WIN: Final Landmark Status Approved for Chicago Daily News Building (Chicago 7 2008)

Preservation Chicago
By Preservation Chicago
0
0
Chicago Daily News Building, 1929, Holabird & Root, 2 North Riverside Plaza, a 2008 Chicago 7 Most Endangered. Photo credit: LoopNet
Chicago Daily News Building, 1929, Holabird & Root, 2 North Riverside Plaza, a 2008 Chicago 7 Most Endangered. Image credit: Preservation Chicago Postcard Collection
Chicago Daily News Building, 1929, Holabird & Root, 2 North Riverside Plaza, a 2008 Chicago 7 Most Endangered. Image credit: Preservation Chicago Postcard Collection

“In the 1930s, a limestone tower rising over the Chicago River was on the cutting edge of offices, becoming the city’s first major building constructed over active railroad tracks. Nearly a century later, the art deco landmark at 2 N. Riverside Plaza is again a symbol of change.

“This time, the building is a test case for how aging office structures across the United States might find new relevance in a weakened leasing market. It’s pairing historic preservation with decidedly 21st‑century draws — including a bowling alley, live music, guitar lessons and a farmers market — aimed at luring workers back into the office.

“After 50 years under one owner, the former home of the Chicago Daily News is being repositioned by new landlords betting that preservation, public space and the unexpected amenities can help extend the life of legacy office towers as hybrid work upends downtown demand.

“Blue Star Properties has begun renovating the 26‑story structure in an effort that reflects a broader push by office owners nationwide to make older buildings feel less like pass‑through workplaces and more like destinations.

“The building last sold in 1975, when it was bought by late billionaire Sam Zell, and changed hands again last year at a price reflecting broader distress across the office sector. Craig Golden’s firm and fellow Chicago investor Wolcott Group paid just over $25 million for the tower last July. Their goal now is to honor the property’s roots while retooling it for a second century of use.

“Alongside the ornate grillwork, marble‑clad walls and decorative elevator doors, Blue Star plans to introduce amenities more commonly associated with lifestyle developments and hospitality venues than historic office stock. Golden is also working to secure Chicago landmark status for the building, a move that would end decades of uncertainty and permanently protect it from demolition — an option Zell once explored, along with adding another tower on the adjacent riverfront plaza.

“‘We’re trying to modernize something while paying respect and giving a nod to what the original builders built,’ Golden told CoStar News.

“For tenants, changes will be focused on creating a broader community within the building where tenants can socialize, learn to play guitar, bowl a few frames on an upcoming four-lane alley or buy produce at a farmers market.

“Designed by noted architecture firm Holabird & Root and completed in 1929, the building is known as the first in Chicago built over railroad tracks, with innovative features such as a special venting system for railroad locomotive exhaust, according to a city report submitted to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. The public plaza has the distinction of being the first privately developed open space in the city and one of the first nationally, according to the report.

“‘It’s good for the tenants, good for us,’ Golden said. ‘The prior owner didn’t want to landmark it because they had entertained tearing it down. I love this type of buildings because they really express who Chicago is, and I’m not that ambitious to build a skyscraper.'(Ori, CoStar News, 5/11/25)

“The former Chicago Daily News Building is among the city’s best examples of Art Deco architecture, a big beautiful sculpted slab of limestone that has been a superlative study in detail, material, function and form for almost 100 years. The building is a city landmark in every sense of the word.

“The historic Daily News Building is not a protected city landmark. That means it — along with its remarkable river edge plaza and its still-intact Art Deco lobby — are not safe from being razed and replaced.

“But if demolition seems improbable, think again. Zell himself also wanted to replace the Daily News Building with a new tower back in 2000 until Mayor Richard M. Daley put the kibosh on the plan. Zell came back in 2008 with a bid to shoehorn a new skyscraper next to the historic building, obliterating that marvelous and historic plaza.

“The groups Preservation Chicago and Landmarks Illinois have pushed for landmark designation for the Daily News Building since 2008. (Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/29/24)

“The piece in question is the monumental mural about the gathering, printing and delivery of the news that once adorned the vaulted ceiling of the concourse in the old Chicago Daily News Building at 400 W. Madison St. Its crisscrossing geometric forms perfectly captured the energy of Chicago’s Front Page newspaper era in the Roaring ’20s.

“For 64 years, following the completion of the Daily News Building in 1929, the 180-foot-long by 18-foot-wide canvas delighted discerning commuters who craned their necks to see it as they passed through the concourse on the way into and out of the Chicago & Northwestern railway station.

“Then, in the fall of 1993, after a panel of the mural had come loose because of a leaky roof, the entire canvas was stripped off the ceiling and taken to a Milwaukee-area company, Conrad Schmitt Studios Inc., that restores the interiors of historic buildings. Several art restorers and conservators objected, saying the Schmitt firm lacked experience in renovating historic murals and that the mural should have been kept in place because removal typically causes additional damage.

“But Sam Zell, who controls a partnership that owns the old Daily News Building (now known as Two North Riverside Plaza), defended the move. ‘We hired [the Schmitt firm] to restore it, and we want them to put it back up into the building,’ he told Tribune reporter William Mullen. ‘We think it’s a treasure and a very valuable part of the building.’

“Here’s what happened (or, more accurately, what hasn’t happened ) since then: The Milwaukee-area firm never restored the mural, reportedly because Zell’s firm considered its bid too high. The artwork sits in a Near Northwest Side art storage warehouse. It’s been nearly 11 years since the mural was removed. [written in 2004]

“Obviously, the mural should go back where it was. But what kind of shape is it in? And how much would it cost to restore it?” (Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 8/15/04)

Ward Miller has been in active communication with Blue Star Properties to encourage historic preservation, Chicago Landmark Designation, and a returning the monumental ceiling murals “Gathering the News,” “Printing the News,” and “Transporting the News” by John Warner Norton. Blue Star Properties was open to the conversation and interested in learning more about the history and significance of the Chicago Daily News Building.

Preservation Chicago has formally suggested Chicago Landmark Designation for the Chicago Daily News Building to the City of Chicago Landmark Commission on May 16, 2025. This is non-binding, but also an important first step towards an eventual Chicago Landmark Designation.

Read the full story at CoStar News and Chicago Sun-Times

ADVOCACYWinsMonth-in-Review NewsletterApril 2026 Newsletter
Previous article
PETITION: Save the Pope’s Church!
Next article
WIN: After 34 Years, Preservation Chicago Finds Missing Mural Daily News Building! (Chicago 7 2008)