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John Hancock Center

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox building 875 North Michigan Avenue (officially known until 2018 as the John Hancock Center and still commonly referred to under that name) is a 100-story, 1,128-foot<ref name="John Hancock Center">Template:Cite web</ref> supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was designed by Peruvian-American chief designer Bruce Graham and Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM).<ref>p. 422, American Architecture: A History, Leland M. Roth, Westview Press, 2003, Template:ISBN</ref> When the building topped out on May 6, 1968,<ref name="At a Glance">Template:Cite press releaseTemplate:Dead link</ref> it was the second-tallest building in the world after the Empire State Building, in New York City, and the tallest in Chicago. It is currently the fifth-tallest building in Chicago and the fourteenth-tallest in the United States, behind the Aon Center in Chicago and ahead of the Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia. When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The building is home to several offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums; at the time of its completion, it contained the highest residence in the world. The building was originally named for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, a developer and original tenant of the building, which itself was named for the U.S. Founding Father John Hancock.<ref name="chicagotribune.com"/> In 2018, John Hancock Insurance, years after leaving the building, requested that its name be removed; the owner is seeking another naming rights deal.<ref name="chicagotribune.com">"John Hancock Center skyscraper losing its iconic name" Template:Webarchive. Chicago Tribune, February 12, 2018.</ref>

From the 95th-floor restaurant, which closed in late 2023, diners were able to look out at Chicago and Lake Michigan. The observatory (360 Chicago),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which competes with the Willis Tower's Skydeck, has a 360° view of the city, up to four states, and a distance of over Template:Convert. 360 Chicago is home to TILT, a moving platform that leans visitors over the edge of the skyscraper to a 30-degree angle,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a full bar with local selections,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chicago's only open-air SkyWalk, and also features free interactive high-definition touchscreens in six languages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 44th-floor sky lobby features the highest indoor swimming pool in the United States.<ref> Template:Cite web </ref>

History

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20th century

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File:19680817 09 Michigan Ave. @ Chestnut St. (6101565370) (1).jpg
The John Hancock Center under construction, August 1968

The project, which would become the world's second tallest building at opening, was conceived and owned by Jerry Wolman in late 1964. The project was financed by John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company. Construction of the tower was interrupted in 1967 due to a flaw in an innovative engineering method used to pour concrete in stages, that was discovered when the building was 20 stories high.<ref>Jerry Wolman: The World's Richest Man, Joseph Bokol, Richard Bokol, 2012</ref> The engineers were getting the same soil settlements for the 20 stories that had been built as what they had expected for the entire 99 stories. This forced the owner to stop development until the engineering problem could be resolved, resulting in a credit crunch. The situation is similar to the one faced during the construction of 111 West Wacker, then known as the Waterview Tower. Wolman's bankruptcy resulted in John Hancock taking over the project, which retained the original design, architect, engineer, and main contractor.

The building's first resident was Ray Heckla, the original building engineer, responsible for the residential floors from 44 to 92. Heckla moved his family in April 1969, before the building was completed.

The 1988 film Poltergeist III was set at the John Hancock Center and was filmed in early 1987.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

21st century

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On December 10, 2006, the non-residential portion of the building was sold by San Francisco–based Shorenstein Properties for $385 millionTemplate:Efn and was purchased by a joint venture of Chicago-based Golub & Company and the Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds.<ref>Golub Real Estate Investment and Development Template:Webarchive</ref> Shorenstein Properties had bought the building in 1998 for $220 million.Template:Efn

Golub defaulted on its debt and the building was acquired in 2012 by Deutsche Bank, who subsequently carved up the building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The venture of Deutsche Bank and New York–based NorthStar Realty Finance paid an estimated $325 millionTemplate:Efn for debt on 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2012 after Shorenstein Properties defaulted on $400 millionTemplate:Efn in loans.<ref name="chicagobusiness.com" /> The observation deck was sold to Paris-based Montparnasse 56 Group for between $35 million and $45 millionTemplate:Efn in July 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same month, Prudential Real Estate Investors acquired the retail and restaurant space for almost $142 million.Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2012, Boston-based American Tower Corp affiliate paid $70 millionTemplate:Efn for the antennas.<ref name="chibusinessantennas">Template:Cite web</ref> In June 2013, a venture of Chicago-based real estate investment firm Hearn Co., New York–based investment firm Mount Kellett Capital Management L.P. and San Antonio–based developer Lynd Co. closed on the expected acquisition of 875 North Michigan Avenue's Template:Convert of office space and 710-car parking deck. The Chicago firm did not disclose a price, but sources said it was about $145 million.Template:Efn<ref name="chicagobusiness.com">New owners of Hancock office space plan $45 million rehab. chicagobusiness.com</ref> This was the last step in that piecemeal sale process.<ref name="chicagobusiness.com" /> In May 2016, Hearn Co. announced that they were seeking buyers for the naming rights with possible signage rights for the building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hustle up the Hancock is an annual stair climb race up the 94 floors from the Michigan Avenue level to the observation deck. It is held on the last Sunday of February. The climb benefits Respiratory Health Association. The record time as of 2007 is 9 minutes 30 seconds.

The building is home to the transmitter of Univision's WGBO-DT (channel 66), while all other full-power television stations in Chicago broadcast from Willis Tower. The City Colleges of Chicago's WYCC (channel 20) transmitted from the building until November 2017, when it departed the air as part of the 2016 FCC spectrum auction.

On February 12, 2018, John Hancock Insurance requested that its name and logos throughout the building's interior be removed immediately; John Hancock had not had a naming-rights deal with the skyscraper's owners since 2013. The building's name was subsequently changed to its street address as 875 North Michigan Avenue.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Incidents

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On November 11, 1981, Veterans Day, high-rise firefighting and rescue advocate Dan Goodwin, for the purpose of calling attention to the inability to rescue people trapped in the upper floors of skyscrapers, successfully climbed the building's exterior wall. Wearing a wetsuit and using a climbing device that enabled him to ascend the I-beams on the building's side, Goodwin battled repeated attempts by the Chicago Fire Department to knock him off. Fire Commissioner William Blair ordered Chicago firemen to stop Goodwin by directing a fully engaged fire hose at him and by blasting fire axes through nearby glass from the inside. Fearing for Goodwin's life, Mayor Jane Byrne intervened and allowed him to continue to the top.<ref>Headliners Higher and Higher Published: 15 November 1981, New York Times</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On December 18, 1997, comedian Chris Farley was found dead in his apartment on the 60th floor of the building.<ref name="farley">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On March 9, 2002, part of a scaffold fell 43 stories after being torn loose by wind gusts around Template:Convert crushing several cars, killing three people in two of them. The remaining part of the stage swung back-and-forth in the gusts repeatedly slamming against the building, damaging cladding panels, breaking windows, and sending pieces onto the street below.

On November 21, 2015, a fire broke out in an apartment on the 50th floor of the building. The Chicago Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire after an hour and a half; five people suffered minor injuries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 11, 2018, a fire in a car on the seventh floor required approximately 150 firefighters to extinguish.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On November 16, 2018, an express elevator cable broke. Initial reports stated that an elevator with six passengers plunged 84 stories from the 95th to 11th floor. Since express elevators are not accessible from floors within the express zone, a team of firefighters had to break through a brick wall from the parking garage to extricate the passengers, none of whom suffered injuries. Elevators to the 95th/96th floor were closed thereafter pending investigation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Subsequent investigation documented only a controlled descent from the 20th floor to the 11th floor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On January 5, 2022, a piece of cladding fell from the building.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Architecture

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File:John Hancock Center, Chicago, Illinois. Exterior. Night view (1974).jpg
John Hancock Center in 1974
File:John Hancock Center 2.jpg
X-bracing on the tower's façade

One of the most famous buildings of the structural expressionist style, the skyscraper's distinctive X-braced exterior shows that the structure's skin is part of its "tubular system". This is one of the engineering techniques which the designers used to achieve a record height; the tubular system is the structure that keeps the building upright during wind and earthquake loads. This X-bracing allows for both higher performance from tall structures and the ability to open up the inside floorplan. Such original features have allowed 875 North Michigan Avenue to become an architectural icon. It was pioneered by Bangladeshi-American structural civil engineer Fazlur Khan and chief architect Bruce Graham.

The interior was remodeled in 1995, adding to the lobby travertine, black granite, and textured limestone surfaces. The elliptical-shaped plaza outside the building serves as a public oasis with seasonal plantings and a 12-foot (3.7 m) waterfall. A band of white lights at the top of the building is visible all over Chicago at night, and changes colors for different events. For example, at Christmas time the colors are green and red. When a Chicago-area sports team goes far in the playoffs, the colors are changed to match that team's colors.

The building is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers. It has won various awards for its distinctive style, including the Distinguished Architects Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects in May 1999.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the John Hancock Center was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> by the American Institute of Architects Illinois component (AIA Illinois) and was recognized by USA Today Travel magazine, as one of AIA Illinois' selections for Illinois 25 Must See Places.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The building is only partially protected by a fire sprinkler system,<ref>John Hancock Center "Contractor & Vendor Rules and Regulations, June 2013" Template:Webarchive</ref> as the residential floors do not have sprinklers.<ref>Fire Sprinkler Times "Residential Floors of John Hancock Center Not Protected With Fire Sprinklers" Template:Webarchive</ref> Including its antennas, the building has a height of Template:Convert, making it the thirty-third tallest building in the world when measured to pinnacle height.<ref name="dominate">Template:Cite news</ref>

Interior spaces

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44th floor sky lobby

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File:The John Hancock Center- 44th Floor Lobby (9694649474).jpg
The 44th floor skylobby in 2013

The 44th level skylobby is the floor where the building transitions from offices to residential, with offices occupying floors below and residences occupying floors above.<ref name="April1965Time">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Swimming pool

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On its 44th floor, the John Hancock Center has a resident swimming pool. The pool area has double-height ceilings.<ref name="Curbed1pool">Template:Cite web</ref>

The pool is the highest pool in the United States when measured by distance above ground level.<ref name="Curbed1pool"/>

Resident/office tenant grocery store

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On its 44th floor, the building has a Template:Convert grocery store accessible only to apartment residents and office tenants. In 2007, operation of the grocery store was taken over by the local Potash chain of grocery stores.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of February 2023, Potash continues to operate the grocery store.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Upper floors

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Express elevators

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File:The John Hancock Observatory (16628953301).jpg
The interior of one of the Otis Elevator Company-manufactured express elevators that serving the 94th floor observation deck, 95th floor restaurant, and 96th floor cocktail lounge

The elevators that serve the top three public floors are credited as the fastest in both North America and the Western Hemisphere.<ref name="dominate"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Manufactured by Otis, the elevators travel 96 floors at a top speed of Template:Convert. It has been said that they would be capable of reaching the 95th floor in 38 seconds if they could run the entire trip at their top speed.<ref name="dominate"/>

360 Chicago Observation Deck

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File:360 Chicago Observation Deck (38047755906).jpg
Panoramic photograph showing the southeast interior corner of the observation deck in 2017

Located on the 94th floor, 360 Chicago Observation Deck is 875 North Michigan Avenue's horizon observatory. The floor of the observatory is Template:Convert above the street-level below. The entrance can be found on the concourse level of 875 North Michigan Avenue, accessible from the Michigan Avenue side of the building. The observatorywas previously named "John Hancock Observatory". It has been independently owned and operated since 2014 as an subsidiary of the Paris, France-based observation deck company Magnicity (formerly known as the "Montparnasse 56 Group"). After its acquisition of the observation deck, the company extensively renovated the space in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The observatory boasts more floor space than its direct competitor, Skydeck at the Willis Tower.<ref name="cafe1">Template:Cite web</ref> The observation deck currently includes a cocktail lounge named the "CloudBar". After the closure of the building's 96th floor cocktail lounge, 360 CHICAGO has advertised it as being the highest cocktail lounge in the city.<ref name="Harrington1"/> It was formerly named "BAR 94".<ref name="cafe1"/> In the summer of 2014, 360 Chicago added its TILT attraction. TILT, which requires an additional fee to experience, features a series of floor-to-ceiling windows that slowly tilt outside the building to 30°.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The observation deck also features an open-air "skydeck" area.

For several years in the 2010s, during its winter season, the observation deck would feature the "world's highest skating rink", with an artificial ice rink being seasonally installed.<ref name="CraveLocal1"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At one point, observation deck had a mascot named Seemore Miles.<ref name="CraveLocal1">Template:Cite web</ref>

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Former 95th floor restaurant and 96th floor cocktail lounge

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File:Signature Room - 95th Floor of John Hancock Center - Chicago - Illinois - USA (33002573285).jpg
Southeast corner of the Signature Room in 2017

Separate from its observatory, 875 Michigan Avenue formerly had a restaurant space on its 95th floor and a cocktail lounge space on its 96th floor. The combined space on these floors was approximately Template:Convert.<ref name="Harrington1">Template:Cite web</ref> The original restaurant in this space was named "The 95th restaurant", which operated from the 1970s until 1993. Its accompanying 96th floor cocktail lounge was named "Images".<ref name="Vettel1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="HD1">Template:Cite web</ref> From 1993 until 2023, the 95th floor was home to a restaurant named the "Signature Room", with the accompanying cocktail lounge on the 96th floor being named the "Signature Lounge".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NBCSept282023a">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The name alluded to the famous signature of early American figure John Hancock.<ref name="Vettel1"/> The restaurant was an upscale establishment that offered patrons scenic views. It enforced a dress code for patrons.<ref name="NBCSept282023a"/> It received numerous awards. In April 2023, the restaurant and bar were listed for sale.<ref name="ChicagoStar1">Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2023, the Signature Room abruptly ceased operations, with ownership citing "severe economic hardship" that they attributed to the impact of the earlier COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2024, 360 CHICAGO (operators of the building's observation deck) acquired the 95th and 96th floors, announcing that while their plans for the floors were not yet finalized they do not intend to operate a restaurant.<ref name="Harrington1"/> Months later, it was announced that Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (the architectural firm that designed the building in the 1970s) would be involved in re-imaging the two floors.<ref name="HD1"/>

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Parking garage

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Housed within several of the lower levels of the building is a parking garage, which cars enter and depart via a spiral vehicle ramp.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other features

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Retail plaza

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File:20070513 Hancock Center Lower Concourse.JPG
Plaza in 2007

The building features a two-level outdoor plaza along its Michigan Avenue face. The plaza contains retail and dining tenants. The top level of the plaza is at street level, while the lower level is sunken below the street level.<ref name="Channick2016a"/>

Current tenants include The Cheesecake Factory and The North Face.<ref name="John Hancock Center Chicago">Template:Cite web</ref> Past tenants have included Best Buy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The plaza was originally rectangular in shape.<ref name="KaminRules1"/> Per the Chicago Tribune, the plaza was modeled after the plaza at New York City's Rockefeller Center. The plaza's design featured a fountain pool that would be turned into an ice rink in colder weather.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1988, plans were unveiled by the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company (the owners of the building at the time) to replace the plaza with a "$20 millionTemplate:Efn glass and marble three-story atrium". One rationale cited by building's management was they claimed that access to the building's ground level was complicated by the need of pedestrians to circumnavigate around the courtyard in order to reach the street-level entrance to the building's lobby. They also cited a belief that the building's entrance was too understated for a building of its level of prominence. This atrium proposal faced backlash from local residents who felt that such an addition would mar the appearance of the landmark building.<ref name="Joravsky1988a">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1989, newly-elected mayor Richard M. Daley criticized the proposed atrium and the plans were ultimately abandoned.<ref name="KaminRules1"/>

In 1994, the plaza was renovated, with the sunken portion transforming from its previous rectangular shape to an elliptical shape. In 1999, Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin wrote that this renovation had made the plaza a more "welcoming" space.<ref name="KaminRules1">Template:Cite web</ref> This renovation came after the more dramatic late-1980s renovation plans were abandoned.<ref name="KaminRules1"/> A further $10 million renovation for the plaza was considered by the building's owners in the mid-2010s which would have added features such as video screens and decorative prisms to the plaza.<ref name="Channick2016a">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Antennas

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File:Top of the John Hancock Center - 2009 (3610660545).jpg
Antennas and the top of the building in 2009

Since its completion, the tower has been topped by two antenna structures. These antenna superstructures support a large number of broadcast antenna equipment. At the time of the tower's completion, both antenna structures were Template:Convert in height, and RCATemplate:What had given the architects of the building an estimate that 700 feet of antenna structure would be required to accommodate all of the city's radio and television stations. In 2002, the eastern antenna tower was extended to a height of Template:Convert in order to enable WBBM-TV to add new digital antenna equipment at a height greater than the roof height of the Sears Tower (Willis Tower). Subsequently, the western antenna tower was reduced to a height of Template:Convert.<ref name="WTTW1antennas1">Template:Cite web</ref>

For a long time, the antenna towers utilized incandescent red lights and a red and white paint scheme to provide a visibility to aviation in compliance with federal regulations. However, in order to forgo the expense and effort of annually reapplying striped paint to the antenna towers, the tower instead installed red strobe lights atop the tower and eliminated the striped paint scheme, as striped paint is not required if structures are topped by such lights.<ref name="WTTW1antennas1"/>

A sizable number of television and radio stations utilize the antenna towers. Many stations maintain broadcast equipment on both the John Hancock Center and the Willis Tower's antenna structures in order to have both a primary and backup broadcasting point.<ref name="WTTW1antennas1"/>

In November 2012, Boston-based American Tower Corp affiliate paid $70 millionTemplate:Efn to acquire ownership of the antennas.<ref name="chibusinessantennas"/>

See also

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Footnotes

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References

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Template:Reflist The Cloudbase Chronicles, Life at the Top - An engineers Tale by Harry W. Budge III<ref>Outskirts Press 2010</ref>

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