35 East Wacker
Commercial offices in Chicago, Illinois From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
35 East Wacker, also known as the Jewelers' Building,[5] is a 40-story 523 ft (159 m) historic building in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and East Wacker Drive, facing the Chicago River. It was built from 1925 to 1927, and was co-designed by Joachim Giæver and Frederick P. Dinkelberg.[6] At the time of its completion in 1927, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City.[7][8] Formerly the Pure Oil Building and North American Life Insurance Building,[9] 35 East Wacker was listed in 1978 as a contributing property to the Michigan–Wacker Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, and was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 9, 1994.[4][7][10]
| 35 East Wacker | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within Central Chicago  35 East Wacker (Illinois)  35 East Wacker (the United States) | |
| Former names | Pure Oil Building, North American Life Building, Jewelers Building |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Chicago (Outside NYC) since 1927[I] | |
| Preceded by | Richard J. Daley Center 77 West Wacker Drive |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 35 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41.8865°N 87.6268°W |
| Current tenants | See Tenants |
| Construction started | 1925 |
| Completed | 1927 |
| Client | Opal Holdings, LLC. |
| Management | Opal Holdings, LLC. |
| Height | |
| Roof | 523 ft (159 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 40 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Joachim Giæver Frederick P. Dinkelberg |
| Developer | Opal Holdings, LLC. |
| Main contractor | Starrett-Dilks Company |
North American Life Insurance Building | |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Part of | Michigan–Wacker Historic District (ID78001124) |
| Designated CP | 1978 |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4] | |
For its first 14 years, the building had a car lift that served the first 23 floors, later converted to office space. There was no access between the offices and the parking garage, except at the Lower Wacker Drive level, where drivers would leave their cars with an attendant.[11]
Currently,[when?] the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago is a tenant,[12] and the showroom of architect Helmut Jahn was atop the building inside the dome, which was also once a restaurant called the Stratosphere Club, often erroneously said to be run by Al Capone.[5] (In reality, the Stratosphere Club opened in 1937, long after Capone was imprisoned and too late for the building to have been an illegal speakeasy.)[13] The building is currently being renovated, by Goettsch Partners, and the façade is being maintained, but the interiors converted into a more modern configuration. Both the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the City of Chicago have recognized the renovation project with awards.[5][14]
Tenants
- Mercury Records (1950–1973)
- Feeding America (1999–2003)
- Sigma Chi fraternity headquarters (1932–1951) [15]
- SmithGroup (Suite 900)
- Serge Bertucci
- Clayco (Suite 1300)
- CRG (Suite 1400)
- Ventana (Suite 1400)
- Lamar Johnson Collaborative (Suite 1500)
In popular culture
- The building was featured in the TV series Bob.
- The building is featured in scenes of the 2005 film Batman Begins.
- The 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon features a climax set atop the building, which is heavily damaged, along with most of Chicago, in the giant robot battle that ensues.[16]
- In 2012, episode 2 of the first season of United States of America on the American History Channel featured the building's historic elevator, made by the Otis Elevator Company.[17]
- The building is shown in the TV series The Good Wife as the location of the law firm Lockhart/Gardner.
- Emergency Call Ambulance (Sega 1999), Arcade racing videogame. The player drives by this building in the third case. In the game however, a burning gas station that has no relation to reality, is located at the bottom of this building.
- The building is a prominent landmark within the fictional city of Lost Heaven in the video game Mafia, and appears also in the remake Mafia: Definitive Edition.
Gallery
Wacker Drive entrance.
Clock on the northeast corner
Dome atop the building
Original plan showing car elevators
References
External links
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