CLEVELAND | Progressive Corporation HQ | 850 FT+ / 259 M+ | 60+ FLOORS | NEVER BUILT

[MayDay]

Information and photos from http://www.clevelandskyscrapers.com/...unbuilt08.html, All rights reserved.

Getting the information for this tower took some time and effort but it was well worth it. It all started as a simple email to Progressive CEO Peter B. Lewis (his address was posted in a local blog about four years ago). I didn't hear anything for a while and then I got an email from his spokeswoman (Jennifer Frutchy) to contact Gehry Partners LLP, using her as a referral. I'm glad she did - Keith Mendenhall and Laura Stella at Gehry Partners couldn't have been more helpful - they sent a great photo of the model along with a detailed description of the components/schematics of the tower. Until it appeared on my site, the photo was never available online to the public.

This tower was proposed in the late 1980s for a site in downtown Cleveland just northwest of City Hall and southwest of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The tower was to be the headquarters for the Progressive Corporation (aka Progressive Insurance) - Progressive CEO Peter B. Lewis befriended Frank Gehry, and in addition to this tower, had asked Gehry to design his personal residence (which also was not constructed) http://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition.../lewis_12.html

Aside from its unorthodox design, the tower created a stir among civic leaders concerned with an 850' tower looming over City Hall and the historic Burnham Mall. Eventually the board of directors at Progressive chose not to build the tower, and instead built an office campus near I-271 in suburban Mayfield Village. The official statement is that "the decision to not build the tower was a business decision made by the Board of Directors when Al Lerner was chairman".

Image and project description courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP. Special thanks to Jennifer Frutchy, Peter B. Lewis, Keith Mendenhall, and Laura Stella.

..............


Occupying a site as the northern end of Cleveland's historic Burnham Mall, the corporate headquarters building would have been erected within the space provided by air rights over the existing railroad tracks, separating the Mall from Lake Erie. The master plan called for the end of the Burnham Mall to be flanked by the Progressive Corporation tower and a high rise hotel, creating a gateway to the city and mirroring the positioning of City Hall and the County building. The project would have brought together under one roof the majority of Progressive Corporation, an innovative and rapidly expanding insurance company currently housed in a number of buildings throughout the suburbs. In addition to the one million square feet of office space in the high rise configuration, the project would have included an art museum, a creativity center, a health club and a research center.

The visual mass of the office tower was broken down into two contiguous vertical elements clad with metal and stone, respectively. Executive and mechanical penthouses, and a restaurant were articulated at the top of the building by changes in both form and material. The art museum, with its scholars' library and auditorium, was to be located to one side of the health club, training center and cafeteria were to inhabit a structure separated from the tower to preserve views from City Hall to the Lake.

The 100-foot walkway from the Mall to the Lakefront was to be designed by Donald Judd. Richard Serra was to craft a sculpture on the deck of the parking garage, the first installation of a proposed art park. Claes Oldenberg's carpenter's C-Clamp sculpture was to appear to hold down a part of the health club and an oversized newspaper perched atop the tower was to create an unusual sky landmark.

CLIENT: Progressive Insurance Company
AREA: 1,000,000 sq. ft. (approximately)
SCHEDULE: Begin Design: 1987 (not scheduled for completion at present)
COSTS: N/A
PROJECT TEAM: Frank O. Gehry - Design Principal;David Denton - Project Principal; Bruce Biesman-Simons - Project Architect; C. Gregory Walsh - Project Designer; Eileen Yankowski - Project Team; Susan Narduli; Andrew Alper; CJ Bonura
ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT: van Dijk, Johnson & Partners
AWARDS: 1991 LA/AIA Honor Award
.................

[Ayreonaut]

Can't say that I like the design, but good work digging up the info and picture nonetheless.

[M II A II R II K]

Certainly one of the most unique designs I've ever seen.

[Jibba]

You know, not being an architect leaves me sort of puzzled when I try to make a judgment about a building such as this. I say this because there are definitely aesthetic sensibilities in my life that have been influenced by my education in a relevant subject, and considering I have no formal education in architecture, I cannot say whether or not said education would have a substantial impact on how I feel about this building. However, for me, the bottom line concerning this structure is this: I don't care for it, I find the architectural "odds and ends" that are haphazardously thrown about it to be completely useless and silly, and I am glad that this was never built anywhere in Cleveland let alone the entire world. I think it is hideous, and Cleveland should be glad that this pile was never thrown onto their great skyline like a piece of trash littered on the ground. That was a bit much to say, but I really have a passionate dislike for this "thing." Maybe those more educated than I have some type of appreciation for this building that I can't grasp, but I am not finding that very likely. I could possibly interpret this design as trying to achieve some sort of "architectural surrealism," but I like my skyscrapers as real as can be, thank you.

Edit: Nice work, MayDay, on bringing this design into the view of that wonderful public sphere known as Skyscraperpage (and the Internet for that matter). I now understand why they were so reluctant to show it off more.

[Lecom]

Something tells me it would've looked interesting, and perhaps even appealing, in person, though the model pics definitely make it look hideous.

[Rizzo]

Not a huge fan of Gehry, but the massing looks nice, and so does the base. Not sure about all that stuff hanging off of it though.