The Richard J. Daley Center, also known by its open courtyard Daley Plaza and named after longtime

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Richard J. Daley, is the premier

civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

of the city 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 ...

. The Center's modernist skyscraper primarily houses offices and courtrooms for the Cook County Circuit Courts,

Cook County State's Attorney The Cook County State's Attorney is the District attorney, chief prosecutor for Cook County, Illinois. The State's Attorney oversees the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States, with over 600 attorneys and 1,200 employees. The off ...

and additional office space for the City and the County. It is adjacent to the neoclassical City Hall-County Building, also on the plaza. The open granite-paved plaza used for gatherings, protests, and events is also the site of the Chicago Picasso, a gift to the city from the artist. Situated on

Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...

and Washington Street between Dearborn Street and Clark Street, the Richard J. Daley Center, with its "majestic" interior spaces, is considered a significant example of modernist

Chicago architecture The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (an exception being t ...

. The main building was designed in the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

of the Second Chicago School by Jacques Brownson of the firm C. F. Murphy Associates as supervising architects, with

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer ...

and Loebl, Schlossman, Bennett & Dart as associated architects, and was completed in 1965. At the time it was the tallest building in Chicago, but only held this title for four years until the

John Hancock Center 875 North Michigan Avenue (officially known until 2018 as the John Hancock Center and still commonly referred to under that name) is a 100- story, supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the ...

was completed. Originally known as the Chicago Civic Center, the building was renamed for Mayor Daley on December 27, 1976, seven days after his death in office. The , thirty-one story building features

Cor-Ten Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys that form a stable external layer of rust that eliminates the need for painti ...

, a self-weathering steel. Cor-Ten was designed to

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...

, actually strengthening the structure and giving the building its distinctive red and brown color. The Daley Center has 30 floors above its double height lobby, and is the tallest flat-roofed building in the world with fewer than 40 stories (a typical building, the height of Daley Center, would have 50–60 stories).

Building features

The Richard J. Daley Center houses more than 120 court and hearing rooms as well as the Cook County Law Library, offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and certain court-related divisions of the

Sheriff's Department Sheriffs in the United States are the chief of law enforcement officers of a county. A sheriff is usually either elected by the populace or appointed by an elected body. Sheriffs' offices are typically tasked with operating jails, security at ...

. The building also houses office space for both the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

, of which the City of Chicago is its seat of government. The windows are cor-ten steel and bronze/white tinted.

Daley Plaza

Daley Plaza is the courtyard adjacent to the building, occupying the southern half of the block occupied by the building. The plaza is dominated by an untitled

Cor-ten Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys that form a stable external layer of rust that eliminates the need for painti ...

steel sculpture by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

(usually called "The Picasso"). Completed in 1967, it was a gift to the City of Chicago from the artist. Though controversial for its abstract form, it quickly became a Chicago landmark. The plaza also features an in-ground fountain and an eternal flame memorial to the dead from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The plaza serves as a location for many civic functions including the city's longest running weekly farmers' market held on Thursdays from May through October, regular ethnic festivals, and the meeting place for Chicago's

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, critical mass is the minimum mass of the fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction in a particular setup. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specific ...

ride. The plaza was used extensively in the climactic scenes of the 1980 film ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

''. The interior of the building, as well as the plaza, the Picasso, and the neighboring

James R. Thompson Center The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), under reconstruction as Google Center or Googleplex Chicago and originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in ...

are also featured in the 1993 film '' The Fugitive'' and in 2006's '' The Lake House''. The plaza also was used in 2006’s Stranger than Fiction. While filming the movie ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...

'', instead of using the

Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading v ...

as the location for the headquarters of

Wayne Enterprises Wayne Enterprises, also known as Wayne Corporation, Waynecorp, Wayne Industries, Wayne Technologies and Waynetech, is a fictional company appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batm ...

as in ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'', film director

Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...

used the Richard J. Daley Center. Farhad Khoiee-Abbasi, a public protester, is a frequent fixture at the southwest corner of the plaza, near City Hall. Khoiee-Abbasi has been photographed here many times, with his well-dressed appearance, his odd signs, and his general refusal to speak or acknowledge those around him making him a minor celebrity. Image:20080524 Daley - Casey Pledge of Allegiance.jpg,

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...

Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. and

Chicago Mayor The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and ...

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

recite the

Pledge of Allegiance The U.S Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army o ...

during May 24, 2008

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

wreath-laying ceremony at Daley Plaza. File:Daleyplazaredwater.jpg, The water in the Daley Plaza fountain was dyed team red in honor of the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup run in 2010. File:Cristkindlmarket Chicago 2014.webm, Christkindlmarket, in 2014. The traditional German market is held in Daley Plaza in December Image:Daley Plaza 060716.jpg, Richard J. Daley Center and Daley Plaza is Chicago's premier civic center and features a massive sculpture by

. The modernist skyscraper courthouse is behind the sculpture and to the left is City Hall-County Building Image:Daleyplazanight.jpg, A view of the plaza at night.

Adjacent buildings

Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Plaza is the landmark City Hall-County Building. Declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, it houses offices for the

Mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of city Government of Chicago, government in Chicago, Illinois, the List of United States cities by population, third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsib ...

, alderpersons of Chicago's various wards, and chambers for 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 ...

. Directly south of the Daley Center is the Cook County Administration Building which is full of office space for County employees.

Block 37 108 North State Street, often referred to as Block 37, is a shopping mall and development situated in the Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. This site is defined by the square block bordered by West Randolph Street, North State Stree ...

containing 108 North State Street is to the east.

Position in skyline

References

External links