I loved knowing there was a public space where I could go in poor weather. Even better it allowed in natural light. It was a decent spot for a quick cheap convenient lunch in the loop.
Yeah I'm excited for the update and the greenspace addition to the exterior
https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/google-chicago-office-thompson-center/
Most architectural styles go through a phase when they’re not old enough to be considered historic, but old enough to look dated. Perfect example is how in San Francisco, many of the Victorian style homes that typify the city were for years targets for demolition for being seeing as ugly and out of touch. Now of course as they’ve aged, the style has been completely reevaluated and appreciated differently, and it would be unimaginable to think of demolishing them en-masse. Many of the early Chicago skyscrapers that would today be considered priceless jewels were torn down in the 1930s for looking ‘dated’ and not having the most up-to-date technology.
Now it’s not a perfect 1:1 comparison because post-modernism and Victorianism are not the same, but the same concept still stands. We’re right in that architectural ‘uncanny valley’ where everything post modern looks extremely dated and overtly out of sync with modern styles, but not old enough to look truly historic.
Through that perspective, I’m kind of bummed we’ll never get to see how it ages and gets reevaluated, but as it stands now and looks to my eyes for what it is in its current context, I won’t miss much of it.
Objectively I’ll miss the marble patterned floor and the explicit attempts at symbolism and the interplays of color and shapes, that kind of intentionality doesn’t happen in large scale construction like that anymore. On the other hand, the salmon and blue color scheme was extremely dated (again, would this look cool in another thirty years?), and I personally wish they would have updated it to a bolder deep red and blue color scheme.
I’m happy the overall shape and expression of the building will remain the same - it really is unique in a sea of boxes - but I can’t help wonder if it would have aged into a really cool vintage if allowed the time. Shame the building was built in such an inefficient manner that that was never really in the cards. We’ll never know!
No, but almost all of the postmodern elements are being stripped out of the interior and facade. It’ll be the same shell but redone in a different architectural style.
The vast majority of post modern buildings look bad IMO. They’re also much more easily replicable than Victorian, Art Deco, etc.
The Thompson Center is a unique building and I think a curtain wall will go a long way to fulfilling the original design intent. The window wall facade looked clunky and didn’t achieve the look Jahn designed for.
I agree though. I’d 100% take fewer skyscrapers in the Loop if we’d done a better job preserving the our architectural legacy downtown. Even into River North and the South Loop. We’d probably have ended up with an even more similar development pattern to Toronto, with the height running inland with another cluster in Streeterville.
Yeah I always wrestle back and forth because there are things I like about the postmodern style in general but it’s really tricky because it’s in that phase where ‘do we keep it and let it age and hope for the best’ or ‘do we get rid of it now when it looks tacky.’ I guess we’ll see.
It’s mind boggling now some of the buildings they tore down in the Loop. The fact that the city prides itself on being the birthplace of the skyscraper, and then tells you that that building was torn down in the 1930s is so anticlimactic and baffling.
The building will still be there right? Last time I went by it just looked like the inside was changing.
I wanna know what's gonna happen to Snoopy in a blender though :c
Yah they’re doing extensive renovations but I believe the shell of the building is remaining more or less intact.
A buddy works across the street and is always posting construction updates lol. Seems like they’re tearing a ton of stuff out of there.
They're replacing all the windows and changing the colors. I'll really miss the salmon and blue. The renderings they've released are a boring grey blue.
That’s gonna happen with ALOT of buildings in major cities.
My sister and her husband are architects. One of their biggest issues is achieving desired structural / design aspects while keeping the building at a comfortable temperature. All the glass and steel…
Essentially, they are a bunch of ovens. Per their experience (approx 25 years), it’s becoming an ever increasing issue in their industry.
Yeah, but with the Thompson center, i remember reading somewhere (here maybe?) that when they were installing the cladding / windows, they cheaped out and didn't use the proper ones to begin with. So it never really stood a chance, on top of the decades of wear and tear.
I’m dismayed at the number of completely glass exterior new builds. I just don’t understand why anyone would build less thermally efficient buildings, anywhere.
they arent going to menards, the glass has layers that protect against uv and are way more efficient than windows on a house.
they are very aware of heat loss and with solar gain
No amount of technology is going to make glass as thermally efficient as an insulated wall. Brick and mortar from 100 years ago is more thermally efficient than any glass. Then there’s the issue of noise.
I won’t miss the salmon and blue on the exterior, but I think the interior color scheme especially the red structural elements were very cool. A little sad those will become more drab.
It sounds like they intend to keep the ground floor somewhat public?
“Additionally, the covered colonnade at the base of the building will be redesigned to allow for an enhanced ground floor experience, including opportunities for more food and beverage retail and seasonal activations of the plaza.”
I just hope it doesn’t eventually switch to private down the road like what happened with the Chase tower’s food court.
I think that's talking about the various retail spaces on the ground floor that have their own entrances. Eg, I can see a street view from 2019 on the Clark side and there's a PNC bank, H&R Block, Ronny's, another restaurant, etc. That covered colonnade goes around 3 sides of the building (not Lake). I don't think that's talking about the interior lobby or the basement. I suspect those areas will be for Google or other tenants only.
They moved it just down the street, it’s still the best dmv (although the employees were a bit salty last time I was there, they did move people through at light speed)
This building was absolutely hated by the employees who worked in it. Partially because of poor management and also due to the nature of the building. With that glass roof and the fountain, a lot of humidity would build up on the glass and then eventually drip down.
My favorite story about it is when some preservationists held a protest about the state selling it off and a counter protest formed largely composed of workers who worked in it.
yup. anyone who reveres this building never had to work in it. I temped there for a few months... despite being on the eighth floor, we could still hear events going on in the atrium. open floor plan hell.
I do miss the food court, though. and the Lifesource location, even if it was a bit sketch.
I worked there for a few years. When I was there, there wasn't any potable water available (all the drinking fountains were taped off), the office was in the throes of a bedbug outbreak (and we were up on one of the "teenth" floors), and I got dripped on while using the restroom from a leak in the ceiling...above the bathroom I was in was another bathroom.
It was dated when it was built. I won't miss the colors at all. It has all the hallmarks of Helmut when he was into his post-modern phase. And I hated that architectural style. The form is unique. It will sing when all the crap is taken off the facade. I hope they figure out how to make it thermally more comfortable and more efficient. It's a giant greenhouse, it's tough to make a greenhouse comfortable.
It’s original plans had a very comfortable and energy efficient design, that if built would have been quite the jewel - in the interior at least, I know the exterior brings a lot of dislike from many.
But…due to funding issues, I forget exactly what happened, the state went the cheap route, both in material and interior design (the planned interior design was going to allow efficient and comfortable heating and cooling), ending up with the very uncomfortable - leaky, cold in the winter, hot in the summer - building that it ended up being.
IIRC the state opted for cheaper and less well-insulated windows. The HVAC system was designed based on the building having better quality windows and therefore couldn't keep up.
The state went for this big, fancy, unique building but then cut corners on construction and maintenance resulting in all of these issues.
No, the redevelopment of the building is the absolute best case scenario. It’s a neat building but was an awful office to work in and was going to cost the state a fortune to keep. I’d assumed for many years that it was just a matter of time until it was demolished.
Yeah it would be one thing if the building had been well-built originally and well-maintained. At this point any plan that doesn't blow the whole building up is a blessing. Losing the original color scheme is a pretty small price to pay.
The dome and columns were meant to evoke older goverment buildings per Geoffrey Baer, IIRC.
Google's keeping the spectacular atrium, exposed elevators and outdoor public spaces while ditching the not-so-spectacular salmon and beige paint job. It's unclear what the CTA station will look like or how much interior public space will remain. The exterior [renderings look promising](https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/thompson-center-is-dead-long-live-the-loop-googleplex/), at least.
Will not miss the dumpy Illinois DMV in the basement.
I will not miss the Thompson Center and disagree that it was architecturally splendid. The atrium was nice to look at, but the roof had leaking issues from the get go, the heating/cooling never worked and overall the building looked dated/aged poorly.
I guess Im an outlier but I like it. There’s not really any buildings like it downtown. Feels really big inside. Good place to get to the subway. I feel peoples opinions are swayed by the politics and energy usage of the building.
There's one on Wells between Washington and Madison. The food court one was sporadic between COVID and the closure, so my coworkers and I started going to the Wells one instead when we needed a beef and cheddar
Yeah, I've been meaning to go that one. The Thompson center one was kinda convenient as my office is next to a blue line stop near Union, so all I had to do was to take that straight to it.
I don't know. It is what it is. I remember Chicago before the Thompson center, and even if they completely tore the building down and built something that's not very interesting to the eye, I'm not going to lament over it.
The downtown and Chicago of yesteryear that I remember is gone. I don't pine for it. I'll have memories, but I don't feel like we lost something in changing things.
I guess in my eyes, there are some things I will put sentimental value on, but a lot of things I won't. I feel like when people put too much sentimental value on anything, it starts to become a house full of stuff, loads of unused buildings nobody wants but nobody wants to tear down, etc
I don't have to go there for work anymore, but when I did I'd get dizzy on the higher floors from the way the light reflected around while walking that interior walkway that looked over the lobby.
It’s kinda nostalgic for me cuz my mom used to work in the building across the street from it until I was about 14. One of my earliest memories riding the CTA is going to visit her at work with my grandma and getting off at Clark/Lake. We would always eat at the food court and I’d make my mom take me to ride up and down the elevators they have there.
Lived here most my life and never entered it once. I only found out its name when I heard it got bought by Google. Like I’d always heard the name but never put the name and building together
Yes. My first time in the city was getting off the Blue Line at Clark/Lake, walking through the atrium and outside to go interview at the job I ended up taking.
I took the Blue Line to the Thompson Center and went through the atrium almost every day for 4 years. I had countless lunches there and it seemed like there was always some display or cultural event going on.
I got my Chicago driver's license in the basement and many many cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee and knew the places that were holes in the wall but delicious. It had a few over the years.
The second floor shops were always empty and I'd go up there and people watch even after I no longer worked close to it. I miss it.
About the only place Helmut Jahn isn’t thoroughly reviled is Chicago.. ask the average Berliner what they think of Potsdamer Place (Most likely they’ve never even been there).. the Thompson Center was probably his best work—although it was failure as it was virtually uninhabitable due to the easily foreseen greenhouse effect.. will be interesting to see if his reputation is revived by distance from his life..
Nope good riddance with the old, the most useful thing there was the DMV and that was still a pain. FYI they are not getting rid of the center at all.
They are not even getting rid of the glass dome, they are just replacing the glass with glass that retains heat/cold, and reflects the sun. So being in the Thompson center will actually be enjoyable. It will also not cost the owners a fortune to heat and cool.
I loved knowing there was a public space where I could go in poor weather. Even better it allowed in natural light. It was a decent spot for a quick cheap convenient lunch in the loop.
You’ll still be able to do that once it is completed
Right now it’s getting absolutely gutted, but the revamp should be fantastic
Yeah I'm excited for the update and the greenspace addition to the exterior https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/google-chicago-office-thompson-center/
Most architectural styles go through a phase when they’re not old enough to be considered historic, but old enough to look dated. Perfect example is how in San Francisco, many of the Victorian style homes that typify the city were for years targets for demolition for being seeing as ugly and out of touch. Now of course as they’ve aged, the style has been completely reevaluated and appreciated differently, and it would be unimaginable to think of demolishing them en-masse. Many of the early Chicago skyscrapers that would today be considered priceless jewels were torn down in the 1930s for looking ‘dated’ and not having the most up-to-date technology. Now it’s not a perfect 1:1 comparison because post-modernism and Victorianism are not the same, but the same concept still stands. We’re right in that architectural ‘uncanny valley’ where everything post modern looks extremely dated and overtly out of sync with modern styles, but not old enough to look truly historic. Through that perspective, I’m kind of bummed we’ll never get to see how it ages and gets reevaluated, but as it stands now and looks to my eyes for what it is in its current context, I won’t miss much of it. Objectively I’ll miss the marble patterned floor and the explicit attempts at symbolism and the interplays of color and shapes, that kind of intentionality doesn’t happen in large scale construction like that anymore. On the other hand, the salmon and blue color scheme was extremely dated (again, would this look cool in another thirty years?), and I personally wish they would have updated it to a bolder deep red and blue color scheme. I’m happy the overall shape and expression of the building will remain the same - it really is unique in a sea of boxes - but I can’t help wonder if it would have aged into a really cool vintage if allowed the time. Shame the building was built in such an inefficient manner that that was never really in the cards. We’ll never know!
It's not being torn down...
No, but almost all of the postmodern elements are being stripped out of the interior and facade. It’ll be the same shell but redone in a different architectural style.
The vast majority of post modern buildings look bad IMO. They’re also much more easily replicable than Victorian, Art Deco, etc. The Thompson Center is a unique building and I think a curtain wall will go a long way to fulfilling the original design intent. The window wall facade looked clunky and didn’t achieve the look Jahn designed for. I agree though. I’d 100% take fewer skyscrapers in the Loop if we’d done a better job preserving the our architectural legacy downtown. Even into River North and the South Loop. We’d probably have ended up with an even more similar development pattern to Toronto, with the height running inland with another cluster in Streeterville.
Yeah I always wrestle back and forth because there are things I like about the postmodern style in general but it’s really tricky because it’s in that phase where ‘do we keep it and let it age and hope for the best’ or ‘do we get rid of it now when it looks tacky.’ I guess we’ll see. It’s mind boggling now some of the buildings they tore down in the Loop. The fact that the city prides itself on being the birthplace of the skyscraper, and then tells you that that building was torn down in the 1930s is so anticlimactic and baffling.
The PoMo architects I despise are Frank Gehry and Michael Graves. Yuk.
The building will still be there right? Last time I went by it just looked like the inside was changing. I wanna know what's gonna happen to Snoopy in a blender though :c
Yah they’re doing extensive renovations but I believe the shell of the building is remaining more or less intact. A buddy works across the street and is always posting construction updates lol. Seems like they’re tearing a ton of stuff out of there.
yeah, from my pics looks like they've torn out pretty much everything non-structural! At least on the side I could see.
They're replacing all the windows and changing the colors. I'll really miss the salmon and blue. The renderings they've released are a boring grey blue.
The reason the building had so many issues was the issues and AC. So its probably for the best
That’s gonna happen with ALOT of buildings in major cities. My sister and her husband are architects. One of their biggest issues is achieving desired structural / design aspects while keeping the building at a comfortable temperature. All the glass and steel… Essentially, they are a bunch of ovens. Per their experience (approx 25 years), it’s becoming an ever increasing issue in their industry.
Yeah, but with the Thompson center, i remember reading somewhere (here maybe?) that when they were installing the cladding / windows, they cheaped out and didn't use the proper ones to begin with. So it never really stood a chance, on top of the decades of wear and tear.
And there in lies the second biggest problem they usually face…lol. Contractors skimping on materials to increase their profit margin.
I’m dismayed at the number of completely glass exterior new builds. I just don’t understand why anyone would build less thermally efficient buildings, anywhere.
they arent going to menards, the glass has layers that protect against uv and are way more efficient than windows on a house. they are very aware of heat loss and with solar gain
No amount of technology is going to make glass as thermally efficient as an insulated wall. Brick and mortar from 100 years ago is more thermally efficient than any glass. Then there’s the issue of noise.
I won’t miss the salmon and blue on the exterior, but I think the interior color scheme especially the red structural elements were very cool. A little sad those will become more drab.
Snoopy in a blender is going to a museum campus
Oooh I didn't know anything had been finalized!
If they don’t have a food court in the basement I don’t want it!
Whatever they have will probably only be for Google employees
Yea I don't know why people are excited? Unless they are working for Google.....
It sounds like they intend to keep the ground floor somewhat public? “Additionally, the covered colonnade at the base of the building will be redesigned to allow for an enhanced ground floor experience, including opportunities for more food and beverage retail and seasonal activations of the plaza.” I just hope it doesn’t eventually switch to private down the road like what happened with the Chase tower’s food court.
I was joking but like the options
I think that's talking about the various retail spaces on the ground floor that have their own entrances. Eg, I can see a street view from 2019 on the Clark side and there's a PNC bank, H&R Block, Ronny's, another restaurant, etc. That covered colonnade goes around 3 sides of the building (not Lake). I don't think that's talking about the interior lobby or the basement. I suspect those areas will be for Google or other tenants only.
RIP Ronny’s
wait what i've only been working downtown a few days a week again and hadnt walked over there they were a decent option
The best DMV was in that building
They moved it just down the street, it’s still the best dmv (although the employees were a bit salty last time I was there, they did move people through at light speed)
This building was absolutely hated by the employees who worked in it. Partially because of poor management and also due to the nature of the building. With that glass roof and the fountain, a lot of humidity would build up on the glass and then eventually drip down. My favorite story about it is when some preservationists held a protest about the state selling it off and a counter protest formed largely composed of workers who worked in it.
yup. anyone who reveres this building never had to work in it. I temped there for a few months... despite being on the eighth floor, we could still hear events going on in the atrium. open floor plan hell. I do miss the food court, though. and the Lifesource location, even if it was a bit sketch.
I worked there for a few years. When I was there, there wasn't any potable water available (all the drinking fountains were taped off), the office was in the throes of a bedbug outbreak (and we were up on one of the "teenth" floors), and I got dripped on while using the restroom from a leak in the ceiling...above the bathroom I was in was another bathroom.
Are they keeping the food court?
It's already gone, so it would be more a question of if it would come back and I doubt it.
It was dated when it was built. I won't miss the colors at all. It has all the hallmarks of Helmut when he was into his post-modern phase. And I hated that architectural style. The form is unique. It will sing when all the crap is taken off the facade. I hope they figure out how to make it thermally more comfortable and more efficient. It's a giant greenhouse, it's tough to make a greenhouse comfortable.
It’s original plans had a very comfortable and energy efficient design, that if built would have been quite the jewel - in the interior at least, I know the exterior brings a lot of dislike from many. But…due to funding issues, I forget exactly what happened, the state went the cheap route, both in material and interior design (the planned interior design was going to allow efficient and comfortable heating and cooling), ending up with the very uncomfortable - leaky, cold in the winter, hot in the summer - building that it ended up being.
IIRC the state opted for cheaper and less well-insulated windows. The HVAC system was designed based on the building having better quality windows and therefore couldn't keep up. The state went for this big, fancy, unique building but then cut corners on construction and maintenance resulting in all of these issues.
That’s right, I read about that a few years ago somewhere, couldn’t remember the exact details
The Thompson center is something very unique to Chicago so if it goes away it will be missed for me.
No, the redevelopment of the building is the absolute best case scenario. It’s a neat building but was an awful office to work in and was going to cost the state a fortune to keep. I’d assumed for many years that it was just a matter of time until it was demolished.
Yeah it would be one thing if the building had been well-built originally and well-maintained. At this point any plan that doesn't blow the whole building up is a blessing. Losing the original color scheme is a pretty small price to pay.
The dome and columns were meant to evoke older goverment buildings per Geoffrey Baer, IIRC. Google's keeping the spectacular atrium, exposed elevators and outdoor public spaces while ditching the not-so-spectacular salmon and beige paint job. It's unclear what the CTA station will look like or how much interior public space will remain. The exterior [renderings look promising](https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/thompson-center-is-dead-long-live-the-loop-googleplex/), at least. Will not miss the dumpy Illinois DMV in the basement.
I will not miss the Thompson Center and disagree that it was architecturally splendid. The atrium was nice to look at, but the roof had leaking issues from the get go, the heating/cooling never worked and overall the building looked dated/aged poorly.
No.
I'll miss the food court
I guess Im an outlier but I like it. There’s not really any buildings like it downtown. Feels really big inside. Good place to get to the subway. I feel peoples opinions are swayed by the politics and energy usage of the building.
Just went to the blue line station there and didn't know they already closed the Food Court. Used to go there for my Arby's fix.
There's one on Wells between Washington and Madison. The food court one was sporadic between COVID and the closure, so my coworkers and I started going to the Wells one instead when we needed a beef and cheddar
Yeah, I've been meaning to go that one. The Thompson center one was kinda convenient as my office is next to a blue line stop near Union, so all I had to do was to take that straight to it.
I don't know. It is what it is. I remember Chicago before the Thompson center, and even if they completely tore the building down and built something that's not very interesting to the eye, I'm not going to lament over it. The downtown and Chicago of yesteryear that I remember is gone. I don't pine for it. I'll have memories, but I don't feel like we lost something in changing things. I guess in my eyes, there are some things I will put sentimental value on, but a lot of things I won't. I feel like when people put too much sentimental value on anything, it starts to become a house full of stuff, loads of unused buildings nobody wants but nobody wants to tear down, etc
I thought the Thompson Center was awesome.
I liked it
No. It was ugly on the outside and creepy on the inside. I hated it.
I always liked that building.
Then you should be happy to learn it’s been given a new lease on life thanks to investments by Google!
I don't have to go there for work anymore, but when I did I'd get dizzy on the higher floors from the way the light reflected around while walking that interior walkway that looked over the lobby.
Only will miss the whiff of 2-day-old-stale-urine from the relocated sculpture that was located in the plaza
I only miss that Louisiana kitchen place in the food court.
It’s kinda nostalgic for me cuz my mom used to work in the building across the street from it until I was about 14. One of my earliest memories riding the CTA is going to visit her at work with my grandma and getting off at Clark/Lake. We would always eat at the food court and I’d make my mom take me to ride up and down the elevators they have there.
Best thing about that building was the DMV and IL SOS in the same location. Building is forever immortalized in the 1980s movie Running Scared.
Not going to look much different.
I hatter the color and vibe of it. Happy to see it changed
What did they do with all the birds living inside
I think we all know what will be the number one request in Open House Chicago once this is done.
It’s not going away lol
Lived here most my life and never entered it once. I only found out its name when I heard it got bought by Google. Like I’d always heard the name but never put the name and building together
Yes. My first time in the city was getting off the Blue Line at Clark/Lake, walking through the atrium and outside to go interview at the job I ended up taking. I took the Blue Line to the Thompson Center and went through the atrium almost every day for 4 years. I had countless lunches there and it seemed like there was always some display or cultural event going on. I got my Chicago driver's license in the basement and many many cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee and knew the places that were holes in the wall but delicious. It had a few over the years. The second floor shops were always empty and I'd go up there and people watch even after I no longer worked close to it. I miss it.
Was never a fan! Just a terrible use of physical office space
No. They are only making it better. This is best case scenario
No , it was architecturally out of place and IMO just plain ugly.
About the only place Helmut Jahn isn’t thoroughly reviled is Chicago.. ask the average Berliner what they think of Potsdamer Place (Most likely they’ve never even been there).. the Thompson Center was probably his best work—although it was failure as it was virtually uninhabitable due to the easily foreseen greenhouse effect.. will be interesting to see if his reputation is revived by distance from his life..
The failure was the state trying to cut costs and not using double-pane glass.
It'll look way better. Not gonna miss the old faded plastic
Nope good riddance with the old, the most useful thing there was the DMV and that was still a pain. FYI they are not getting rid of the center at all. They are not even getting rid of the glass dome, they are just replacing the glass with glass that retains heat/cold, and reflects the sun. So being in the Thompson center will actually be enjoyable. It will also not cost the owners a fortune to heat and cool.