James R. Thompson Center

The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC) is located at 100 W. Randolph Street in the Loop, Chicago, Illinois and houses more offices of the State of Illinois than can be found in the state's capital, Springfield. The building opened in May 1985 as the State of Illinois Center. It was re-dedicated in 1993 to honor former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson. The property takes up the entire block bounded by Randolph, Lake, Clark and LaSalle Streets, one of the 35 full-size city blocks within Chicago's Loop. In front of the Thompson Center is a sculpture, "Monument With Standing Beast", by Jean Dubuffet. The JRTC is sometimes referred to as the State Building.

The JRTC was designed by Murphy/Helmut Jahn and called "outrageous" or "wonderful" by critics when it opened. The color of the street-level panels was compared to tomato soup. The 17-story, all-glass exterior does not reflect the building's function, and instead conveys an image of pure postmodernism; the effect is striking, especially from the Daley Center. Visitors to the JRTC's interior can see all seventeen floors layered partway around the building's immense skylit atrium. The open-plan offices on each floor are supposed to carry the message of "an open government in action."

Originally, the design called for curved, insulated (double paned) glass panels, but these were found to be prohibitively expensive. Flat, insulated glass had been suggested, but were dismissed by Jahn. Single-paned (non-insulated), curved glass panels were eventually used and resulted in the need for a more expensive air conditioning system, which remains very costly to operate and is insufficient on hot days (internal temperatures have reached as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit) [http://www.lynnbecker.com/repeat/Jahn/jahn.htm] . The marble floor of the atrium initially developed unsightly water stains, which have since resolved themselves. The Clark/Lake Chicago Transit Authority rail station, one of the busiest in the system, is housed between the JRTC and the 203 N. LaSalle building across the street. Orange, Green, Blue, Pink, Purple and Brown Line trains stop here.

The Illinois Artisan's shop is also housed inside the JRTC.

The Chicago Pedway connects from here to 203 N. LaSalle, Chicago Title and Trust Company and Chicago City Hall.

Art

The sculpture at the front entrance sets the tone for this building that houses a tremendous art collection. The collection includes nineteen specially commissioned artworks funded by the State of Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program. cite web|url=http://www.state.il.us/cms/jrtc/beast.htm|accessdate=2007-06-06|title=Monument with Standing Beast] The building also has over 150 of the state's 600 works collected under the Percent for Art program. Under this program 0.5% of the money designated for construction of state-funded public buildings is used for the purchase of art. [cite web|url=http://www.cms.il.gov/1_jrtc/art_coll.htm|accessdate=2007-06-06|date=2007|publisher=Illinois Department of Central Management Services|title=Permanent Art Collection]

See also

* Chicago architecture

Notes

External links

* http://www.state.il.us/cms/1_jrtc/default.htm
* http://www.state.il.us/cms/jrtc/building.htm
* http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/thompson/
* [http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/unitedstates/illinois/chicago/sight_details.html?vid=1083747034409 New York Times Travel Guide Chicago James R. Thompson Center]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=thompsoncenter-chicago-il-usa Emporis.com page]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=100+W+Randolph+St,+Chicago,+IL,+Chicago,+IL+60611&ie=UTF8&z=16&t=h&om=1&iwloc=addr Google Maps page]