A Million Times - The Montgomery

I like it when a building holds emotional connections for me. The building I chose for today is close to my heart. Yet, I passed by this building my whole life without really seeing it, it’s a prime building for:

A Million Times – The Montgomery

photo courtesy of thechicago77.com

If you’ve ridden the brownline into the Loop, you’ve seen the Montgomery. Standing in River North, the Montgomery is a signal that you’re about to enter into the land of skyscrapers. It’s like a gatekeeper to the Loop, making sure no one may enter without clear eyes and full hearts.

The Montgomery was originally the corporate office for Montgomery Wards. It was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect of the World Trade Center. The building was finished in 1972. Now it’s a luxury condo high-rise. It’s a beautiful Modern (no ornament, mostly glass, no context) building, light and airy – the color of the sky. The corners are travertine marble and eliminate corner offices, this pleased Montgomery Ward. The strong, structural corners also free up the inside from interior columns, making for great office – or now, living – space.

I used to work for the company – Centrum Properties – who renovated this building (they laid me off, oh real estate development, you silly little bugger) but I think they did a really beautiful job. Check out how the building used to look before the renovation:

photo courtesy of Emporis.com

Blech! Patooey! Man is that a 70’s building or what? I love you Yamasaki, I do, but I’m glad this building could receive a second birth. I wish we all had the chance for a Skidmore overhaul.

SOM and Pappageorge/Haymes did the renovation and thank goodness they did. They took this heavy, dark building and changed it from an ugly duckling to a sophisticated swan. The dark bronze curtain wall was replaced with aluminum and glass, giving it a makeover even Oprah would be jealous of.

Centrum Properties developed the other Montgomery Wards buildings that sit next to this one – The Catalog Building and The Administration Building. I could say all kinds of bad things about my former employer, what could they do now? Fire me again? However, I will not. I believe their renovations for the Montgomery Ward campus were really well done. They were executed with loving care and a respect for the man and his buildings. I actually wrote a book about Centrum’s renovation of these buildings with a tag-along story about Montgomery Ward, but it never saw the light of day.

But I studied these buildings inside and out and I can say honestly, that these buildings are better off having been developed by Centrum.

ESPECIALLY The Montgomery which would surely have come down at some point. You know how it is, the ugly buildings stick to the wall in the ballroom of architecture, never even asked to dance.

This building has a full dance card now me thinks.