Old Chicago Main Post Office

Last updated

Old Chicago Main Post Office
Old Post Office Chicago 2022.jpg
Old Main Post Office over Ida B. Wells Drive
Old Chicago Main Post Office
General information
LocationChicago, Illinois
Address433 West Van Buren Street
Coordinates 41°52′32″N87°38′20″W / 41.875622°N 87.638769°W / 41.875622; -87.638769
Opened1921;102 years ago (1921)
Renovated1932;91 years ago (1932)
Design and construction
Architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White
Website
post433.com

The Old Chicago Main Post Office is a nine-story-tall building in downtown Chicago. The original building was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and built in 1921, but the structure was expanded greatly in 1932 in order to serve Chicago's great volume of postal business, swollen by the mail-order businesses of Montgomery Ward (the largest retailer in the United States) and of Sears (its competitor).

Contents

The Old Post Office is home to many corporate offices including Walgreens, Ferrara Candy Company, PepsiCo, Cisco Systems, Uber, CBOE, Home Chef, Vizient, Inc., and more. [1]

History

Aerial view of Chicago with The Old Chicago Main Post Office visible in the bottom right Chicago viewed from the Willis Tower in 2010.jpg
Aerial view of Chicago with The Old Chicago Main Post Office visible in the bottom right
A postcard commemorating the New Chicago Post Office dedication, February 15, 1933 161, The New Chicago Post Office, dedicated February 15, 1933 (NBY 417398).jpg
A postcard commemorating the New Chicago Post Office dedication, February 15, 1933

The original 1922 structure was a brick-sided mail terminal building, sited just east of the main building that spans the Eisenhower Expressway as it turns into Ida B. Wells Drive. Major expansion in 1932 added a total of nine floors for more than 60 acres (24 ha), or 2.5 million square feet (230,000 m²), of floorspace. Its footprint, as initially designed, would have blocked the proposed Congress Parkway extension; as a compromise, a hole for the Parkway was reserved in the base of the Post Office and utilized twenty years later. [2] Competitors Montgomery Ward and Sears combined to make Chicago "the nation's mail-order capital". [3] (Montgomery Ward, which became the largest retailer in the United States in the late 1930s, was eventually passed by Sears, and then was purchased and merged.) In 1966 the Main Chicago Post Office came to a halt when a logjam of 10 million pieces of mail clogged the system for nearly a week. [4] With Chicago rated worst in postal deliveries, a new Main Post Office to be located right across Harrison Street was proposed. In 1997, the old building was vacated in favor of the new, modernized facility. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. [5]

A February 2006 report by the General Accounting Office stated that it cost the government $2 million a year to maintain the retired building. [6] On June 9, 2009, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the postal service was placing the post office on the auction block. Held on August 27 and conducted by Rick Levin & Associates Inc., the auction raised $40 million, which was well over the opening bid of $300,000. [7] [8] The buyer was reported to be English real estate developer Bill Davies. [9] [10] While Davies missed an October 10, 2009 deadline to close the deal, he finally acquired the building on October 21, 2009, paying about $17 million. [11]

Redevelopment plan, 2011–2014

Old Chicago Main Post Office Phase II
Old Chicago Main Post Office
General information
StatusNever built
TypeSupertall skyscraper
LocationChicago, Illinois
AddressWest Ida B. Wells Drive and South Canal Street, 433 West Van Buren
CountryUnited States
Cost$3.5 billion
Height
Roof2,000 feet (610 m)
Technical details
Floor count9
Floor area16 million sq ft (1,500,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Booth Hansen
DeveloperInternational Property Developers
References
[12]

The Old Chicago Main Post Office Redevelopment was an approved 20-acre (81,000 m2) project on a lot located along the Chicago River on the southwest side of Downtown Chicago, Illinois to be constructed in phases over a period of one decade that would have included the renovation of the building as well as residential, retail, entertainment and office space. The plan included several towers, the tallest one being a proposed 120-story mixed use twin tower skyscraper to stand about 2,000 feet (610 m) high to the roof, which would have made it the tallest building in the United States, [13] over 500 feet (150 m) taller than the Willis Tower, containing office, residential, and hotel space. It would also have included two 60-story residential towers as well as a 40-story hotel. [14] All the buildings in the development were to be connected via a ground-level complex [15] that would have been built over the Chicago River and the Eisenhower Expressway. [16] More specifically, it was exactly one year and nine months after acquiring the post office property from the Postal Service when Davies unveiled his plan for the Post Office on July 21, 2011. The proposal, which involved three other properties besides the 14-story Post Office, was broken down into three phases pending the required $3.5 billion in funding:

The whole $3.5 billion plan was submitted to the Chicago City Council and the Planning Commission for approval the same day it was released to the public. Only funding for Phase 1 had been secured as of July 21, 2011. [14] [17] The proposal was sent to the Chicago City Commission in July 2011 for approval, which was expected to be a several-month process. The project had an estimated cost of $3.5 billion and the potential to create 12,000 jobs. [18] Some critics opposed the proposal, calling it old-fashioned and suburban and an unrealistic pipe dream, as it was largely car oriented (12,000 parking spaces and free parking) with shopping mall style retail. [19] The city voted and approved the plan July 18, 2013. [20]

In spring of 2013, Antunovich Associates, who purchased the site three years ago, created a new proposal on the site featuring a 1000-foot skyscraper (with a 2,000 foot tower in their 2nd phase). Other potential uses include a casino and/or entertainment complex. [21] [22] On June 18, 2014, Bill Davies announced the formation of a $500 million joint venture with Sterling Bay Companies for phase I of the redevelopment. [23] [24] On July 18, Sterling announced a new relationship with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, which gave them access to new financial resources. [25] However, Davies never found sufficient financing. [3] In December 2014, Davies canceled the project and put the post office building up for sale. [26]

After sitting vacant for nearly two decades, the building was bought in 2014 by English real estate developer Bill Davies for $24 million at auction. [27] Davies proposed an ambitious redevelopment plan that was never realized; on May 13, 2016, the building was sold by Davies, who died the next day. [28]

2016 sale and reconstruction

Interior in 2019 Chicago's Old Main Post Office interior.jpg
Interior in 2019

In February 2016, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel pressed for development of the site, threatening to take possession of the building by use of eminent domain. In March, the city's Department of Planning and Development issued an RFP seeking bids due June 10 for redevelopment of the site. Later that week, with announcement of a conditional sale of the building, it turned out that Davies had been in negotiation since May 2015 for sale of the building to 601W, a New York City-based real estate company which owns Chicago's Aon Center and One Prudential Plaza buildings. [29]

On May 13, 2016, completion of the sale from Davies to 601W was announced by Emanuel. Davies died the next day. Vicky Flores, who ran the Chicago office of Davies' firm, commented: "It was really weird, the timing. Everything was signed off, and then I heard he had died. It was like he waited until everything was taken care of." [3] In a $500 million renovation, [3] Gensler plans on renovation of the space into office space, with addition of a rooftop park and a riverwalk. [30] In September 2017 the post office was one of 6 sites in Chicago considered for the new Amazon "HQ2" location. [31] In September 2019, Uber Freight announced it would be based at the site, adding 2,000 jobs.

After extensive renovations undergone by real-estate company 601W, the building opened to office tenants in October 2019. [32] In August 2019, Uber signed a 10-year lease to become the building's largest tenant, occupying 463,000 square feet (43,000 m2). Construction on the space to be utilized by Uber will begin in the spring of 2020. [33] The structure will also include new Chicago offices for Walgreens, occupying 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) and housing 1,800 employees. [34] PepsiCo will relocate its Chicago office of 1,300 employees and occupy 192,000 square feet (17,800 m2), [35] while the Ferrara Candy Company announced that it would relocate its headquarters to the Post Office building in 2019, occupying 77,000 square feet (7,200 m2) and bringing nearly 400 jobs. [36] The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago will also be a tenant. [37]

Tenants

The Chicago Sun-Times , in 2022, had plans to open a facility there for newspaper and WBEZ operations. A total of 6,000 square feet (560 m2) of space under lease was to be used. [38]

As of 2022 other tenants include: [38]

The building was used in the filming of Batman Begins in 2004[ citation needed ], and The Dark Knight in April 2007. [39] [40] [41] The building is seen from above in the opening credits of Candyman . In the summer of 2010, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay filmed numerous scenes for Transformers: Dark of the Moon in and around Chicago. The old Chicago Post Office's east facade was decorated as the "Department of Health and Human Services" where the Autobots were kept by the federal government in the movies. The same interior that was used for filming of the bank heist in The Dark Knight was used again for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. There were also some scattered shots from the Post Office interior used throughout the film. [42]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Tower</span> Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

The Willis 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hancock Center</span> Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,128-foot super tall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aon Center (Chicago)</span> Modern supertall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The Aon Center is a modern super tall skyscraper east 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)</span> Supertall skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois

The Trump International Hotel and Tower is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named for Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Bovis Lend Lease built the 100-story structure, which reaches a height of 1,388 feet (423.2 m) including its spire, its roof topping out at 1,171 feet (357 m). It is next to the main branch of the Chicago River, with a view of the entry to Lake Michigan beyond a series of bridges over the river. The building received publicity when the winner of the first season of The Apprentice reality television show, Bill Rancic, chose to manage the construction of the tower over managing a Rancho Palos Verdes based "Trump National Golf Course & Resort" in the Los Angeles metro area.

Two Prudential Plaza is a 64-story skyscraper located in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. At 995 feet (303 m) tall, it is the seventh-tallest building in Chicago as of 2022 and the 28th-tallest in the U.S., being only five feet from 1,000 feet, making it the closest of any building under 1,000. Built in 1990, the building was designed by the firm Loebl Schlossman & Hackl, with Stephen T. Wright as the principal in charge of design. It has received eight awards, including winning the Best Structure Award from the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois in 1995.

First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple is a church located at the base and in the utmost floors of the Chicago Temple Building, a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. The top of the building is at a height of 173 metres (568 feet).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Block 37</span> Development in Chicago

108 North State Street, also known as Block 37, is a development located in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the square block bounded clockwise from the North by West Randolph Street, North State Street, West Washington Street and North Dearborn Street that is known as "Block 37", which was its designated number as one of the original 58 blocks of the city. Above-ground redevelopment is complete, but work stopped on an underground Chicago "L" station when the station was only partially complete.

7 South Dearborn was a planned skyscraper in Chicago, United States. Located at the intersection of Madison and Dearborn, the building would have been 1,555 feet (474 m) high, with twin antennas pushing the height to exactly 1,968 feet (600 m). The building would have been the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at the time, if it were constructed.

The Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle was a proposed 125-floor skyscraper intended for Chicago, Illinois, United States, by Lee Miglin and J. Paul Beitler's firm Miglin-Beitler Developments and designed by architect César Pelli. The site of the proposed Skyneedle now is host to a parking garage. If it had been built when it was planned, the 1,999 ft (609 m) tall Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle would have been the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Point</span> 52 story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

River Point, previously known as 200 North Riverside Plaza, is a 52-story 730 ft. (213 m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, located at 444 West Lake Street. The 52-story building has 1 million square feet (93,000 m2) of floor space. It sits on air rights above active railroad tracks and as well the subway portion of the CTA Blue Line, which affected the angle of some support columns, which in turn produced the parabolic arch in the base of the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Center</span> Office in Houston, Texas

Houston Center is a retail and office complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned by Brookfield Property Partners and Spear Street Capital, LLC, and operated separately by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and Brookfield Property Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">350 North Orleans</span> Building in Chicago

350 North Orleans is the official name of the 24-floor multipurpose building located in the River North community area of Chicago, at the intersection of the North Branch and the Main Branch of the Chicago River. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting the building to Merchandise Mart. Originally built to serve as the world's largest wholesale buying center for the clothing industry, the building has more commonly known by several other names including River North Point, TheApparel Mart, and the Chicago Apparel Center. The building opened on November 6, 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 Broadway</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

2 Broadway is an office building at the south end of Broadway, near Bowling Green Park, in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The 32-story building, designed by Emery Roth & Sons and constructed from 1958 to 1959, contains offices for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). 2 Broadway serves as the headquarters for some of the MTA's subsidiary agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salesforce Tower Chicago</span> Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, USA

Salesforce Tower Chicago is a skyscraper at Wolf Point in downtown Chicago. It is the tallest and last built of a three tower megadevelopment partly owned by the Kennedy family. The 813 ft tall-tower was designed by Pelli Clarke and was completed in 2023. It is the regional headquarters of software company Salesforce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Chicago Main Post Office Twin Towers</span> Old Chicago Main Post Office Twin Towers

The Old Chicago Main Post Office Twin Towers was a proposed mixed use supertall skyscraper planned as part of the canceled Old Chicago Main Post Office Redevelopment project in the Chicago Loop community area. The 120-story twin towers were planned to reach a height of 2,000 feet (610 m), the same as the cancelled Chicago Spire that began construction in 2007. Had it been built according to plan, the building would have been the tallest in the United States.

Wolf Point East Tower is the second tallest of three buildings being developed in the Near North Side community area on the Wolf Point property at a fork in the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. The building is planned to be approximately 60 stories and 660 feet (201.2 m) tall. It will have 698 units. Although originally intended to be a mixed use building when planned in 2012 and approved in 2013, the building was reenvisioned as an apartment building in 2016. Construction began in 2017 and is currently finished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tribune East Tower</span> Mixed use supertall tower awaiting construction in Chicago

Tribune East Tower is a 1,422 ft (433.4 m) mixed use supertall tower to be constructed on the eastern edge of the Tribune Tower property, in the Streeterville area of Chicago. The building plans were approved on May 8, 2020. When completed, the tower will be the second-tallest building in Chicago, after the Willis Tower, and one of the tallest buildings in the Western Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">151 North Franklin</span> Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

151 North Franklin is a skyscraper located at 151 North Franklin Avenue in the Chicago Loop. Completed in 2018 and standing at 568 feet tall with 35 floors at the northeast corner of West Randolph Street and North Franklin Avenue, the building is the current corporate headquarters of namesake tenant CNA Insurance, which has been headquartered in the Loop since 1900. It also hosts large office spaces for Facebook and the law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">110 North Wacker</span> Skyscraper in Chicago

110 North Wacker, also known as the Bank of America Tower, is a 57-floor skyscraper in Chicago located at 110 North Wacker Drive. It was developed by the Howard Hughes Corporation and Riverside Investment & Development. It was designed by Goettsch Partners with construction by Clark Construction. Structural engineering was by Thornton Tomasetti. A topping-out ceremony was held in September 2019 and the building officially opened in on October 14, 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "The Old Post Office: Best reuse of a historic building". Crain's Chicago Business. October 7, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  2. ↑ "SkyscraperPage Forum". Forum.skyscraperpage.com. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Day after selling city's Old Main Post Office, Bill Davies dies". Fox 32 / Sun-Times Media Wire. May 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Publication 100 – The United States Postal Service An American History 1775-2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  5. ↑ "National Register of Historical Places – ILLINOIS (IL), Cook County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ "GAO-06-248T Federal Real Property: Excess and Underutilized Property Is an Ongoing Problem" (PDF). Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Let the bidding begin ..." Chicago Tribune. August 27, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ Lutz, Bj (August 27, 2009). "Why So Seriously Expensive?". NBC Chicago. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  9. ↑ Bartosik, Matt (September 10, 2009). "Post Office Buyer May Not Deliver". NBC Chicago. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  10. ↑ David Roeder. "High bidder defaults on deal to buy old Chicago Post Office". Chicago Sun-Times. October 14, 2009. Retrieved on October 15, 2009.
  11. ↑ David Roeder. "Brit gets discount on old post office". Chicago Sun-Times. October 22, 2009. Retrieved on October 22, 2009.
  12. ↑ Alby Gallun (July 21, 2011). "Skyscrapers, retail part of massive Old Post Office plan". ChicagoRealEstateDaily. Retrieved July 30, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ Brian Louis (July 21, 2011). "Tallest U.S. Tower Proposed as Part of Chicago Development". Bloomberg News . Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  14. 1 2 Alejandra Cancino, Blair Kamin (July 21, 2011). "Old Chicago post office redevelopment plan unveiled". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  15. ↑ Ben Meyerson (July 27, 2011). "Old post office plans include hotels, skyscrapers for Chicago". Chicago Journal . Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  16. ↑ Don DeBat (July 27, 2011). "Towering old post office plan air mailed to Chicago". Chicago Journal. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
  17. ↑ David Roeder (July 21, 2011). "Old Post Office figures in mega downtown expansion plan". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  18. ↑ Kate Springer, Susie An (July 22, 2011). "Big plans for the old Chicago post office". WBEZ-FM. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  19. ↑ Blair Kamin (July 24, 2011). "Plan for old post office: A suburban throwback, and a pipe dream". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  20. ↑ "City to examine old post office rehab plan". Gazette Chicago. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Exclusive: What's in the works for Chicago's old post office?". WGN-TV. May 8, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Antunovich Associates /". antunovich.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ Ori, Ryan (June 18, 2014). "Old Main Post Office revamp gets a boost". Crain's Chicago Business . Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  24. ↑ Ori, Ryan (June 19, 2014). "Chicago's Old Main Post Office to be redeveloped". WLS-TV . Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  25. ↑ Harris, Melissa and Bob Goldsborough (July 18, 2014). "Sterling Bay retools old buildings, reshapes neighborhoods". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  26. ↑ Ori, Ryan (December 4, 2014). "Subscription Center". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  27. ↑ Janssen, Kim (May 13, 2016). "Day after old post office deal done, longtime owner is dead". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  28. ↑ Janssen, Kim (May 17, 2016). "Owner of old main post office was dead when $130M sale closed". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  29. ↑ Brian J. Rogal (March 18, 2016). "601W Cos. Buys Old Post Office, But Questions Remain". GlobeSt.com. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  30. ↑ Jay Koziarz (May 13, 2016). "Chicago's Old Post Office Sold to 601W Companies". Curbed Chicago .
  31. ↑ Spielman, Fran (September 13, 2017). "What Chicago site might win Amazon 'HQ2' sweepstakes? Here are 6 . . ". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on September 14, 2017.
  32. ↑ Kamin, Blair (October 17, 2019). "Column: An exclusive look inside Chicago's Old Post Office as the nation's largest reuse project greets its first tenants this weekend". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  33. ↑ Marotti, Ally; Ori, Ryan (August 19, 2019). "Uber confirms it's moving to massive space in The Old Post Office". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  34. ↑ LaVito, Angelica (June 15, 2018). "Walgreens to move 1,800 jobs into new Chicago office". CNBC. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  35. ↑ Ori, Ryan (November 21, 2019). "PepsiCo's Chicago office to go from 17 floors to one, in move to ultrawide Old Post Office". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  36. ↑ Ori, Ryan (December 13, 2018). "Ferrara Candy confirms its headquarters will move to Chicago's Old Post Office". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  37. ↑ Ori, Ryan (August 29, 2019). "The Old Post Office nears opening, adds Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago as office tenant". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  38. 1 2 Roeder, David (June 29, 2022). "Sun-Times, WBEZ lease space in Old Post Office". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  39. ↑ Archived June 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  40. ↑ "Chicago Entertainment News, Local Celeb Gossip | NBC Chicago". Nbc5.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
  41. ↑ [ dead link ]
  42. ↑ "Transformers Live Action Movie Blog: TF3 Chicago: More from Post Office Set". transformerslive.blogspot.com. September 12, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.