Wikipedia

Franklin Center (Chicago)

TheFranklin Centeris a 60-storysupertallskyscraperin theLoopneighborhoodof downtownChicago.Completed in 1989 as theAT&T Corporate Centerto consolidate the central regionheadquartersof theAmerican Telephone & Telegraph Company(AT&T),[2]it stands at a height of 1,007 ft (307 m) and contains 1.7 million sq ft (160,000 m2) of floor space.[3]It is located two blocks east of theChicago Riverand northeast of theWillis Towerwith a main address of 227 West Monroe Street and an alternate address of 100 South Franklin Street.[4]

Franklin Center
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeOffice
Location227 West Monroe Street
Chicago,Illinois
Coordinates41°52′50″N87°38′03″W/ 41.880681°N 87.634184°W/41.880681; -87.634184
Construction started1981
Completed1985
Height
Architectural306.9 metres (1,007 ft)
Roof271 metres (889 ft)
Top floor271 metres (889 ft)
Technical details
Floor count62
Floor area1,699,987 sq ft (157,934.0 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Adrian D. Smith,Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
DeveloperAT&T/Stein & Company
Structural engineerWilliam F. Baker,Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Main contractorMayfair Construction/Blount International
References
[1]

The building is the tallest constructed in Chicago in the last quarter of the 20th century.[5][6]It is the6th tallestbuilding in Chicago and the23rd tallest in the United States.[1]It contains office and retail space and a 350-space garage.[7]

Tishman Speyeracquired the property in 2004 and renamed the adjacent USG Building as Franklin Center in 2007 after USG relocated its offices. The name was later applied to the entire complex.[8][9]

History

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A 1982 consent decreesplit the American Telephone & Telegraph Companymonopolyinto several entities with local service providers becoming part of aRegional Bell Operating Company.In the decade that followed, AT&T erected new buildings across the country including theAT&T BuildinginNew York City.April 5, 1985, AT&T issued arequest for proposalsthat produced eleven respondents. Stein and Co., the winning realtor, sought Skidmore, Owings and Merrill as designers for the purpose of distinguishing a proposal from the nearby Willis Tower. AT&T employees began to occupy the office space April 3, 1989.[10]

The building was built under a self-imposed comprehensive minority contracting and affirmative action package that met the city's 1985 30% hiring rule for public sector projects.Chicago mayorHarold Washington's administration issued a directive that 30% of the work for public sector projects be set aside for minority and women-owned businesses. In a show of support for this rule, Stein & Co. and AT&T adopted the rule for its private development.[11]

Architecture

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Designed byAdrian D. SmithofSkidmore, Owings & Merrill,the Franklin Center is one of the most famous and recognized buildings in Chicago.[5]The building's form featuressetbacksat the 15th, 30th and 45th floors. Designed in thepostmodern architecturalstyle, it is agranite-cladsteel-framed buildingresting onpilefoundations.[6]The structure is characterized by strong vertical lines, spiked roof pinnacles, granite cladding and setbacks. The granite is a deep red color at the base, but changes shade to rose-beige at the top.[12]Above the 5th floor, the lighter rose-beige granite is protected by silk-screened aluminum panels.[4]The building relies onGothicdetailing to showcase verticality. The building's verticality evokes images of 1920s buildings, and the sturdiness of the structure is reminiscent of theChicago Board of Trade Building.[10]In addition to its design, the building relies on its location at the farthest corner from the Willis Tower to set it apart.[10]

Interior

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TheOtis elevatorsare spanned by a series of neo-deco light bands extending wall to wall. Thelobbyextends completely through the block, with a giant entrance hall at Monroe Street and a 16-story full-heightatriumin the link between the AT&T and USG towers (also designed by Smith) as both towers share a common appearance.[5]The building boasts two public lobbies and a mezzanine-level lobby.[2]The lobbies are among the most lavish in Chicago, and they are all decorated with patternedmarblefloors and walls, bronze, gold-leaf oak trim, and stylized lighting fixtures.[2][5]

Features

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The building features a lobby-level 650-seat restaurant, a 23,000-square-foot (2,100 m2) retail concourse on two levels, and a 170-car 24-hour parking facility on the lower two levels.[2]The building lobby extends all the way through the block to connect with the USG Building and anatriumlinks the two structures.[5]

Exterior lighting

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As with other downtown buildings, the tower's setbacks and spires are accented by colored lights at night.[5]The building's managers were praised for dimming their lights during bird migrations, reducing bird mortality 80%.[13]

USG Building

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Franklin Street facade

TheUSG Corporationdeveloped the 35-story 1.1-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) structure originally known as the USG Building as its corporate headquarters building immediately adjacent to and connected to the AT&T Corporate Center in 1992.[2][14]Located at 125 South Franklin Street, the same developers, architects and design teams were chosen, and the two buildings were built jointly as a block-long complex on an 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m2) site.[4][12]They share a 16-story atrium which houses a grand arcade and serves as a common base to the two separate towers.[2]When USG Corporation moved to a new facility in 2007, the building was renamed Franklin Center.[9]

Proximity to transit

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Positioned near the southwest corner of the Loop, the building is near two elevated stations of theChicago 'L'.TheQuincy stationis one block to the south and theWashington and Wells stationis located two blocks to the north, both on Wells Street.Union Stationstands three blocks to the west on Jackson Boulevard, providingterminal serviceforAmtrakand select service forMetra.Additional Metra service is provided at theLaSalle Street Station,four blocks to the south andOgilvie Transportation Centerstation four blocks to the north-west.

Tenants

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The top of the Franklin Center

Awards

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  • 1990 - Award of Excellence for Urban Development, from the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties[citation needed]
  • 1992 - Best New Building, from the Chicago civic group Friends of Downtown[citation needed]
  • 1997 - Most Valuable Property National Top Ten, fromThe Wall Street Journal[citation needed]
  • 1998 - Prix d'Excellence, Office Properties Worldwide, from FIABCI International[citation needed]

Position in Chicago's skyline

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The Center is the 6th tallest completed building in Chicago, trailing theWillis Tower,Aon Center,John Hancock Center,andTrump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)in height.[3]The building's official height measurement increased to from 886 feet (270 m) to 1,007 feet (307 m) when theCouncil on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitatchanged measurement conventions to include ornamental spires during the Willis Tower–Petronas Towerheight controversy.[5]

311 South WackerWillis TowerChicago Board of Trade Building111 South WackerAT&T Corporate CenterKluczynski Federal Building333 South WabashChase TowerThree First National PlazaMid-Continental PlazaRichard J. Daley CenterChicago Title and Trust Center77 West WackerPittsfield BuildingLeo Burnett BuildingThe Heritage at Millennium ParkCrain Communications BuildingIBM PlazaOne Prudential PlazaTwo Prudential PlazaAon CenterBlue Cross and Blue Shield Tower340 on the ParkPark TowerOlympia Centre900 North Michigan875 North Michigan AvenueWater Tower PlaceHarbor PointThe ParkshoreNorth Pier ApartmentsLake Point TowerJay Pritzker PavilionBuckingham FountainLake MichiganLake MichiganLake Michigan

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ab"Franklin Center - North Tower".Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  2. ^abcdef"AT&T Corporate Center/USG Building"(PDF).Mesirow Financial.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 9, 2006.RetrievedApril 5,2007.
  3. ^ab"Chicago diagram".SkyscraperPage.2007.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  4. ^abcSteiner, Frances H. (1998).The Architecture of Chicago's Loop: A Guide to the Central and Nearby Districts.Sigma Press. p. 57.ISBN978-0-9667-2590-2.
  5. ^abcdefg"Franklin Center".Emporis.2007. Archived from the original on April 15, 2004.RetrievedApril 4,2007.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ab"Franklin Center".SkyscraperPage.2007.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  7. ^"The Franklin".Tishman Speyer.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  8. ^"AT&T Corporate Center".Emporis.Archived from the original on April 9, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^abcCorfman, Thomas (June 20, 2007)."Baird to almost double space at AT&T Corporate Center".Crain's Chicago Business.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  10. ^abcSaliga, Pauline A., ed. (1992).The Sky's The Limit(reprint ed.). Rizzoli International. pp. 278, 287.ISBN978-0-8478-2104-4.
  11. ^Bayard, Aleen Z. (March 23, 1987). "Private Projects Echoing City's Hiring Quotas".Crain's Chicago Business.ProQuest198374878.
  12. ^abSinkevitch, Alice, ed. (April 12, 2004).AIA Guide to Chicago(second ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 86.ISBN978-0-1560-2908-7.
  13. ^"Bird groups praise Chicago skyscrapers for" Lights Out ""(Press release).National Audubon Society.Archived fromthe originalon February 8, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  14. ^"Landmark Chicago".The Chicago Athenaeum. 2001. Archived fromthe originalon June 1, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  15. ^"Citi Achieves LEED Gold Certification for Chicago Office Space".Wight & Company(Press release). December 15, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon October 6, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  16. ^"Our Global Markets - United States".Credit Agricole.RetrievedOctober 23,2021.
  17. ^"My Glanbia: Locations".Glanbia.RetrievedOctober 23,2021.
  18. ^"Contact and Feedback".Options Clearance Corporation.RetrievedOctober 23,2021.
  19. ^Corfman, Thomas A. (September 27, 2010)."Franklin Center sees vacancies rise".Crain's Chicago Business.
  20. ^"About Us".Eris Innovations.RetrievedOctober 23,2021.
  21. ^Corfman, Thomas A. (March 19, 2009)."Double whammy for 333 W. Wacker".Crain's Chicago Business.
  22. ^"Tishman Speyer Inks GATX to 109,000-SF Lease in Chicago"(PDF)(Press release). Commercial Property Network. August 10, 2006. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 6, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  23. ^"Contact Us".Guggenheim Partners.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  24. ^Tekippe, Abraham (May 13, 2013)."Manufacturer moves HQ to West Loop from Morton Grove".Crain's Chicago Business.RetrievedFebruary 7,2016.
  25. ^"About Us".The Cambridge Group.RetrievedOctober 23,2021.
  26. ^"About".TGG group.RetrievedSeptember 29,2014.
  27. ^"Office Locations".The Trade Desk.RetrievedFebruary 8,2023.
  28. ^"Locations".Zekelman Industries.RetrievedOctober 23,2021.
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