300 West Adams Building

The 300 West Adams Building (also 300 West Adams Street) is an office building in the West Loop area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The twelve-story building was designed in the Gothic Revival architectural style, with architectural terracotta cladding. Built in the 1920s, the building was developed as part of the outward expansion of Chicago's business district from its historic core into former warehouse districts along the Chicago River.[3]

300 West Adams Building
US-IL-Chicago-CA06.svg
Building from North East corner
300 West Adams Building is located in Central Chicago
300 West Adams Building
Location within Central Chicago
300 West Adams Building is located in Illinois
300 West Adams Building
300 West Adams Building (Illinois)
300 West Adams Building is located in the United States
300 West Adams Building
300 West Adams Building (the United States)
General information
Architectural styleGothic Revival
LocationChicago Loop, Illinois
CountryUnited States
Coordinates41°52′47″N 87°38′09″W / 41.87972°N 87.63583°W / 41.87972; -87.63583
Completed1927
OwnerAlliance HSP
LandlordAdams Management LLC, Stone Real Estate Corp
Technical details
Floor count12
Design and construction
Architect(s)Jens J. Jensen
Main contractorMcLennan Construction Company
Website
http://www.300adams.com/#
References
[1][2]

Early history

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Before the Chicago Fire, the area directly along the river was predominantly commercial warehouses. In April 1879, one such warehouse was constructed at the northwest corner of Adams Street and Franklin Street on the site of today's 300 West Adams. Originally it was built for the Armour-Dole Grain Company. Later the building was converted into a wholesale store for Carson Pirie Scott and Company. By 1905, the warehouse was surrounded by similar structures.

As commercial real estate pressure increased, the area saw a trend of redevelopment. With the completion of Union Station in 1925, Carson Pirie Scott began plans to create office space in place of their warehouse. In January 1926, Carson Piri Scott announced that their wholesale building at Adams and Franklin would be remodeled into a "High class office building," while retaining its six-story height. Only a few months later, the plan was revised to include the demolition of the existing structure and its replacement with an entirely new twelve-story office building.

Before ground had broken on the site, substantial space had already been leased to the U.S. Gypsum Co.; the R.G. Dun & Co.; the Transportation Freight Bureau, and the General Chemical Co.

The McLennan Construction company was the general contractor, and the building was completed by April 1, 1927.

References

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  1. ^ "300 West Adams". Emporis. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "300 West Adams". Chicago Architecture Info. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Mosena, David; Baird, John; Ellin, Phyllis; Raguso, Chris; Reed, Christopher; Scudiero, Patricia; Torrez, Edward; Weese, Ben; Wong, Ernest (February 2009). LANDMARK DESIGNATION REPORT 300 West Adams Street Office Building (PDF). COMMISSION ON CHICAGO LANDMARKS. p. 3.