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Smurfit-Stone Building
 

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Looking north from Millennium Park - 2006-4-18 (465472)
(c) Daniel Kieköwer
 
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Double peak from the back - 2006-4-18 (213048)
(c) Daniel Kieköwer
 
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View from Grant Park - 2006-4-18 (157843)
(c) Daniel Kieköwer
 
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Identification
Official name Smurfit-Stone Building
Alternative names *
Emporis Building Number 116680
 
Location
Address *
Bordering street #1 East Randolph Street
Bordering street #2 North Michigan Avenue
Postcode *
Exact Latitude *
Exact Longitude *
Location Map (POI) *
Neighborhood Loop
District Downtown
City Chicago
State Illinois
Country U.S.A.
 
Technical Data
Height (tip) *
Height (struct.) 177 m 582 ft
Height (roof) *
Floors (OG) 41
Construction start *
Construction end 1983
GFA *
UFA *
Elevators *
 
Building in General
Type of construction skyscraper
Architectural style *
Status completed

Facts
- The top of the building is oriented toward the lakefront, and is often said to resemble a sailboat.
- The building was originally planned to be 5 stories taller.
- Located at the northwest corner of Grant Park, on the former site of the John Crerar Library.
- The southeast section is cut away at the base, except for a triangular column containing a public stairway to the nearby Metra train station.
- The diamond-shaped slope is outlined with white light bulbs. Around holidays they used to be replaced with colored lights.
- The official count of 41 floors does not include 5 levels of unused space in the narrowest portion at the top of the diamond.
- The building appears to be split diagonally down the middle. The right and left sides are slightly disjointed, and at the top they are actually separated by a gap.
- The building's designer was Sheldon Schlegman of A. Epstein & Sons.
- Originally planned as One Parke Place, this was billed as the world's first computerized office building.
- The service cores are rotated 45° from the street grid, producing diagonally-oriented office floorplans which take advantage of the extraordinary southeast views.
- On special occasions the windows inside the diamond are lit in patterns spelling short messages or sports team names.
- A sculpture by Yaakov Agam used to occupy the triangular niche at street level. Called "Communication - X9", its colorful geometric patterns would change when the viewer walked past.
- This building was featured prominately in the 1987 motion picture "Adventures in Babysitting" starring Elisabeth Shue.

Companies involved in this Building*
Architect: A. Epstein and Sons International, Inc.

Other companies: Collins Tuttle & Co., Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc., Schal Associates, Inc. [Bovis Lend Lease LMB Inc.], A. Epstein and Sons International, Inc., Sako & Associates, Commercial Light Company, Goethe-Institut.