Great pic Solarwind. Hard to believe that the building just to the left of AON, Pru 1, once dominated the Chicago lakefront skyline. Today it is just another 600+ footer!
When it was the Standard Oil Building and covered
in 43,000 slabs of brilliantly white Carrara marble imported from Italy.
(tallest marble-clad building in the world).
The building was refaced with granite in 1990-1992.
I've got some articles somewhere describing that structural skin graft. Unfortunately it had to be done, the marble had deteriorated so badly. It just doesn't hold up well against our cold climate.
Poor Aon :_(
__________________
"Build me to the heavens, and Life never stops"
"Live as if the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be"
-Angel
"Prayers are fleeting and wars are forgotten, but what is built endures"
-Ambassador DeLenn, Babylon 5
This morning at 8am they helicopter-lifted a new antenna that now sticks out about 50' or so above the existing antenna array atop Aon Center. . . doesn't look bad I guess, but it's certainly noticeable. . .
__________________ Tom in Chicago
. . . Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky.
Last edited by Tom In Chicago; Jul 12, 2009 at 1:10 AM.
I love this building at night. Whenever I look at Chicago's skyline, it's the first thing I see. Looks very romantic. Very recognizable and visible.
Another thing I like about this building is how it changes it's look at some angles.
The name doesn't match the building, however.
The name is too cool for this building.