Pittsfield Building

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Pittsfield Building
Information
Location 55 E. Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Status Complete
Constructed 1927
Use Office
Roof 168 meter (551 feet)
Floor count 38
Companies
Architect Graham, Anderson, Probst & White

The Pittsfield Building, is a 38-story skyscraper located at 55 E. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA, that was the city's tallest building at the time of its completion.[1] [2] The building was designated as a Chicago Landmark on November 6, 2002.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

The property, in the Jewelers' Row Landmark District, was developed by heirs of Marshall Field, and is named after Pittsfield, Massachusetts where Marshall Field obtained his first job.[3] The nearby Burnham Center, at the intersection of Clark Street and Washington Street, was originally named the Conway Building after Conway, Massachusetts - the birthplace of Marshall Field.[4] Marshall Field III presented the property as a gift to the Field Museum of Natural History in honor of the museum's 50th anniversary. The museum held the property until September of 1960 when the museum sold it.[3]

[edit] Architecture

Designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the structure combines both art deco and Gothic detailing, while complying with a 1923 zoning ordinance which mandated that skyscrapers with setbacks.[3] The interior of the building features a five-story atrium, lined by balconies and shops, that is detailed with glowing marbles, gleaming brass and Spanish Gothic style carvings.[1][2]

[edit] Today

Alter Group, a Skokie, Illinois-based real estate developer has acquired the thirteenth through twenty-first floors of the building with plans for dormitory conversion at a cost of $23 million (about $173 per square foot). It will finance the $45-million renovation costs with a $36-million loan from First bank and has entered lease agreements with Roosevelt University and Robert Morris College for 350 of the planned 450 beds. Robert Danial who acquired the entire building for $15 million in 2000 continues to own the remaining portions of the building. The building is used mostly by doctors, dentists and jewlers and students will have a separate entry under the plans.[5]

[edit] Position in Chicago's skyline

311 South Wacker Sears Tower Chicago Board of Trade 111 South Wacker AT&T_Corporate_Center CNA Plaza Chase Tower Three First National Plaza Mid-Continental Plaza Daley Center Chicago Title and Trust 77 West wacker Drive Pittsfield Building Leo Burnett Building The Heritage Smurfit-Stone Building IBM Plaza Buckingham Fountain Lake Michigan Lake Michigan Lake Michigan Jay Pritzker Pavilion One Prudential Plaza Two Prudential Plaza Aon Center Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower 340 on the Park Park Tower Olympia Centre 900 North Michigan John Hancock Center Water Tower Place Harbor Point The Parkshore North Pier Apartments Lake Point Tower

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Pittsfield Building. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division (2003). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
  2. ^ a b Kamin, Blair (February 28, 2006). The list gets longer on shortcuts. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  3. ^ a b c Pittsfield Building. Emporis. Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
  4. ^ Burnham Center. Emporis. Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
  5. ^ Gallun, Alby, "Pittsfield to get college dormitory," Crain's Chicago Business, p. 16, January 28, 2008.
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