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200 West Madison

1982 establishments in IllinoisBuildings and structures completed in 1982Chicago building and structure stubsSkidmore, Owings & Merrill buildingsSkyscraper office buildings in Chicago
Madison Plaza, Chicago
Madison Plaza, Chicago

200 West Madison is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. The building rises 599 feet (182 m) in the Chicago Loop. It contains 45 floors, and was completed in 1982. 200 West Madison currently stands as the 52nd-tallest building in the city. The architectural firm who designed the building was Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the same firm who designed Chicago's Willis Tower and John Hancock Center and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The building was designed with a "sawtooth edge," and incorporates six corners onto the southeast face of the building. Thus, the building has nine corner offices on most of its floors. Originally named "Madison Plaza," the building was proposed to have a twin tower located on the lot situated south of the tower. However, plans for a second tower were ultimately abandoned. Six years later, in 1988, the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle was proposed for construction on the same lot, adjacent to 200 West Madison. Plans called for 125-story tower that was to rise 2,000 ft (610 m). However, that plan was also eventually cancelled. The lot is now the site of a parking garage.200 West Madison is the location of "Dawn Shadows," a famous black metal sculpture created by Louise Berliawsky Nevelson. The sculpture was brought to the plaza in 1983.

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200 West Madison
West Madison Street, Chicago Loop

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Wikipedia: 200 West MadisonContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 41.882222222222 ° E -87.634722222222 °
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Madison Plaza

West Madison Street 200
60606 Chicago, Loop
Illinois, United States
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Madison Plaza, Chicago
Madison Plaza, Chicago
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Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle

The Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle was a proposed 125-floor skyscraper intended for Chicago, Illinois, United States, by Lee Miglin and J. Paul Beitler 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.The tower's plans were unveiled in 1988. The plans would falter due to the post-Gulf War market downturn. Miglin-Beitler held hopes of reviving the project, but these were dashed by the murder of Lee Miglin.The tower would have risen 125 floors and 1,999 feet. It would have had 1.9 million square feet of space (with 1.2 million being office space). It was planned to cost $450 million to construct. As of July 1990, it was tentatively planned to open in 1993.The firm had believed that the observation deck planned atop the tower, as well as the twelve floors of parking at its lower levels, would produce large amounts of revenue. Plans also called for the building to include a two-story health club. Office space in the building would have been marketed to smaller yet prestigious firms. The goal was to attract law firms and other tenants desiring a high-status location, but needing only between 8,000 and 10,000 square feet of office space.There were a number of challenges facing the project before the post-Gulf War economic downturned ultimately doomed it. This included the earlier savings and loan crisis putting in place a stricter regulatory climate for banks and credit unions, which made many financial institutions wary of large real estate projects as investments. Another challenge was that the Chicago real estate market, particularly in its downtown, was "soft". The downtown had an office space vacancy of 14%, which was on the rise. Additionally, millions of additional square feet of office space was already under construction in downtown Chicago, with millions more to open up with Sears moving out of the Sears Tower for a new suburban headquarters. Another challenge that analysts predicted was that larger corporate tenants might avoid the building, as its narrow floorplates would require firms needing larger amounts of office space to locate their offices across several floors. This could prevent the building from attracting large "anchor" tenants.Across Wells Street from the site where the tower was to be built is another Pelli project previously developed by Miglin-Beitler, 181 West Madison Street, which reportedly inspired the general design of the Skyneedle. Visually the upper floors of the Skyneedle do appear to be similar to a stretched 181 W Madison. Across Madison Street from the site where the tower was to be built is 200 West Madison, another building developed previously by Miglin-Beitler.César Pelli also designed the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. The Petronas Towers have an obvious design reference, with the exception of having round floorplates as opposed to square ones.

Washington Block
Washington Block

Washington Block is a Chicago Landmark building located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Designed by Frederick and Edward Baumann it was built between 1873–1874 in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on January 14, 1997. When completed, Washington Block was one of the tallest buildings in the city of Chicago and is described as a rare example of the "isolated pier foundation" (see below) which contributed to the foundation of knowledge that has made Chicago the birthplace of the skyscraper. The building has limestone facades and originally included an exterior staircase that led to a second-floor corner entrance. The lobby has a curving hardwood staircase. Today the first floor is occupied by a 7-Eleven and the second floor occupied by Carter Legal Group PC. The building, which is located at the corner of North Wells Street and West Washington Street is five stories tall.The building was originally intended to host upscale offices for companies wanting to be close to the nearby then-blossoming LaSalle Street financial district. However, when the Chicago 'L' was built next to the building, the upscale commercial customer found the building undesirable. During the mid 1900s, the owner hammered off ground-level architectural details in order to modernize the storefronts. 21st century owners have recast some of the details during a restoration. The isolated pier technique uses several separate foundations, one at each of the load-bearing points underground. Thus, instead of using a single foundation that would crack as the building shifted on sandy soil, a building may be built on a much longer-lasting and sturdier foundation. The Washington Block's foundation enabled it to be built on soft, compressible soil, instead of the solid bedrock formerly seen as a requirement. This ability allowed skyscrapers to be built in places like Chicago, and many of them were.