Chase Tower (aka First National Bank Building) - Chicago, IL
Posted by: adgorn
N 41° 52.880 W 087° 37.810
16T E 447713 N 4636792
This 60 story building sweeps from a 200-foot wide base to 95 feet at the top - a somewhat odd shape. Didn't stop a young Barack Obama from meeting his future wife Michelle in this building in 1989 when both worked for the law firm Sidley & Austin.
Waymark Code: WM8BN5
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 03/07/2010
Views: 22
Building facts from Emporis: (
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"This is the tallest building in the "Loop proper" as defined by the loop in Chicago's elevated train tracks. The site is also the geographic center of the loop.
First National Chairman Gaylord Freeman began construction of the building without building permits from Chicago City Hall.
The building replaced six older skyscrapers, including the Morrison Hotel which was the tallest building ever demolished at the time.
The old First National Bank Building remained standing until the bank moved into this building, then was torn down to build the plaza. (Here is an old postcard of that: (
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The granite for the facade was quarried at Marble Falls, 50 miles northwest of Austin, Texas."
From Wikipedia (
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"The building and its plaza (known as Exelon Plaza) occupy the entire block bounded by Clark, Dearborn, Madison, and Monroe Streets.
Chase Tower is known for both its distinctive curving shape and its vibrant public space: a deep sunken plaza at the geographic center of the Chicago Loop, complete with a jet fountain and Marc Chagall's ceramic wall mural Four Seasons."