The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the James R. Thompson Center as one the nation’s most endangered sites.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the James R. Thompson Center as one the nation’s 11 most endangered sites.
In announcing its list, the National Trust called the building “Chicago’s foremost example of grandly scaled Post-Modernism,” and the youngest building to ever appear on the list.
Local preservation groups have fought for years to save the Helmut Jahn-designed building.
Landmark Illinois and Preservation Chicago have placed the center on their own lists of endangered building.
The possibility of selling the Thompson Center to a private developer, possibly paving the way for demolition, has been discussed more than once over the years.
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In 2015, then-Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed unloading it, citing looming maintenance costs.
Then, in April, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill — passed while Rauner was governor — that authorizes selling the 34-year old building at 100 W. Randolph St., across from City Hall.
Under the bill’s provisions, the sale, through sealed bids, would be completed in two years.
The buyer must agree to keep the Clark/Lake CTA station open. That multi-level location is one of the busiest and most complex in the CTA system.
Pritzker has said money from the sale could help address the state’s pension costs.
The building opened in 1985 as the State of Illinois Center; it was renamed in 1993 after Thompson, a former governor.
Jahn’s design, with pastel red, white, and blue stripes, was not universally loved, though Thompson called it “open,” “honest” and “friendly.”
Employees at the Thompson Center have complained about maintenance issues such as water leaks.
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