| Richard J. Daley Center | |
|---|---|
 Richard J. Daley Center in 2006 | |
 | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest inChicago from 1965 to 1969[I] | |
| Preceded by | Chicago Board of Trade Building |
| Surpassed by | John Hancock Center |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | International Style |
| Location | Chicago,Illinois, United States |
| Address | 55 WestRandolph Street |
| Coordinates | 41°53′02″N87°37′49″W / 41.88393°N 87.63020°W /41.88393; -87.63020 |
| Construction started | 1963 |
| Completed | 1965 |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 648 ft (198 m) |
| Roof | 648 ft (198 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 32 |
| Floor area | 1,465,000 square feet (136,100 m2)[1] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Jacques Brownson C.F. Murphy Associates Skidmore Owings & Merrill Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett & Dart |
| Main contractor | American Bridge Company, Gust K. Newberg Construction Co.[2] |
| Website | |
| thedaleycenter | |
| References | |
| [3][2] | |
TheRichard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyardDaley Plaza and named after longtimemayorRichard J. Daley, is the premiercivic center of the City ofChicago inIllinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offices and courtrooms for theCook County Circuit Courts,Cook County State's Attorney and additional office space for the City and the County. It is adjacent to theneoclassicalCity Hall-County Building, also on the plaza. The open granite-paved plaza used for gatherings, protests, and events is also the site of theChicago Picasso, a gift to the city from the artist.
Situated onRandolph Street and Washington Street betweenDearborn Street andClark Street, the Richard J. Daley Center, with its "majestic" interior spaces, is considered a significant example of modernistChicago architecture.[4] The main building was designed in theInternational Style of theSecond Chicago School by Jacques Brownson of the firm C. F. Murphy Associates as supervising architects, withSkidmore, Owings & Merrill andLoebl, Schlossman, Bennett & Dart as associated architects,[5] and was completed in 1965.[3] At the time it was thetallest building in Chicago, but only held this title for four years until theJohn Hancock Center was completed. Originally known as theChicago Civic Center, the building was renamed for Mayor Daley on December 27, 1976, seven days after his death in office.[6] The 648-foot (198 m), thirty-one story building featuresCor-Ten, a self-weathering steel. Cor-Ten was designed torust, actually strengthening the structure and giving the building its distinctive red and brown color. The Daley Center has 30 floors above its double height lobby, and is the tallest flat-roofed building in the world with fewer than 40 stories (a typical 648-foot (198 m) building, the height of Daley Center, would have 50–60 stories).
The Richard J. Daley Center houses more than 120 court and hearing rooms as well as the Cook County Law Library, offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and certain court-related divisions of theSheriff's Department. The building also houses office space for both thecity andCook County, of which the City of Chicago is its seat of government. The windows are cor-ten steel and bronze/white tinted.
Daley Plaza is the courtyard adjacent to the building, occupying the southern half of the block occupied by the building.
The plaza is dominated by an untitledCor-ten steel 50-foot (15 m) sculpture byPablo Picasso (usually called"The Picasso"). Completed in 1967, it was a gift to the City of Chicago from the artist. Though controversial for its abstract form, it quickly became a Chicago landmark. The plaza also features an in-ground fountain and an eternal flame memorial to the dead from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
The plaza serves as a location for many civic functions including weekly farmers' markets in the summer, regular ethnic festivals, and the meeting place for Chicago'sCritical Mass ride.
The plaza was used extensively in the climactic scenes of the 1980 filmThe Blues Brothers. The interior of the building, as well as the plaza,the Picasso, and the neighboringJames R. Thompson Center are also featured in the 1993 filmThe Fugitive and in 2006'sThe Lake House. While filming the movieThe Dark Knight, instead of using theChicago Board of Trade Building as the location for the headquarters ofWayne Enterprises as inBatman Begins, film directorChristopher Nolan used theRichard J. Daley Center.
Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi, a public protester, is a frequent fixture at the southwest corner of the plaza, near City Hall. Khoiee-Abbasi has been photographed here many times, with his well-dressed appearance, his odd signs, and his general refusal to speak or acknowledge those around him making him a minor celebrity.[7][8]
Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Plaza is the landmarkCity Hall-County Building. Declared aNational Historic Landmark and listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, it houses offices for theMayor of Chicago,alderpersons of Chicago's variouswards, and chambers for theChicago City Council. Directly south of the Daley Center is theCook County Administration Building which is full of office space for County employees.Block 37 containing 108 North State Street is to the east.
| Records | ||
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| Preceded by | Tallest building in Chicago 1965–1969 648 feet (198 m) | Succeeded by |