Formerly: Continental Center III Built: 1972-1973 Designed by: Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Type: Skyscraper Stories: 44 Maximum Height: 601 feet / 183 meters Location: 333 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, United States
O ne of the most common questions we get around here is, "Hey! What's that big red building in the middle of the Chicago skyline?" Well, the answer is CNA Plaza.
It's not a massive structure by Chicago standards -- just 44 stories. But its position on Wabash Avenue, set back just one block from Michigan Avenue and the vast greenspace of Grant Park, makes it stand out like a fire alarm in the skyline.
The people who run CNA Plaza apparently have a sense of humor about their building that is uncommon in Chicago. During a 2004 renovation of the lobby the entrances were hard to find for pedestrians. So the entrances were clearly marked with "Enter Here" while other portions of the black plywood wall were marked with a yellow dashed outline of a person and the legend "Don't enter here. You'll get splinters."
In spite of the garish color, CNA Plaza isn't a building that attracts a lot of attention. Like a beauty queen it just stands there among the other contestants beaming and waving. But in 1999 the story was different. A shard of glass fell from a 29th floor window and killed a woman on the other side of Wabash Avenue. In the ensuing investigation it was revealed that the window had been cracked for months and that the building had a history of cracking windows for more than 20 years. The glass used in the building couldn't cope with the level of thermal expansion it experienced and at the time the victim was impaled by the glass, more than 40 windows were cracked. The building's owner paid a huge fine to the city, settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family, and replaced all 3,000 windows in the building.
As odd as the red color is, it's not the old colored skyscraper in Chicago. There is a bright blue skyscraper on LaSalle Street, but because it's hemmed in buy other buildings, most people don't notice it.
marcus
Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 @ 6:13pm
I think that this buidling makes the chicago skyline look great. without it, I think the skyline might look boring.
Ian Kinmond
Friday, June 23rd, 2006 @ 7:35am
We have just spent 6 great days holiday in Chicago stayed at the Palmer Hilton.this building caught our eyes everytime we went out. We called it "the rusty building" for obvious reasons. We used it as a referance point, when traveling arround this beautiful city.Every time we see it, it reminds us of a great holiday. We will be back.I KinmondDundee Scotland
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New York, United States
marcus
Ian Kinmond