77 West Wacker Drive, previously the United Building, is an American office building in the

Loop, Chicago The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

. Finished in 1992, the building rises to a height of 668 ft (204 m) with around of interior space.Prime Group Realty Trust Extends Major Tenant Lease At 77 West Wacker Drive.
''

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

''. March 10, 2004. Retrieved on November 11, 2009. The building, with 50 floors, was designed by

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) is a architecture firm that was founded in 1963 by Ricardo Bofill, initially as Taller de Arquitectura ("Architecture Workshop" in Spanish). It is headquartered in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, i ...

.Prime Group Realty Trust Announces Two Lease Transactions at 77 West Wacker Drive.
''

''. October 19, 2006. Retrieved on November 12, 2009. It was formerly known as the RR Donnelley Building when RR Donnelley was the primary tenant. RR Donnelley moved its corporate

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

to a different location in May 2005, and in 2007 the building became the corporate headquarters of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. The deal included

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...

to the building. The building was the world headquarters of Chicago-based United Airlines and its parent company,

United Continental Holdings United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc., UAL Corporation, Allegis Corporation and founded originally as UAL, Inc.) is a publicly traded airline holding company headquartered in the Willis Tower in Chi ...

. It also served as the headquarters for United Continental subsidiary

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...

until its certificate was merged with United on November 30, 2011.Headquarters Location
."

. Retrieved on October 11, 2011. "Physical Address 77 W. Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 United States" In 2012, United moved its headquarters to the

Willis Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

, where the company occupies around 20 floors.

Archer Daniels Midland The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 plants and 4 ...

moved its headquarters to the building in August 2014 from

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in C ...

. The building has a newsletter called "FOCUS", published by Prime Group Realty Trust.

History

By 1990, Keck, Mahin & Cate, a then-prominent Chicago-based law firm, considered moving out of its space in the

Sears Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

and moving into a potential new development, which would become 77 West Wacker Drive. Brokers who were familiar with the lease negotiations stated that

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

was trying to keep Keck, Mahin & Cate in the building. Keck, Mahin & Cate decided to move into 77 West Wacker, and the Prime Group, developer of 77 West Wacker, finalized the development of the facility.
77 W. Wacker ready to go
" ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

''. March 12, 1990. Retrieved on November 12, 2009. In 1991, RR Donnelley leased on floors 9 through 19 for its world headquarters, and Kemper Securities leased . With the lease deals concluded, 77 West Wacker had 86% of its tenant space occupied. Jerry C. Davis of the ''

'' said that the remaining space would be too small for some prospective tenants. Davis added that the leases to RR Donnelley and Kemper significantly altered "the complexion of the downtown office market." Keck Mahin & Cate moved from the Sears Tower to 77 W. Wacker in mid-1992; the firm suffered a series of practice group defections and questionable management decisions, and ultimately ceased operation in 1997. In 2004, RR Donnelley signed a letter of intent to move out of 77 West Wacker. During the same year, McGuireWoods extended its lease by 8 years, changing the end date from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2018. In addition, McGuireWoods expanded its leased space, effective February 1, 2004. The company gained an extra of space in addition to its existing . As a result of the lease expansion of McGuireWoods, as of February 2004, 77 West Wacker was 92.2% leased. In 2004, the lease of the firm

Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm. As of 2021, it was the eighth largest law firm in the U.S. and the 13th highest grossing law firm in the world. Originally headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Jones Day ranks first in both M&A le ...

of in 77 West Wacker was extended by 15 years, with the end date changed from September 30, 2007 to September 30, 2022. In 2006,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

extended the term of its lease and expanded its leased space to , with a total of occupied by Microsoft. During the same year,

Greenberg Traurig Greenberg Traurig is a multinational law firm founded in Miami in 1967. As of 2022, the Greenberg Traurig is the 9th largest law firm in the United States. The firm has 43 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and ...

agreed to expand its lease by , giving it a total of . In 2006,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

agreed to move its 350 executives and some staff members from its

Elk Grove Township Elk Grove Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 92,905. Elk Grove Township formerly housed the United Airlines headquarters. Geography According to the United States Census B ...

campus to 77 West Wacker. On August 13, 2012, United Continental Holdings announced its intention to once again relocate its world headquarters. An agreement was reached for United Continental Holdings to lease an additional at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, joining the airline's operations center which leased an initial in 2010. The company vacated the majority of their offices at 77 W. Wacker with the naming future of the building left unknown.

Design

77 W. Wacker is one of the most prominent examples of

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

architecture in the city of Chicago. The facade consists of glass surfaces framed in Portuguese white granite, with the dividers between the different floors linked by columns. The top floor is shaped like a Greek

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

. The ground floor houses a atrium in gray and white marble. To enhance its panoramic view over the city, the building's skin is predominantly glazed. The interior is similarly styled. The

classical Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

style is repeated inside, with Thassos

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

walls and a 40 ft (12 m) tall coffered ceiling made of

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

wood. A

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

by Xavier Corberó called "Three Lawyers and A Judge" graces the building, as does

Antoni Tàpies Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tápies (; 13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012) was a Catalan People, Catalan painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation. Life The son of Jo ...

' artwork called "Big Eyelids". Bofill further contributed by creating a sculpture entitled "Twisted Columns" which appears to float above a reflecting pool. At night, 540 lamps light the building and its surroundings, along with a United sign that was added to the building in 2008. Steve Baron, president of Prime Group Realty, said in 1990 that 77 West Wacker had "very compact floors with virtually no columns." Therefore, tenant companies would not pay for space that they would be unable to use.

Transportation

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...

(CTA) bus lines serving the building include 22, 24, 29, 62, 124, 146 and 151. The closest

Chicago 'L' (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

stations are Clark/Lake, serving the Orange,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

Purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters ...

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

and

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

Lines, and the State/Lake station, which serves the Orange, Green, Purple, Pink and Brown Lines, with a connection to the Red Line at

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. The Metra Electric Line is the closest

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines ...

line.Transportation
." ''77 West Wacker Drive''. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.

Position in skyline

In this lakefront view from 2006, ''77 West Wacker'' is located between

Buckingham Fountain Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago Landmark in the center of Grant Park, between Queen's Landing and Ida B. Wells Drive. Dedicated in 1927 and donated to the city by philanthropist Kate S. Buckingham, it is one of the largest fountains in the wo ...

and the Pittsfield Building.

In popular culture

The building is featured prominently in '' The Negotiator'' (1998) where it serves as the location of offices for the Internal Affairs Division of the Chicago Police Department. The building was seen in the Bollywood movie ''

Dhoom 3 ''Dhoom 3'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Aditya Chopra, who co-wrote the story. It stars Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Uday Chopra, Jack ...

''.

References

External links

77 West Wacker Drive

Emporis listingPrime Group Realty Trust
{{Coord, 41, 53, 11.40, N, 87, 37, 49.90, W, display=title, type:landmark_region:US Office buildings completed in 1992 Ricardo Bofill buildings Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago United Airlines Continental Airlines Airline company headquarters in the United States Postmodern architecture in the United States Modernist architecture in Illinois Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certified buildings 1992 establishments in Illinois