Equitable Building (Chicago)
| 401 North Michigan | |
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| Alternative names | Equitable Building |
| General information | |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois USA |
| Coordinates | 41°53′23″N 87°37′23″W / 41.889601°N 87.622977°WCoordinates: 41°53′23″N 87°37′23″W / 41.889601°N 87.622977°W |
| Completed | 1963-1965 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 35 total |
| Floor area | 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill |
| References | |
401 North Michigan is a 35-story skyscraper in the Streeterville area of Chicago, built in 1965 at 401 North Michigan Avenue, along the north bank of the Chicago River. Along with the Tribune Tower and Wrigley Building, it forms the southern gateway to Chicago's famous Magnificent Mile. The building was built atop the site of a cabin belonging to Chicago's first permanent resident, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable. In reference to du Sable, the large plaza adjacent to the building has been named Pioneer Court.
401 North Michigan occupies a site with several aspects of historical significance, both on a local and national scale. The site was originally settled by du Sable around 1779, and operated as a personal residence and fur-trading post, forming the very beginnings of the city of Chicago. In 1803, Fort Dearborn was built by the US government immediately across the river, helping to protect the growing trading post from local Native American tribes. One year later in 1804, John Kinzie bought du Sable's property and occupied it until his death in 1828. In 1849, Cyrus McCormick moved to Chicago to set up a factory for his invention, the horse-drawn reaper, and purchased several lots on the former du Sable/Kinzie property, eventually developing a large factory complex. After this factory burned in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, McCormick moved his factory to the West Side. Even as Michigan Avenue was slowly rebuilt into the city's premier street beginning in the 1920s, the site remained industrial in usage, and by 1961, it had become a parking lot.
In 1961, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States announced their intention to construct a new, modern office tower at the 401 North Michigan site, relocating their sizable Chicago offices from cramped space at 29 South LaSalle Street. The announcement described the proposed 800,000 ft² tower as a "glittering structure of metal, marble, and glass set amid a picturesque plaza". Construction began in 1963 and commenced in 1965.
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