Crain Communications Building

The Crain Communications Building is a 39-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. The original name of the building was actually Associates Center, named after the initial tenant of the building, the Associates Commercial Corp.[2]

Crain Communications Building
(2016)
General information
Location150 N. Michigan Av.
Chicago, Illinois,
United States
Coordinates41.8854°N 87.6248°W / 41.8854; -87.6248
Completed1983
Opening1984
OwnerJohn Hancock Real Estate Asset Management
Height
Tip582 ft (177 m)
Technical details
Floor count39
Floor area709,998 sq ft (65,961.0 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectA. Epstein and Sons

Construction of the building 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. It has 39 floors of tenant space and the two spires at the top cover the main roof and serve as mechanical rooms for 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 pared 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 Associates Center 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]

The building 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 April 9, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  2. Allen, J. Linn (February 23, 1993). "Not that Stone Container Building, this one—got it?". Chicago Tribune. p. 1.
  3. Abernethy, Samantha (March 17, 2009). "The Chicago Skyline's Wardrobe Changes". Chicagoist. Gothamist. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. 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 May 30, 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  7. "Crain Communications to move to 150 N. Michigan in 2012". Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  8. "Contact Wells Fargo Insurance Services". Archived from the original on December 18, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  9. "Information on United Flights 93 and 175 United City Ticket Offices". United Airlines. Archived from the original on September 25, 2001. Chicago, Stone Container Building, 150 N. Michigan Ave.
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