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Chicago Federal Building, United States

Category: Attraction

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Dirksen Federal Bldg
219 S Dearborn St
Chicago
IL 60604
USA

Chicago, United States Print route » N41° 52' 45.12" W87° 37' 44.76"   (41.8792, -87.6291) Start navigation »

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The Chicago Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois was constructed between 1898 and 1905 for the purpose of housing the midwest's federal courts, main post office, and other government bureaus. It stood in The Loop neighborhood on a block bounded by Dearborn, Adams and Clark Streets and Jackson Boulevard. The site held an 1880 post office, courthouse and customhouse which was cleared to make way for the new building. The 1905 building was itself demolished in 1965 and replaced with the Kluczynski Federal Building.
The push for a new building was spearheaded by postmaster Washington Hesing with backing by civic leaders and the Illinois' members of Congress. The explosion of Chicago's population, especially after the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, strained the earlier facility beyond capacity. When the Exposition began, the Post Office Department in Chicago employed 998 clerks and 935 carriers. By the time Congress approved funding for a new building, the post office had expanded to 1,319 clerks and 1,096 carriers. Other agencies housed in the building complained of poor planning and shoddy construction which resulted in crumbling plaster, broken plumbing and flooding.The new building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by architect Henry Ives Cobb. The floorplan was a six-story Greek cross atop a two-story base with a raised basement. The building was capped by a dome at the crossing that held an additional eight floors of office space in its drum for a total of 16 floors. The gilt dome extended 100 ft (30 m) above the drum.

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