What are some cool facts about the Hancock Building?

Question

* cool facts about the Hancock building

Answer 1

designed by structural engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

When completed in 1969, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City. It is the third-tallest skyscraper in Chicago and the fifth-tallest in the United States, after the Sears Tower, the Empire State Building, the Bank of America Tower (New York), and the Aon Center.

When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,500 feet (457 m).

The building is home to offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums and contains the highest residences in the world.

This skyscraper was named for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, a developer and original tenant of the building.

Including its antennas, the John Hancock Center has a height of 1,500 feet (457 m), making it the third-tallest building in the world when measured to pinnacle height (after the Sears Tower and Taipei 101)

The John Hancock Center was erected on the site of Cap Streeter's 19th century steamboat shanty. The area is called Streeterville after him, and consists of landfill reclaimed from the lake.

The building's first resident was Benjamin Gingiss, one of the founders and owners of Gingiss Formal Wear. He lived in the tower until his death.

On December 18, 1997, one of the building's more famous residents, comedian Chris Farley, died in his apartment of a drug overdose.

Jerry Springer lives on the 91st floor of the John Hancock Center. This is the second highest residential level of the building.

On March 9, 2002, part of a swing-stage (hanging scaffold for window washing & exterior repairs) fell 43 stories after being torn loose by wind gusts around 60 mph (100 km/h), crushing several cars and killing three people in two of them. The remaining part of the stage swung back-and-forth in the gusts repeatedly slamming against the building, damaging cladding panels, breaking windows, and sending pieces onto the street below.

On December 10, 2006, the non-residential portion of the building was sold by San Francisco based Shorenstein Properties LLC for $385 million and was purchased by Goldman Sachs. Shorenstein had bought the building in 1998 for $220 million.

An annual stair climb race up the 94 floors from the Michigan Avenue level to the observation deck called Hustle up the Hancock is held on the last Sunday of February. The climb benefits the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The record time as of 2008 is 9 minutes 38 seconds.