CNA Center

CNA Center
CNA Center's unusual red exterior
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Location	333 South Wabash Ave. Chicago, Illinois  United States
Coordinates	41°52.6330′N 87°37.5422′W / 41.877217°N 87.6257033°W / 41.877217; -87.6257033Coordinates: 41°52.6330′N 87°37.5422′W / 41.877217°N 87.6257033°W / 41.877217; -87.6257033
Opening	1972
Technical details
Floor count	44
Design and construction
Architect	Graham, Anderson, Probst & White

CNA Center is a 600-ft (183 m), 44-story high-rise building located at 333 South Wabash Avenue in the Loop Community Area Chicago.

Description

CNA Center is a simple, rectangular International Style building, but it is unique in that the entire building is painted bright red, turning an otherwise ordinary-looking structure into one of the most eye-catching buildings in the city. It was designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and was completed in 1972. The red design was used to depict the sun setting over the ocean as illustrated by the red imagery to the west of Lake Michigan.

History

Originally known as Continental Center III (in reference to the original moniker of CNA Financial Corporation, Continental National American Group,^[1] both CNA Center (formerly CNA Plaza) and the neighboring CNA Center North (Continental Center II, built in 1962) adjoined and were painted red. The shorter red building was later restored to its original gray tone. The two buildings remain joined at the second floor: CNA's Conference Center uses space on that floor, but all entrance and egress to it is through CNA Center.

In 1999, a large fragment of a window fell from the building and killed a woman walking with her child. CNA Financial, a property insurance company, later paid $18 million to settle the resultant lawsuit. All of the building's windows were replaced in an expensive retrofit. To this day, the firm physically checks each window monthly. Many other building owners in Chicago have checked their windows for soundness, leading to a flurry of repairs and replacements.

Lighted window messages

Chicago skyline with the CNA Center showing the Chicago Blackhawks' logo, the Smurfit-Stone Building saying Go Hawks and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower saying Hawks win the night after the 2009–10 Chicago Blackhawks won the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, viewed from the Petrillo Music Shell lawn in Grant Park

Utilizing a combination of lights on/off and 1,600 window blinds open/closed^[2] (and sometimes foamboard cutouts^[3]), the windows on CNA Center are often used to display lighted window messages, typically denoting holidays, remembrances, and other events denoting Chicago civic pride, such as when the White Sox played in and won the 2005 World Series. A computer program is used to calculate which windows need to be activated to create the proper message.

Position in Chicago's skyline

Gallery

CNA Center cheers the Chicago Bears   Lighted window message for New Year's Eve 2006

References

1. ^ http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=7602
2. ^ http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=7427
3. ^ http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=7530

External links

• CNA Center Lighted Window Message Archive
• Informative site