Status Complete Opening 1973 Floor count 44 Floors 44 Completed 1972 | Type Office Roof 600 ft (183 m) Height 183 m Floor area 12 ha Construction started March 1970 | |
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Location 333 S Wabash Ave
Chicago
IL 60604
United States Architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Similar Grant Thornton Tower, Crain Communications Building, Metropolitan Tower, Pittsfield Building, The Heritage at Millenniu | ||
Cna building and chicago blackhawks official coverage
CNA Center is a 600-ft (183 m), 44-story high-rise building located at 333 South Wabash Avenue in the Loop Community Area of Chicago.
Contents
- Cna building and chicago blackhawks official coverage
- Map of Cna Center 333 S Wabash Ave Chicago IL 60604 USA
- Cna center and chicago blackhawks stanley cup coverage via cbs2
- Description
- Occupants
- History
- Lighted window messages
- References
Map of Cna Center, 333 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60604, USA
Cna center and chicago blackhawks stanley cup coverage via cbs2
Description
CNA Center is a simple, rectangular International Style building, but it is unique in that the entire building was painted bright red by Eagle Painting & Maintenance Company, Inc., turning an otherwise ordinary-looking structure into one of the most eye-catching buildings in the city. It was designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and was completed in 1972.
Occupants
As of 2014, CNA occupied 65 percent of the tower. Other occupants included The Chicago Housing Authority and United Way.
History
Originally known as Continental Center III, in reference to the original moniker of CNA Financial Corporation, Continental National American Group, both CNA Center (formerly CNA Plaza) and the neighboring CNA Center North (Continental Center II, built in 1962) adjoined and were painted red. The shorter red building was later restored to its original gray tone in 1999. The two buildings remain joined at the second floor: CNA's Conference Center uses space on that floor, but all entrance and egress to it is through CNA Center.
In 1999, a large fragment of a window fell from the building and killed a woman walking with her child. Windows had been cracking at the building ever since it had been built in 1975. CNA Financial, a property insurance company, later paid $18 million to settle the resultant lawsuit. All of the building's windows were replaced in an expensive retrofit.
Lighted window messages
Utilizing a combination of lights on/off and 1,600 window blinds open/closed (and sometimes foamboard cutouts), the windows on CNA Center are often used to display lighted window messages, typically denoting holidays, remembrances, and other events denoting Chicago civic pride, such as when the Blackhawks played in and won the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. A computer program is used to calculate which windows need to be activated to create the proper message.