Richard J. Daley Center
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The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime mayor Richard J. Daley, is the premier civic center of the City of Chicago in Illinois. Situated on Randolph and Washington Streets, the Richard J. Daley Center is considered one of Chicago's architectural highlights. The main building was designed in the international architectural style by Jacques Brownson of the firm C. F. Murphy Associates and completed in 1965. The 648-foot, 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, and is the tallest building in the world with fewer than 40 stories (a typical 648-foot building would have 50-60 stories). Daley Plaza is considered to be Chicago's answer to New York City Time Square. This is because of its central location, it is encompassed by the State Street shopping district, government buildings, and several media outelts.
Features
The Richard J. Daley Center houses more than 120 court and hearing rooms as well as the official law library of the City of Chicago. The building also houses office space for both the city and Cook County, of which the City of Chicago is its seat of governance. In the middle of Daley Plaza, the building's courtyard, is an untitled Cor-ten steel 50-foot 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.
Adjacent buildings
Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Plaza is the landmark Chicago City Hall. Declared a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it houses offices for the Mayor of Chicago, aldermen of Chicago's various wards and chambers for the Chicago City Council. Directly north of the Daley Center is the Cook County Administration Building which is full of office space for County employees.
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 structures
External links
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