875 North Michigan Avenue | |
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Record height | |
Tallest in Chicago from 1969 to 1973 [I] | |
Preceded by | Richard J. Daley Center |
Surpassed by | Willis Tower |
General information | |
Status | Completed |
Architectural style | Structural Expressionism |
Location | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Address | 875 North Michigan Avenue (additional entrances at 175 East Delaware Place and 170 East Chestnut Street) |
Coordinates | 41°53′56″N87°37′23″W / 41.8988°N 87.6230°W |
Construction started | 1965 |
Completed | 1969 |
Cost | US$100 million [1] ($831 million in 2023 dollars [2] ) |
Owner | The Hearn Company |
Height | |
Architectural | 1,128 ft (344 m) [3] |
Tip | 1,500 ft (457 m) [3] |
Roof | 1,128 ft (344 m) |
Top floor | 1,054 ft (321 m) [3] |
Observatory | 1,030 ft (314 m) [3] |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 100 [3] |
Floor area | 2,799,973 sq ft (260,126 m2) [3] |
Lifts/elevators | 50, made by Otis Elevator Company [3] |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Bruce Graham & Fazlur Rahman Khan Skidmore, Owings and Merrill |
Developer | John Hancock Insurance |
Structural engineer | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) |
Main contractor | Tishman Construction Co. |
Website | |
875northmichiganavenue | |
References | |
[3] [4] [5] [6] |
The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,128-foot [7] supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018.
The skyscraper was designed by Peruvian-American chief designer Bruce Graham and Bangladeshi-American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM). [8] When the building topped out on May 6, 1968, [1] 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 thirteenth-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 1,500 feet (457 m). [9] The building is home to several offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums, and at the time of its completion contained the highest residence in the world. The building was 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. [10] In 2018 John Hancock Insurance, years after leaving the building, requested that its name be removed; the owner is seeking another naming rights deal. [10]
From the 95th-floor restaurant, which closed in late 2023, diners were able look out at Chicago and Lake Michigan. The observatory (360 Chicago), [11] which competes with the Willis Tower's Skydeck, has a 360° view of the city, up to four states, and a distance of over 80 miles (130 km). 360 Chicago is home to TILT, a moving platform that leans visitors over the edge of the skyscraper to a 30-degree angle, [12] a full bar with local selections, [13] Chicago's only open-air SkyWalk, and also features free interactive high-definition touchscreens in six languages. [14] The 44th-floor sky lobby features the highest indoor swimming pool in the United States. [15]
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. [16] 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. [17]
On December 10, 2006, the non-residential portion of the building was sold by San Francisco–based Shorenstein Properties for $385 million [lower-alpha 1] and was purchased by a joint venture of Chicago-based Golub & Company and the Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds. [18] Shorenstein Properties had bought the building in 1998 for $220 million. [lower-alpha 2]
Golub defaulted on its debt and the building was acquired in 2012 by Deutsche Bank, who subsequently carved up the building. [19] The venture of Deutsche Bank and New York–based NorthStar Realty Finance paid an estimated $325 million [lower-alpha 3] for debt on 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2012 after Shorenstein Properties defaulted on $400 million [lower-alpha 4] in loans. [20] The observation deck was sold to Paris-based Montparnasse 56 Group for between $35 million and $45 million [lower-alpha 5] in July 2012. [21] That same month, Prudential Real Estate Investors acquired the retail and restaurant space for almost $142 million. [lower-alpha 6] [22] In November 2012, Boston-based American Tower Corp affiliate paid $70 million [lower-alpha 7] for the antennas. [23] 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 856,000 square feet (79,500 m2) of office space and 710-car parking deck. The Chicago firm did not disclose a price, but sources said it was about $145 million. [lower-alpha 8] [20] This was the last step in that piecemeal sale process. [20] In May 2016, Hearn Co. announced that they were seeking buyers for the naming rights with possible signage rights for the building. [24]
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. [25]
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. [26] [27]
On December 18, 1997, comedian Chris Farley was found dead in his apartment on the 60th floor of the building. [28] [29]
On March 9, 2002, part of a scaffold fell 43 stories after being torn loose by wind gusts around 60 mph (100 km/h) 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. [30]
On February 11, 2018, a fire in a car on the seventh floor required approximately 150 firefighters to extinguish. [31]
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. [32] Subsequent investigation documented only a controlled descent from the 20th floor to the 11th floor. [33]
A piece of cladding fell from the building on January 5, 2022. [34]
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. [35] In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, the John Hancock Center was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places [36] 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. [37]
The building is only partially protected by a fire sprinkler system, [38] as the residential floors do not have sprinklers. [39] Including its antennas, the building has a height of 1,500 feet (457 m), making it the thirty-third tallest building in the world when measured to pinnacle height. [40]
Located on the 94th floor, 360 Chicago Observation Deck is 875 North Michigan Avenue's horizon observatory. The floor of the observatory is 1,030 feet (310 m) 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 observatory, previously named John Hancock Observatory, has been independently owned and operated since 2014 by the Montparnasse 56 Group of Paris, France. [41] The elevators are credited as the fastest in the Western Hemisphere, with a top speed of 1,800 ft/min (20.5 mph; 9 m/s). [42] The observatory boasts more floor space than its direct competitor, Skydeck at the Willis Tower. There is a full bar called BAR 94 which stocks local beer and spirits from Revolution Brewing and KOVAL Distillery. [43] The observation deck also features an open-air "skydeck" area.
The Observatory elevators of 875 North Michigan Avenue, manufactured by Otis, travel 96 floors at a top speed of 1,800 ft/min (20 mph; 9.1 m/s). It has been said the elevators to the observation deck are the fastest in North America, reaching the 95th floor in 38 seconds if they could run the entire trip at top speed. [40]
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. [44] [45] [46]
At one point, observation deck had a mascot named Seemore Miles. [44]
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°. [47]
General images of the 360 Chicago Observation Deck |
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Images of the TILT Thrill Ride |
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Images of the SkyWalk |
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Separate from its observatory, 875 Michigan Avenue has a restaurant space on its 95th floor and a bar space on its 96th floor. Prior to 1993, the space was occupied by a restaurant named The 95th. [48] From 1993 until 2023, the 95th floor was home to a restaurant named the Signature Room, with the accompanying bar on the 96th floor being called the Signature Lounge. [49] [50] [51] The name alluded to the famous signature of early American figure John Hancock. [48] The restaurant was an upscale establishment that offered patrons scenic views. It enforced a dress code for patrons. [50] It received numerous awards. In April 2023, the restaurant and bar were listed for sale. [52] 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. [53] [54]
Images of the Signature Room |
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Images of the Signature Lounge |
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The building features a two-level outdoor plaza along its Michigan Avenue face. The plaza contains retail and dinning tenants. The top level of the plaza is at street level, while the lower level is sunken below the street level. [55]
Current tenants include The Cheesecake Factory and The North Face. [56] Past tenants have included Best Buy. [57]
The plaza was originally rectangular in shape. [58] 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. [59]
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 million [lower-alpha 9] 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. [60] In 1989, newly-elected mayor Richard M. Daley criticized the proposed atrium and the plans were ultimately abandoned. [58]
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. [58] This renovation came after the more dramatic late-1980s renovation plans were abandoned. [58] 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. [55] [61]
Images of the plaza |
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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. [62]
Images of the parking garage |
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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 350 feet (110 metres) in height, and RCA [ clarification needed ] 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 378 feet (115 metres) 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 285 feet (87 metres). [63]
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. [63]
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. [63]
In November 2012, Boston-based American Tower Corp affiliate paid $70 million [lower-alpha 10] to acquire ownership of the antennas. [23]
Images of the antennas |
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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. [64]
On its 44th floor, the John Hancock Center has a resident swimming pool. The pool area has double-height ceilings. [65]
The pool is the highest pool in the United States when measured by distance above ground level. [65]
Images of the swimming pool |
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On its 44th floor, the building has a 5,200 square feet (480 m2) 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. [66] As of February 2023, Potash continues to operate the grocery store. [67]
The CN Tower is a 553.3 m-high (1,815.3 ft) concrete communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower. Following the railway's decision to divest non-core freight railway assets prior to the company's privatization in 1995, it transferred the tower to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation responsible for the government's real estate portfolio.
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until the first tower of the World Trade Center was topped out in 1970; following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was New York City's tallest building until it was surpassed in 2012 by One World Trade Center. As of 2022, the building is the seventh-tallest building in New York City, the ninth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, and the 54th-tallest in the world.
The Willis Tower, originally and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,451-foot (442.3 m) skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), it opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years. It is the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the 23rd-tallest in the world. Each year, more than 1.7 million people visit the Skydeck observation deck, the highest in the United States, making it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least 100 meters (330 ft) or 150 meters (490 ft) in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise buildings. Historically, the term first referred to buildings at least 10 stories high when these types of buildings began to be constructed in the 1880s. Skyscrapers may host offices, hotels, residential spaces, and retail spaces.
The Aon Center is a modern supertall skyscraper located in the Northeast corner of the Chicago Loop, Chicago, Illinois, United States, designed by architect firms Edward Durell Stone and The Perkins and Will partnership, and completed in 1973 as the Standard Oil Building. With 83 floors and a height of 1,136 feet (346 m), it is the fourth-tallest building in Chicago, surpassed in height by Willis Tower, Trump International Hotel and Tower, and St Regis Chicago.
Taipei 101, formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a 508.0 m, 101 story skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by Taipei Financial Center Corporation. The building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening on 31 December 2004. However, the Burj Khalifa surpassed Taipei 101 in 2010. Upon completion, it became the world's first skyscraper to exceed a height of half a kilometer. As of 2023, Taipei 101 is the tallest building in Taiwan and the eleventh tallest building in the world.
The Columbia Center, formerly named the Bank of America Tower and Columbia Seafirst Center, is a skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The 76-story structure is the tallest building in the state of Washington, reaching a height of 933 ft (284 m). At the time of its completion, the Columbia Center was the tallest structure on the West Coast; as of 2017, it is the fourth-tallest, behind buildings in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The John Hancock Tower, colloquially known as the Hancock, is a 60-story, 790-foot (240 m) skyscraper in the Back Bay neighborhood of downtown Boston. Designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pei & Partners, it was completed in 1976, and has held the title as the tallest building in New England ever since. In 2015, the lease belonging to the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, for which the skyscraper was named, expired, and it was renamed to its address at 200 Clarendon Street.
Terminal Tower is a 52-story, 708 ft (216 m), landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in the downtown core of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, it was the second-tallest building in the world when it was completed. Terminal Tower stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City from its completion in 1927 until 1964. It was the tallest building in the state of Ohio until the completion of Key Tower in 1991, and remains the second-tallest building in the state. The building is part of the Tower City Center mixed-use development, and its major tenants include Forest City Enterprises, which maintained its corporate headquarters there until 2018, and Riverside Company.
85 Sky Tower, formerly known as the T & C Tower or Tuntex Sky Tower, is an 85-story skyscraper in Lingya District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The structure is 347.5 m (1,140 ft) high. An antenna increases the pinnacle height to 378 m (1,240 ft). Constructed from 1994 to 1997 by the now-defunct Tuntex Group, it is the tallest building in Kaohsiung, and the 2nd tallest in Taiwan after the Taipei 101.
The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, the Pru, is an international style skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was designed by Charles Luckman and Associates for Prudential Insurance. Completed in 1964, the building is 749 feet (228 m) tall, with 52 floors, and is tied with others as the 114th-tallest in the United States. It contains 1.2 million sq ft (110,000 m2) of commercial and retail space. Including its radio mast, the tower's pinnacle height reaches 907 feet (276 m).
A sky lobby is an intermediate interchange floor in a skyscraper where people can change from an express elevator that stops only at the sky lobby to a local elevator that stops at a subset of higher floors.
An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed from weather, and a few may include coin-operated telescopes for viewing distant features.
Baiyoke Tower II is an 88-story, 309 m (1,014 ft) skyscraper hotel at 222 Ratchaprarop Road in the Ratchathewi District of Bangkok, Thailand. It is the third tallest completed building in the city, after MahaNakhon and Magnolias Waterfront Residences at ICONSIAM. The building comprises the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and the seventh-tallest all-hotel structure in the world.
Marina City is a mixed-use residential-commercial building complex in Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America, designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg. The multi-building complex on State Street on the north bank of the Chicago River on the Near North Side, directly across from the Loop, opened between 1963 and 1967. Portions of the complex were designated a Chicago Landmark in 2016. The towers' symbolic similarity to rural Illinois corncobs has often been noted in media.
Tower Plaza is a high-rise condominium building in Ann Arbor, Michigan, located at 555 East William Street. The building was first proposed in 1965, and opened in 1969. It stands at 26 stories. The antenna stands at 292 feet tall and the roof is 267 feet (81 m) tall. It was designed in the international style of architecture, primarily using concrete and glass. Originally a residential apartment building, it was converted to individually-owned condominiums in 1987. Tower Plaza also has the most buttons of any elevator in Ann Arbor.
One Shell Plaza (OSP) is a 50-story, 218 m (715 ft) skyscraper at 910 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston, Texas. Perched atop the building is an antenna that brings the pinnacle height of the building to 304.8 m (1,000 ft). At its completion in 1971, the tower was the tallest in the city.
Belgrade Tower, officially known as Kula Belgrade, is a 42-floor, 168-meter (551 ft) tall mixed-use skyscraper currently under construction as part of the Belgrade Waterfront project in Belgrade, Serbia.
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