The Kluczynski Federal Building is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

in the downtown

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

located at 230 South Dearborn Street. The 45-story structure was designed by

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

and completed in 1974 as the last portion of the new Federal Center. It is tall and with the Mies designed post office and plaza stands on the site previously occupied by the

Chicago Federal Building The Chicago Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois was constructed between 1898 and 1905 for the purpose of housing the Midwest's federal courts, main post office, and other government bureaus. It stood in The Loop neighborhood on a block bo ...

by the architect

Henry Ives Cobb Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Victorian Gothic styles. ...

. It was named in honor of

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

John C. Kluczynski, who represented

Illinois's 5th congressional district The 5th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Chicago, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Hinsdale, La Grange Park, N ...

from 1951 to 1975 after his death that year. This is one of three buildings by van der Rohe in the Federal Center Plaza complex: the others are the Loop Station Post Office and the

Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse The Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, commonly referred to as the Dirksen Federal Building, is a skyscraper in the Chicago Loop at 219 South Dearborn Street. It was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1964. The ...

. The Kluczynski Building is constructed of a steel frame and contains of space. The exterior is sheathed in bronze-tinted glass set into bright aluminum frames. Beneath the windows are steel spandrel panels painted flat black and windows are separated horizontally by steel mullions of projecting steel I-beams also painted black. The two-story lobby is recessed allowing for a colonnade or ''pilotis'' to encircle the building at street level. The interior walls and floors of the lobby are covered in granite which extends to the plaza. The lobby contains several commemorative tablets which were removed from the previous building. The entire complex is based on a grid pattern so that seams of the granite pavers in the plaza extend into the building lobbies and up the sides to create unity among the three structures. The Center is similar to Mies' earlier

Toronto-Dominion Centre The Toronto-Dominion Centre, or TD Centre, is an office complex in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of downtown Toronto owned by Cadillac Fairview. It serves as the global headquarters for its anchor tenant, the Toronto-Dominio ...

and was expanded in 1991 with the addition of the 28-story Metcalfe Federal Building to the south across Jackson Boulevard. On August 28, 1996, Civil Rights Movement historian

Randy Kryn Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

and 10 others were arrested while doing a demonstration at the building. In 2009, GSA undertook a major project to improve energy efficiency which included solar film on windows, LED lighting upgraded HVAC and other mechanical systems. After the work, the building received a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

Silver certification.

Alexander Calder Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his ...

's sculpture ''

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

'', a red steel sculpture, was unveiled on the plaza October 24, 1974. The sculpture was conserved and restored in 1998. The plaza is also the site of a weekly farmers' market during the spring and summer seasons, open to the community. Federal agencies in the building include the Air Force Recruiting Service, the Department of State Passport Agency, Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Personnel Management, Consumer Product Safety Commission, General Services Administration and offices for both the U.S. senators from Illinois, Richard "Dick" Durbin and

Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented Ill ...

. Following his election as president on November 4, 2008,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

established his administration's transitional offices in the federal building, prompting heightened security measures in the surrounding area.

Position in Chicago's skyline

References

{{Chicago Loop Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago Central Chicago Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings Federal buildings in the United States Government buildings completed in 1974 Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Architecture in Chicago International style architecture in Illinois Modernist architecture in Illinois 1974 establishments in Illinois

Position in Chicago's skyline

See also

References