Crain Communications Building

Crain Communications Building

(2004)
General information
Location 150 N. Michigan Av.
Chicago, Illinois
United States
Coordinates 41°53′07″N 87°37′29″W / 41.8854°N 87.6248°W / 41.8854; -87.6248Coordinates: 41°53′07″N 87°37′29″W / 41.8854°N 87.6248°W / 41.8854; -87.6248
Completed 1983
Opening 1984
Owner John Hancock Real Estate Asset Management
Height
Roof 582 ft (177 m)
Technical details
Floor count 41
Design and construction
Architect A. Epstein and Sons

Crain Communications Building is a 49-story, 582 foot (177 m) skyscraper located at 150 North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, Illinois.[1] It was also known as the Smurfit–Stone Building and the Stone Container Building and was formerly called the Associates Center.[2] Construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1984. The building, noted for its unusually slanted facade, was designed by Sheldon Schlegman of A. Epstein and Sons. The building has 41 floors of tenant space and the two spires at the top cover the main roof and HVAC equipment.

History

Although the building looks as though it is split down the middle, the two sides are only slightly disjointed until nearing the top, where there is a gap between them. At times, its slanted roof—which has been likened to a skyscraper slashed with a knife—displays local sports slogans on its face, such as "GO BEARS" and "GO SOX".[3][4] It also displayed "VOTE 2008" during the 2008 election day rally at Grant Park.[3]

At the time of its construction the Crain Communications Building was considered to be a smart building, with sophisticated environmental and security controls. Three years after its completion, the building played a role in the Touchstone Pictures film Adventures in Babysitting. The building is also modeled in EA's SimCity 4, as well as being destroyed in the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon and in the videogame Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2.

The building name was changed to the Crain Communications Building in March 2012, after Crain Communications moved its headquarters there.[5] It is popularly referred to as the Diamond Building or the Vagina Building (from the locally popular but apocryphal story that, with its prominent vertical slit up the front, the building was designed to be a yonic counter to the phallicism of most skyscrapers).[6]

Tenants

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Smurfit–Stone Building, Chicago, U.S.A.". Emporis.com. Emporis. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  2. ↑ J. Linn Allen. "Not that Stone Container Building, this one-got it?" Chicago Tribune. February 23, 1993. 1.
  3. 1 2 Abernethy, Samantha (March 17, 2009). "The Chicago Skyline's Wardrobe Changes". Chicagoist. Gothamist. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  4. ↑ "It's a White Sox world Observations from around Chicago and from fans of the South Siders". Daily Herald. October 28, 2005.
  5. ↑ "Chicago Architectural Info". Chicago Architectural Info. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ Exoo, Thales (May 16, 2007). "Ask Chicagoist: Feminist Icon or Random Building?". Chicagoist. Gothamist. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  7. ↑ Crain Communications to move to 150 N. Michigan in 2012
  8. ↑ Contact Wells Fargo Insurance Services

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Smurfit-Stone Building.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.