sizes and dramatically more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to see how the proportions and scale will work in your space.

If you need an exact size, specialist framing or help planning a larger display, ask our workshop for advice.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x36in (45x90cm) version of this art print.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, or one considered visual detail. See examples of personalised artwork.

Choose Original to retain the colour and character of the source artwork, or Aged for a warmer, more antique appearance. See examples of our Aged artwork.

Every piece is produced to archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte art paper. Choose an art print, framed art print or framed canvas using the finish options above.

Framed art prints use crystal-clear optical acrylic for excellent clarity, lower weight and safer delivery than glass. Each piece arrives professionally framed and ready to hang.

Selected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and specialist framing are also available. If the exact option you need is not listed, contact our workshop.

This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.