Cook County Criminal Court Building - Chicago, IL
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member adgorn
N 41° 53.412 W 087° 37.806
16T E 447726 N 4637777
A Richardsonian Romanesque-style building on the Near North Side of Chicago. The structure housed the Cook County Criminal Courts for 35 years.
Waymark Code: WM6H4F
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2009
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member deano1943
Views: 5

This site was the site of many legendary trials, including the Leopold and Loeb murder case and the Black Sox Scandal. Newspaperman Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur based much of their 1928 play, The Front Page, on the daily events in this structure. Other authors of the Chicago’s 1920s literary renaissance that used the fourth floor pressroom include Carl Sandburg, Sherwood Anderson, and Vincent Starrett. The site also housed the jail and gallows for the Haymarket Martyrs.

In 1929, the Criminal Courts left the 54 West Hubbard Street location, and the building was then occupied by the Chicago Board of Health and other city agencies. After poor alterations and years of neglect, the building was acquired by Friedman Properties, Ltd in 1985. The property was restored and refurbished as “Courthouse Place,” an office development later expanded to include the restoration of other surrounding historic buildings.
Street address:
54 West Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL USA
60610


County / Borough / Parish: Cook County

Year listed: 1984

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering

Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1900-1924

Historic function: Government

Current function: Commerce/Trade

Privately owned?: yes

Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2009 To: 12/31/2009

Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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Lucky_Al visited Cook County Criminal Court Building - Chicago, IL 08/06/2014 Lucky_Al visited it