Riverside Plaza (Chicago) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Riverside Plaza |
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| General information | |
| Location | 2 N. Riverside Plaza, Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°52′57″N 87°38′21″W / 41.882548°N 87.639220°W |
| Completed | 1929 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 302 feet (92 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 26 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Holabird & Roche/Holabird & Root |
| Developer | Chicago Daily News |
The Riverside Plaza is a famous building in Chicago. It's known for its cool Art Deco style. Art Deco is a design style from the 1920s and 1930s. It uses bold shapes, geometric patterns, and rich colors. When it was built in 1929, the building was called the Chicago Daily News Building. The Daily News was a very popular newspaper back then. This 26-story building helped make the Chicago River area much nicer. It also brought new ideas in building design and city planning.
Contents
The Story of Riverside Plaza
A New Look for the River
Before this building, the area along the Chicago River was mostly industrial. The river itself was not very clean. The Riverside Plaza was the first building to make the riverfront look beautiful. It also helped the area become a place for businesses. It was the first tall building in America with an open-air plaza. This plaza was a public space right outside the building.
Building a Newspaper Home
In 1925, a man named Walter A. Strong bought the Chicago Daily News newspaper. He wanted to build a new, modern home for the newspaper. The newspaper already owned some land by the river. But Strong thought it was too small.
Instead, he bought the rights to build over railroad tracks. These tracks ran along the west side of the river. It took a year and a half to get everyone to agree to this plan. Once the deal was done, Strong sold the old land. He sold it to Samuel Insull, who was a powerful businessman. Insull agreed to build a new home for the Opera there.
Designing a Landmark
Strong hired the architects Holabird & Root to design the new building. He wanted a modern building for 2,000 Daily News employees. It also needed space for his radio station, WMAQ. The building's bold design and Art Deco look were very striking. Many people thought it was a challenge to the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune newspaper had its own large, fancy building.
Inside, the Riverside Plaza had a beautiful mural by John W. Norton. A mural is a large painting on a wall. This mural had strong diagonal lines. It showed three parts of making a newspaper: Gathering the News, Printing the News, and Transporting the News. This mural was later removed in 1993.
Outside, the building had special carvings called bas-reliefs. These carvings showed important journalists like Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Pulitzer. There was also a fountain honoring Victor Lawson. He was the previous owner of the Daily News.
A Grand Opening
The Chicago Daily News Building was finished in June 1929. It cost $8 million to build. That was a lot of money back then! During the opening ceremony, President Herbert Hoover pressed a button. This button started the newspaper presses. The Daily News newspaper stopped publishing in 1978.
Even though the building is now called Riverside Plaza, it's still famous. Experts say it's one of Chicago's best examples of Art Deco style. It was also a groundbreaking work in engineering and city design.
Today's Use
Today, a ramped walkway goes through the south side of the building. This walkway is the main entrance to the Ogilvie Transportation Center. The transportation center is inside the Citigroup Center. This walkway used to be the main lobby of the building. Back then, it was a flat floor, not a ramp.
