Apple Michigan Avenue is a retail location of

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

, in the Near North Side, Chicago, United States. It is in the luxury shopping district of

Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile (sometimes locally abbreviated to the Mag Mile) is the approximately one-mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street (Chicago), Oak Street on the Near North Side ...

, adjacent to

Pioneer Plaza Pioneer Plaza is a large public park located in the Convention Center District, Dallas, Texas, Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, downtown Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Texas (United States, USA). It contains a large sculpture and is a heavi ...

. The store is considered one of several Apple flagship locations and the preeminent store for Apple in Chicago and the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. The store's first location was originally at 679 North Michigan Avenue. In 2017, it moved to its current location at 401 North Michigan Avenue.

History

Original location

The first incarnation of the store, known as Apple North Michigan Avenue, was located at 679 North Michigan Avenue. The store opened on ; it was Apple's first

flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

and the first Apple Store in Chicago. Its serial number was R035. The original , three-floor store featured a stone facade with an apple logo shaped window,

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

, skylight, and signature glass staircase. The store's final day of operation was . As of 2023, the location remained empty.

Construction

The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' discovered plans for the store's new location when it obtained a draft for the store from the Chicago Department of Planning and Development.

Opening

The store's new location opened on October 20, 2017. The opening was attended by

Tim Cook Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined ...

and Illinois Governor

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, venture capitalist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he had a decades-long career in inves ...

Modifications

The store faced several problems upon opening. Several challenges were related to the climate of Chicago. The store's glass exterior was frequently subject to condensation and frost. The HVAC system was modified to heat and cool the glass, matching the outdoor temperature and preventing the buildup of moisture. The store's sloped roof was also subject to ice formation which, due to temperature fluctuations, made falling ice likely. The outdoor area beneath the roof was closed until the problem was addressed by a

software update A patch is data that is intended to be used to modify an existing software resource such as a program or a file, often to fix bugs and security vulnerabilities. A patch may be created to improve functionality, usability, or performance. A pa ...

to the roof's heating system.

Design

The building was designed by London-based architecture firm

Foster + Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the design ...

Lighting

As part of Apple's goal for the store's interior to blend in with its surroundings, architects were tasked with matching the Apple Store's indoor lighting with the natural lighting coming from outside. As a result, the store uses a proprietary lighting system that predicts outdoor lighting conditions and dynamically adjusts the brightness and hue of the store's lighting to match it.

Reception

The roof was likened to a

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of Mac (computer), Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc., Apple since 2008. It features a thin, light structure in a machining, machined aluminum case and currently either a 13-inch or 15-inch ...

, but this is not an intentional effect. ''

'' architecture critic

Blair Kamin Blair Kamin was the architecture critic of the ''Chicago Tribune'', for 28 years from 1992 to 2021. Kamin has held other jobs at the Tribune and previously worked for ''The Des Moines Register''. He also serves as a contributing editor of ''Archit ...

praised the stores openness, noting how little space is dedicated to actual product, and stated that the store kept with the local tradition of private riverfront buildings providing public space, which dated back to the ''Chicago Daily News'' Building.

External Links

References

{{Chicago Apple Inc. buildings and structures Retail buildings in Illinois Commercial buildings in Chicago Commercial buildings completed in 2017 2017 establishments in Illinois