Old Chicago Main Post Office facts for kids
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The Old Chicago Main Post Office is a large, nine-story building in downtown Chicago. It was first built in 1921. The building was made much bigger in 1932. This was to handle the huge amount of mail in Chicago. Many mail-order companies, like Montgomery Ward and Sears, sent their packages from here.
After being empty for almost 20 years, an English developer named Bill Davies bought the building in 2014. He had big plans for it, but they never happened. In 2016, the building was sold again.
A real estate company called 601W bought the building. They did a lot of work to fix it up. In October 2019, it opened for office businesses. Many big companies now have offices there. Uber signed a long lease for a large space. Walgreens also moved in, bringing 1,800 employees. PepsiCo and the Ferrara Candy Company also moved their offices to this historic building. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago is also a tenant.
History of the Old Chicago Post Office
The first part of the building, built in 1922, was a brick mail center. It was located next to the main building. In 1932, the building was made much larger. It grew to have nine floors and more than 2.5 million square feet of space.
The building was designed with a special opening. This opening was for the Ida B. Wells Drive (then Congress Parkway) to pass through. This was a clever way to allow the road to continue. Chicago became known as the "nation's mail-order capital." This was because of big companies like Montgomery Ward and Sears.
In 1966, the Main Chicago Post Office had a big problem. About 10 million pieces of mail got stuck for almost a week! Because of this, a new, modern post office was built. The old building was finally emptied in 1997. In 2001, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important historical site.
In 2009, the old post office building was put up for auction. It sold for $40 million, much more than its starting price. Bill Davies, a developer from England, bought it. He paid about $17 million for the building.
Plans for a New Future (2011-2014)
After buying the building, Bill Davies shared a big plan in 2011. He wanted to turn the old Post Office into a huge new complex. This plan included renovating the building itself. It also proposed building new homes, shops, entertainment areas, and offices.
The most exciting part of the plan was to build several tall towers. One idea was for a 120-story skyscraper. It would have been about 2,000 feet tall. This would have made it the tallest building in the United States at the time. It would have been much taller than the Willis Tower. The plan also included two 60-story apartment buildings and a 40-story hotel.
All these new buildings would have been connected. They would have had a ground-level area built over the Chicago River and the Eisenhower Expressway. The whole project was expected to cost $3.5 billion. It could have created 12,000 jobs.
However, some people thought the plan was too old-fashioned. They also felt it was not realistic. The city approved the plan in 2013. But Bill Davies could not find enough money to build it. In December 2014, he stopped the project and put the building up for sale again.
The Building Today: New Life and Businesses
In 2016, Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, wanted the building to be developed. He even said the city might take it over if nothing happened. Soon after, it was announced that Bill Davies had been talking to a New York real estate company called 601W. This company already owned other big buildings in Chicago.
On May 13, 2016, the sale from Davies to 601W was completed. Bill Davies passed away the very next day. It was a very close timing to the sale.
601W started a $500 million renovation project. They planned to turn the space into modern offices. They also added a rooftop park and a riverwalk along the river.
In September 2019, Uber Freight announced it would have its main office there. This created 2,000 new jobs. Many other companies have also moved into the Old Chicago Main Post Office. It is now a busy and important part of Chicago's downtown area once again.
