The Metropolitan Tower is askyscraper located at 310S. Michigan Avenue inChicago'sHistoric Michigan Boulevard District in theLoopcommunity area inCook County,Illinois, United States. Developed by Metropolitan Properties of Chicago,[1] it has been renovated as acondominium complex with 242 units.[2] Residences range in size from 1,200 square feet (110 m2) to 4,000 square feet (370 m2).Penthouses feature 360 degree city views and private elevators.[3] Prices run from $300,000 for a 762 square feet (70.8 m2) one-bedroom unit to $1.365 million for a 1,932 square feet (179.5 m2) three-bedroom.[4] The Metropolitan Tower was also for a time home to a branch ofChase Bank. The space now houses a branch of CVS.
Designed byGraham, Anderson, Probst & White, the Metropolitan Tower was named the Straus Building when completed in 1924. Though it was the first building in Chicago with 30 or more floors, it was never officially designatedChicago's tallest building since theChicago Temple Building, also completed in 1924, is taller by 92 feet (28 m) but has seven fewer floors.[5] The Straus Building and the Chicago Temple Building were the first to take advantage of the 1923zoning ordinance; before then, no building in Chicago could be taller than 260 feet (79 m).[6]
The Metropolitan Tower was at one time called theContinental National Insurance Company Building (later Continental Center I[7]). From 1980 to 2004 it was called theBritannica Building when that company was its tenant.[8]
This 30 story building, standing at 475 feet (145 m) in height, fronts Chicago'sMichigan Avenue andGrant Park. The 40-foot (12 m)pyramid at the top of the building (which Schulze & Harrington, authors ofChicago's Famous Buildings, compare with theTomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus), with its new zinc-coated stainless steel sheathing, is peaked by a 20-foot (6 m) glass "beehive" ornament containing a blue glass box filled with six 1000-watt lightbulbs which emits a deep blue light, a prominent feature of Chicago's nighttimeskyline.[2] The beehive is supported by four limestone bisons.[9] Because of this ornament, the building is sometimes referred to as the "Beehive Building."[2]
Just beneath the beehive are fourcarillon bells ranging in weight from 1,500 to 7,000 pounds, unused for many years until restored in 1979 for theChicago visit ofPope John Paul II.[2] At one time, the bells chimed the well-knownCambridge Quarters on the quarter-hours. The base has been altered from its original design: rectangular window openings replaced giant arches on Michigan Avenue and Jackson Boulevard. At one time, the thirtieth floor was the Straus Tower Observatory, which was open to the public for viewing the city.[2]
The original main entrance was a pair of elaborately carved bronze doors set in a marble portal flanked bybas-reliefs and used to be in the center of the east side, through the largest of the archways.[8]
In 2007, the building was converted into 234 condominium units. In 2009, the Metropolitan Tower won a "Best Adaptive Reuse" award from the Friends of Downtown, a planning and urban design organization for downtown Chicago.[10]Amenities include: 24 hour lobby and maintenance staff; on-site management staff; deeded indoor parking; Amazon package deliver lockers; contractors storage area for remodeling projects; two hotel type guest suites; workout facilities with sauna, steam, and showers; children's playroom; extra storage opportunities and imagination rooms; and a two story event/party room with adjacent access to a rooftop garden deck including an outdoor grill and dining area for entertaining guests, with views of Millennium Park and Navy Pier Fireworks.
The original owner of the Metropolitan Tower was S. W. Straus and Company, a dealer of investment bonds and one of the leading financers of major real estate in Chicago during the late 19th century and early 20th century.[8] The tower's crown has many symbols for characteristics the company wanted to portray. The pyramid symbolized longevity and permanence and the beehive stood for industry and thrift. When first installed, the beehive also contained four directional beacons, a metaphor for the company's global reach. The pyramid is supported by the four bisons, a traditional symbol for the American West. Straus was hoping to use these symbols to instill trust in their customers, to reassure them that their investments would be handled actively and carefully by an institution that could be trusted over the long term. Ironically, the firm failed during theGreat Depression and closed fewer than ten years after lighting the beacon.[11]
The Metropolitan Tower is located a block from the entrance to theArt Institute and is within two blocks of stations for all downtownCTA train lines. TheSymphony Center,Millennium Park,Harold Washington Library, and theLake Michigan shore are within a half mile. The south end of theMagnificent Mile shopping district is less than a mile away. Dozens of fine restaurants and other eateries are in the neighborhood, andGrant Park is across the street.[12]
Metropolitan Tower appears in front ofChase Tower (Chicago) in the diagram below.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)41°52′41.01″N87°37′28.65″W / 41.8780583°N 87.6246250°W /41.8780583; -87.6246250