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Cook County Administration Building
Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The George W. Dunne Cook County Administration Building (formerly known as the Brunswick Building) is a skyscraper located at 69 West Washington Street in Chicago, Illinois. The building, constructed between the years 1962 and 1964, is 475 ft (144.8 m) tall, and contains 35 floors. It has a concrete structure. The building, engineered by Fazlur Khan of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is notable for innovating the tube-within-a-tube structural system.

Originally built as a headquarters office for the Brunswick Corporation, the tower was later acquired by the Cook County government and now holds county government offices and courtrooms. Officially the "George W. Dunne Cook County Administration Building", its namesake is George W. Dunne (who served as president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners).

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Design and construction

The building, was constructed between the years 1962 and 1964, and utilizes a concrete structure.8 At the time of its construction, it was Chicago's tallest concrete office building.9 The building is designed with an exposed structure and adheres to the modernist architecture style.10 The building utilizes a deep foundation system.11

This was the first building to utilize the shear wall frame interaction system conceptualized by its engineer, Fazlur Khan of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.12 Kahn adapted the tube system he had innovated with the design of The Plaza on DeWitt by creating a tube-within-a-tube, with both the building's core and its perimeter being hollow and rigid tubes that support the tower, allowing for column-free interior space.13

At its lower portion, the façade of the tower juts back slightly in a curve.14

The building is connected to the Chicago Pedway system, with the Pedway featuring retail spaces in the area where it passes beneath the tower.15 An underground Chicago Pedway passage connects the building to the Richard J. Daley Center across the street.16

The building has a small plaza featuring an untitled sculpture by Joan Miró.17

Fire

On October 17, 2003, a structural fire occurred on the 12th floor of the building.181920 The fire was started in a supply room21 by a faulty light fixture and resulted in the deaths of six people.2223 The City of Chicago, in addition to several other defendants, paid $100 million to the families of the six victims after litigation,24 citing multiple failures.

In media

In the film National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the building is shown in establishing shots as Clark Griswold's workplace as a chemical engineer at a food company.25

41°52′59″N 87°37′48″W / 41.88306°N 87.63000°W / 41.88306; -87.63000

References

  1. "Cook County Administration Building - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/cook-county-administration-building/9866 ↩

  2. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  3. "Cook County Administration Building - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/cook-county-administration-building/9866 ↩

  4. "Cook County Administration Building - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/cook-county-administration-building/9866 ↩

  5. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  6. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  7. "George W. Dunne Cook County Administration Building | Circuit Court of Cook County". Cook County Court. Retrieved 22 December 2024. https://www.cookcountycourt.org/location/george-w-dunne-cook-county-administration-building ↩

  8. "Cook County Administration Building - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/cook-county-administration-building/9866 ↩

  9. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  10. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  11. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  12. "Major Works - Fazlur Khan - Structural Artist of Urban Building Forms". Khan.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150522035020/http://khan.princeton.edu/works.html ↩

  13. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  14. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  15. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  16. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  17. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20150514045552/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/116843/cook-county-administration-building-chicago-il-usa ↩

  18. "Fire". https://abc7chicago.com/archive/9290140/ ↩

  19. "govinfo". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-07. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-C13-d360a153ac77039c281e20b2a2716b7a ↩

  20. "14 Years After 69 West Washington—Fire Reforms Are Still Incomplete". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-07. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/cook-county-admin-building-fire-reform/31748/ ↩

  21. Institute, Fire Service. "LibGuides: Significant Illinois Fires: Cook County Administration Building Fire". guides.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-07. https://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=416856&p=2842528 ↩

  22. Mickey Ciokajlo; Sabrina L. Miller; Robert Becker; John Chase; Grace Aduroja; Manya Brachear. "6 die in Loop blaze". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-07. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2003-10-18-0310180243-story.html ↩

  23. Davey, Monica (2003-10-19). "Smoke and Panic on Stairs In Chicago High-Rise Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-07. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/19/us/smoke-and-panic-on-stairs-in-chicago-high-rise-fire.html ↩

  24. Michael Higgins; Dan Mihalopoulos. "Fire lawsuits settled for $100 million". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-07. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-04-29-0804290006-story.html ↩

  25. Castillo, Gabriel (21 December 2024). "Local landmarks seen in the movie 'Christmas Vacation'". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 22 December 2024. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/filmed-chicago-local-landmarks-seen-132252697.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMnnmFnVU0_yDz9r13ierxFE456i1F3-EhnrY3YPks9MldLeOoyWrHFWUXzdTVxBSPvMHbgmWYEQvbVn7RHEVQeH-AV_tOPz_St-KlBbfxEMYghkZDALXuLRuYwL0gh2kms59sqeevWKAbHNnvZ87_PxsL_eBqpUSIqWYn6kjRaN ↩