35 East Wacker, also known as the Jewelers' Building, is a 40-story 159.4 m (523 ft) historic building in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, located at the intersections of Wabash Avenue, and facing the Chicago River. It was built from 1925 to 1927, and was co-designed by Joachim G. Giaver and Frederick P. Dinkelberg. It was once considered to be the tallest building in the world outside of New York City. Formerly the Pure Oil Building and North American Life Insurance Building, 35 East Wacker was listed in 1978 as a contributing property to the Michigan-Wacker Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, and was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 9, 1994.
For its first 14 years, the building had a car lift that served the first 23 floors and facilitated safe transfers for jewelry merchants. Currently, the French-American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago is a tenant, and the showroom of architect Helmut Jahn is atop the building inside the dome, which was originally a restaurant. The building is currently being renovated, with the facade being maintained, but the interiors converted into a more modern configuration. Both the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the City of Chicago have recognized the renovation project with awards.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Tenants
- Mercury Records (1950 - 1973)
- Feeding America
Building A Car Lift Video
In popular culture
- The building is featured in scenes of the 2005 film Batman Begins.
- The 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon features a climax set atop the building, which is heavily damaged, along with most of Chicago, in the giant robot battle that ensues.
- In 2012, episode 2 of the first season of United States of America on the American History Channel featured the building's historic elevator, made by the Otis Elevator Company.
- The building is shown in the TV series The Good Wife as the location of the law firm Lockhart/Gardner.
- Emergency Call Ambulance (Sega 1999), Arcade racing videogame - the player drives by this building in the third case. In the game however, a burning gas station that has no relation to reality, is located at the bottom of this building.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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