The US Government Wants to Destroy These Towers

these historic towers in chicago are at risk but not because there's a shiny new development coming along that wants their sight the us federal government just really wants to demolish them [Music] in a move that's apparently all about improving security the consumers in century buildings on chicago's iconic loop are currently slated for destruction but as an important part of the city's architectural history many are fighting hard to keep them standing what's unusual is that there's now an earmark to demolish them a 52 million earmark approved by congress as part of a big omnibus build earmarks we have not seen in the united states in a long time but specifically to demolish these buildings critics argue the move would be a major architectural and economic blow for chicago so why is the federal government getting involved in a local demolition project why are they picking on these buildings and do people really stand any chance of saving them this is the 52 million dollar federal quest to demolish two of chicago's towers [Music] to really get your head around why the u.s government wants to demolish these buildings and why that's so contentious you need to understand where they came from back in 1871 the great fire of chicago devastated the city burning for more than 24 hours flames destroyed over 17 000 buildings and killed 300 people left with over 200 million dollars in damage chicago looked to rebuild in the wake of the destruction a group of architects came together and began experimenting with unique designs that could protect buildings from future fires and help jump start the economy enter the home insurance building designed by william lebaron jenny and built in 1885 it's known today as the world's first skyscraper its 10-story steel frame was incredibly innovative at the time before that buildings used iron frames with thick masonry walls as their support the development and integration of steel as a product to design buildings that were much taller and thinner that allowed for more light and air to come into these structures prior to what we would known today as you know air conditioning and electric lighting basically the idea is almost a steel bird cage in which masonry is hung and what that allowed for is larger window areas larger spans thinner buildings as far as their depth of their walls the style soon became known as the chicago school of architecture those innovations still continue today in our skyscrapers and our superstructures buildings over 80 floors sometimes way over 100 floors as you see around the world that technology developed in chicago and continued to develop even in the super structures like the sears tower now the willis tower and the john hancock building of the late 1960s and early 1970s by the mid-1910s the style was recognizable around the city and two new additions joined the club the century and consumers buildings standing at 16 and 22 stories tall respectively the pair were then part of the city's state street retail district tenants included small businesses offices and showrooms during construction workers spent two months driving 38 casings underground to support the steel structure of the consumers building that steel was then covered in white architectural terracotta as for the century building it was known for being the strongest reinforced concrete tower in the world at that time it was also recognized for its distinctive vertical expressions along with the uniquely designed facade ornament but the two towers would be the last of this particular innovative style in chicago world war one broke out soon after and by the time it ended the nation had dramatically transformed along with its architectural fashions over the years several of these buildings were demolished including the historic home insurance building now the century and consumers buildings face a similar fate [Music] for decades the pair have sat near a group of federal buildings including a courthouse and they used to house a number of businesses and offices but after the september 11 attacks along with a threat of a truck bombed to the courthouse security fears around the area increased and the federal government acquired the two buildings along with the surrounding block and both towers were cleared of any remaining tenants initially there were plans to expand federal offices into the two structures but that never happened it was just never the funding for these structures to become federal offices and by the time the funding came around they claim they didn't have the need for these offices further ideas to create apartments were also squashed so with no plans for renovation ever moving forward the government spent millions of dollars maintaining the properties while they sat empty and deteriorating but everything changed in 2022 when the u.s government set aside 52 million to demolish them in a federal appropriations bill so why the sudden shifting course the federal government and the gsa feel that there could be a risk at security as these buildings look right into the federal center offices some of the courtrooms and judges chambers senator dick durbin the guy who introduced the bill said that ensuring the safety of the judges and employees who work in the dirksen courthouse must be a top priority in light of the acute security threats they face but according to some architects that explanation doesn't hold much weight there are several cities where nearby buildings overlook federal courthouses and they worry that demolishing structures like this could set a precedent across the country [Music] experts also say that demolition isn't a typical solution to this type of risk most architectural guidelines for counter-terrorism efforts suggest things like mandating a 50-foot setback for federal structures theoretically protecting them against any nearby bombings on the streets but it's not just the us government's reasoning for demolition that makes it contentious with so much history the consumers in century buildings along with some nearby early chicago skyscrapers are currently being considered for a unesco world heritage nomination if that's secured it would override the federal bill legally protect the area and could bring in more tourism and money for the city but if the buildings are demolished before then will really result in a negative and adverse opinion on our unesco world heritage site nomination and i think really does present a possible embarrassment to the federal government and the city of chicago critics argue that demolition would also be a big loss economically they say the city can't afford to maintain a vacant lot especially after struggling to lure workers back to offices which has slowed the post-pandemic recovery of the downtown area if they are lost in that unesco world heritage nomination is lost we're talking about the potential of millions tens of millions of dollars perhaps per year maybe more the u.s federal government itself doesn't usually get involved in these sorts of cases preservationists typically deal with local and city governments when it comes to building restoration and demolition and in chicago they've usually been able to come together and make plans where both parties are happy ward miller is part of one idea to save the buildings we came together and thought of the idea of an archive facility because archives don't need windows and they don't conform to the same code issues that residential dwellings would and archives are very light sensitive so we thought that you could break up any of the windows on the back and side elevations that would be of concern tom hanks might not be a huge fan of that idea despite the push for architectural preservation some have been critical of that stance while there are many buildings around the world threatened by demolition scholars believe saving some can actually slow down economic growth in certain areas for now at least the federal government's plan is to proceed with the building's removal and then keep a vacant lot though it may truly improve security in a city that prides itself on architectural history such a move would mark another loss for its iconic design style so we really have a lot to lose here as a city and even as a nation and so we really want to encourage our senators the judges and all the stakeholders in the gsa to consider better ideas if you enjoyed this video and you want to get more from the definitive video channel for construction make sure you subscribe to the b1m [Music]

Channel: The B1M

Views: 1,262,123

Keywords: B1M, TheB1M, Construction, architecture, engineering, The B1M, Fred Mills, building, Chicago, demolition, history, UNESCO, preservation, consumers building, century building, windy city, us government, federal government, chicago school, chicago fire, courthouse, home insurance building, skyscraper, structure, tenants, sears towers, john hancock building, willis tower, terra cotta, state street, dirksen courthouse, security, infrastructure, counterterrorism

Id: BmiDUw-MPWA

Length: 9min 29sec (569 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 13 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/alexfrancisburchard]

Public safety measures are so ineffective in the US they're proposing to demolish buildings now to ensure safety? What the fuck?

[u/chupedecamarones]

Aka. Sell the land to a friend developer for a good bribe.

[u/monsieurvampy]

Additional Information:

Century Building (Chicago)

Consumers Building

Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse

Century & Consumers Buildings – Most Endangered 2022

For the non-preservationist planners. These buildings were at least partially occupied in years past and the proposed condition is a vacant lot.