The Pittsfield Building is a 38-story

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

located at 55 E. Washington Street in the Loop community area of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States, that was the city's tallest building at the time of its completion. The building was designated as a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...

on November 6, 2002.

History

The property was developed by heirs of

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...

, and is named after

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

, where Marshall Field obtained his first job. While it is located in the Jewelers' Row Landmark District, the original design and occupancy was for medical & dental professionals, including offices, laboratories, and medical supplies. The nearby Burnham Center, at the intersection of Clark Street and Washington Street, was originally named the Conway Building after

Conway, Massachusetts Conway is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,761 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History English colonists first settled Conway in 1 ...

—the birthplace of Marshall Field. Marshall Field III presented the property as a gift to the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

in honor of the museum's 50th anniversary in 1944. The museum held the property until September 1960 when the museum sold it. In 2000, Florida-based Morgan Reed Group acquired the entire building for $15 million. During that period, the building was used mostly by doctors, dentists and jewelers. In 2008, the

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...

-based Alter Group bought floors 13 through 21 and converted it into a student dormitory known as Fornelli Tower, which was attached to

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

and

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the American Revolution". It enr ...

. Morgan Reed retained ownership of the remaining 30 stories and began exploring redevelopment options around the same time. In 2012, Morgan Reed placed the lower floors for sale.

Redevelopment plans

The Chicago government gave Chicago Hotel Partners the right to construct a hotel in the building in June 2015. Morgan Reed and Alter separately agreed to sell their respective sections of the building to Adam David Lynd, who wanted to develop a hotel there, but the deals fell through. Lynd sued both Morgan Reed, for misrepresenting whether the building could be converted to hotel use, and Alter, for misrepresenting the size of its ownership stake. The next year, the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

rezoned the site to prevent it from being used as a hotel; subsequently, Chicago Hotel Partners sued its own law firm, which had advocated for the rezoning. In April 2017, Akara Partners offered to pay $16 million for Morgan Reed's section of the building, allowing these floors to potentially be converted to apartments. The next month, New York-based firm Pioneer Acquisitions bid $16.5 million for the building. Morgan Reed filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 and alleged in a lawsuit that the city of Chicago had illegally downzoned the property. A

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businessman, Xiao Hua "Edward" Gong, acquired Morgan Reed's portion in a bankruptcy auction, paying $20.8 million that June. Gong's assets were frozen later that year due to criminal securities fraud charges in Canada, and a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and perso ...

was placed on the building to prevent it from being redeveloped. A 2019 lawsuit by Marc Realty, which controlled floors 13–21, alleged that an investor called Andiamo One had subleased rooms to Pangea, which had illegally rented them out as hotel rooms. In the meantime, the Pittsfield Building began to decay, and scaffolding was placed around the building in 2020 after pieces of the facade began to fall off. The restraining order was lifted in February 2021; the building was in

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

at the time, and its receiver Courtney Jones sued Gong to recover unpaid bills of $5 million. Gong attempted to block a foreclosure sale in 2023 but ultimately dropped the case. The investor Tom Liravongsa of

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, acquired Gong's 30-story ownership stake in April 2023. In 2025, Liravongsa announced plans to convert his portion of the building into 214 residences, documenting his renovations on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. At the time, Marc Realty had already converted floors 13–21 into 177 apartments. Morgan Reed sued the city the same year, claiming that the city council's decision to ban hotel uses from the Pittsfield Building was a violation of the

Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fifth Amendment (Amendment V) to the United States Constitution creates several constitutional rights, limiting governmental powers focusing on United States constitutional criminal procedure, criminal procedures. It was ratified, along with ...

and that the building's value had decreased significantly as a result. Morgan Reed's attorneys alleged that several potential buyers had withdrawn their bids for the building after it was rezoned, but city officials claimed that the ban on hotel uses did not preclude the building from being redeveloped for some other purpose.

Architecture

Graham, Anderson, Probst and White Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (GAP&W) was a Chicago architectural firm that was founded in 1912 as Graham, Burnham & Co. This firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. through Daniel Burnham's surviving partner, Ernest R. Graham, and Burnh ...

, the structure combines both

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and Gothic detailing, while complying with a 1923 zoning ordinance which mandated skyscrapers setbacks. The interior of the building features a five-story atrium, lined by balconies and shops, that is detailed with glowing marbles, gleaming brass and Spanish Gothic style carvings.

Gallery

Position in Chicago's skyline

References