Richard J. Daley Center

The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the city of Chicago, Illinois. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offices and courtrooms for the Cook County Circuit Courts, Cook County State's Attorney and additional office space for the City and the County. It is adjacent to the neoclassical City Hall-County Building, also on the plaza. The open granite-paved plaza used for gatherings, protests, and events is also the site of the Chicago Picasso, a gift to the city from the artist. Situated on Randolph Street and Washington Street between Dearborn Street and Clark Street, the Richard J. Daley Center, with its "majestic" interior spaces, is considered a significant example of modernist Chicago architecture. The main building was designed in the International Style of the Second Chicago School by Jacques Brownson of the firm C. F. Murphy Associates as supervising architects, with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett & Dart as associated architects, and was completed in 1965. At the time it was the tallest building in Chicago, but only held this title for four years until the John Hancock Center was completed. Originally known as the Chicago Civic Center, the building was renamed for Mayor Daley on December 27, 1976, seven days after his death in office. The 648-foot (198 m), thirty-one story building features Cor-Ten, a self-weathering steel. Cor-Ten was designed to rust, actually strengthening the structure and giving the building its distinctive red and brown color. The Daley Center has 30 floors above its double height lobby, and is the tallest flat-roofed building in the world with fewer than 40 stories (a typical 648-foot (198 m) building, the height of Daley Center, would have 50–60 stories). Building features The Richard J. Daley Center houses more than 120 court and hearing rooms as well as the Cook County Law Library, offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and certain court-related divisions of the Sheriff's Department. The building also houses office space for both the city and Cook County, of which the City of Chicago is its seat of government. The windows are cor-ten steel and bronze/white tinted. Daley Plaza Daley Plaza is the courtyard adjacent to the building, occupying the southern half of the block occupied by the building. The plaza is dominated by an untitled Cor-ten steel 50-foot (15 m) sculpture by Pablo Picasso (usually called "The Picasso"). Completed in 1967, it was a gift to the City of Chicago from the artist. Though controversial for its abstract form, it quickly became a Chicago landmark. The plaza also features an in-ground fountain and an eternal flame memorial to the dead from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The plaza serves as a location for many civic functions including the city's longest running weekly farmers' market held on Thursdays from May through October, regular ethnic festivals, and the meeting place for Chicago's Critical Mass ride. The plaza was used extensively in the climactic scenes of the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. The interior of the building, as well as the plaza, the Picasso, and the neighboring James R. Thompson Center are also featured in the 1993 film The Fugitive and in 2006's The Lake House. The plaza also was used in 2006's Stranger than Fiction. While filming the movie The Dark Knight, instead of using the Chicago Board of Trade Building as the location for the headquarters of Wayne Enterprises as in Batman Begins, film director Christopher Nolan used the Richard J. Daley Center. Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi, a public protester, is a frequent fixture at the southwest corner of the plaza, near City Hall. Khoiee-Abbasi has been photographed here many times, with his well-dressed appearance, his odd signs, and his general refusal to speak or acknowledge those around him making him a minor celebrity. Adjacent buildings Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Plaza is the City Hall-County Building, which houses offices for the Mayor of Chicago, alderpersons of Chicago's various wards, and chambers for the Chicago City Council. Directly south of the Daley Center is the Cook County Administration Building which is full of office space for County employees. Block 37 containing 108 North State Street is to the east. Position in skyline See also Chicago architecture List of buildings List of skyscrapers List of tallest buildings in Chicago List of tallest buildings in the United States World's tallest structure References External links City of Chicago Cook County Richard J. Daley Center on Emporis Daley Plaza Eternal Flame