Chicago-Photo.com

A massive sculpture by…

…Pablo Picasso was installed in the Civic Plaza outside the Richard J. Daley Center, also known as the Daley Plaza in 1967. The plaza and the center are between Washington St (on the South), Randolph St (on the North), Dearborn St (on the East) and Clark St (on the West).

Chicago Cultural Center

Chicago Cultural Center seen from the corner of Michigan Ave and Randolph St.

AON Center Facts

- the exact address of the center is 200 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601;

- it has 83 floors and a height of 1,136 feet (346 m);

- the center was completed in 1973; at that time its name was Standard Oil Building and it belonged to the Standard Oil Company of Indiana later known as AMOCO and now part of BP;

- at the time of completion it was the tallest building in Chicago, surpassed a year later by the Sears Tower and in 2008 by the Trump Tower;

- also, when completed it was the world’s tallest marble-clad building (covered by 43,000 slabs of marble – Italian Carrara);

- when the Standard Oil Company of Indiana changed its name to AMOCO in 1985, the center was renamed the Amoco Building;

- The Blackstone Group bought it in 1998 and changed its name to AON Center in 1999; however, the AON Corporation would become the building’s primary tenant only in 2001;

- due to the fact that the marble used to sheath the building was thinner than what was previously used in the industry, in 1974, just a year after completion, one of the slabs detached and penetrated the roof of the nearby Prudential Center; from 1990 till 1992 the entire building was refaced at an estimated cost of over $80 million (well over half of the original cost of the entire building).

Chicago Title Tower

Chicago Title Tower seen from Clark St. The building stands on the North East corner of Clark St and Randolph St (across from the James R. Thompson Center).

Southern Look At The James R. Thompson Center

James R. Thompson Center seen from its Southern Side (Randolph St).

James R. Thompson Center Facts

- the exact address of the building is 100 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601;
- it occupies the entire block bounded by Randolph St (on the South), Lake St (on the North), Clark St (on the East) and La Salle St (on the West);
- it houses more offices of the State Of Illinois administration than the entire Capital of the State (Springfield);
- it was opened in May of 1985 and it was originally named State Of Illinois Center (which is why, to this day, many locals still call it The State Building); it was renamed in 1993 to honor former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson;
- the original plan required curved, insulated glass panels; they were considered extremely expensive and replaced by single-paned (non-insulated), curved glass panels; the result was a more expensive air conditioning system which raises the maintenance costs; however, during many hot summer days, the system can’t keep up with the heat (internal temperatures as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded);
- the building houses a tremendous art collection starting with the “Monument With Standing Beast” sculpture by Jean Dubuffet which stands in front of the center.