CHICAGO | AON center | 1,136 FT / 346 M | 83 FLOORS | 1973

[The North One]

YAY! Let's turn it into a las vegas attraction! because capitalism...

So sick of these tacky observation decks being tacked on these sort of buildings.

[spidey7312]

Originally Posted by chris08876

601W Companies’ $185M Aon Center observation deck pitch earns blessing of key alderman




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TRD

why did anyone think this would be a good idea

[SIGSEGV]

Do it on the Trump Tower, don't ruin this building.

[dropdeaded209]

the theme park-iazation of chicago architecture continues... what's next, a rollercoaster inside the thompson center? skiing down first national?

[chris08876]

I'm not a fan of this at all. Aon center is beautiful. Reminds me a lot of the original WTC tower 2, just smaller.

[Amanita]

If they would just leave those columns alone and not mess with Aon's looks, I'd be much happier about this.

[ChiTownWonder]

Originally Posted by Kumdogmillionaire

We are so spoiled to have a building this beautiful going up and it'll still probably only be my fifth favorite supertall in the city... Well, fourth after they bastardize the Aon Center with their amusement park rides and glass elevator shafts

Quite a bit off topic, but can we please protest the Aon Center additions? The integrity of the tower will be destroyed with this odd angled glass prism sticking out of the corner.. shame

[Skyguy_7]

I'm not too crazy about the addition to Aon either, but on the bright side, this tower the most bland of our supertalls, so the views [I]from it[I] will be spectacular. Aon is striking, yes, especially from below, but it's really just a big tall rectangle. It offers wonderful views of the more appealing towers our city has to offer, which I'm quite excited to experience again.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

I'm not too crazy about the addition to Aon either, but on the bright side, this tower the most bland of our supertalls, so the views [I]from it[I] will be spectacular. Aon is striking, yes, especially from below, but it's really just a big tall rectangle. It offers wonderful views of the more appealing towers our city has to offer, which I'm quite excited to experience again.

you could say "its just a big tall rectangle" about any building from the past 100 years. what made this particular big tall rectangle stand out was precisely what will be lost when you start duck taping water slides and go kart tracks onto the side of it

i think its easy to take the Aon for granted because its not a trendy shiny curtain walled gemstone, but in the same way a granite mountain boldly and without pretense announces its timeless presence and dosent demand affirmation (is simply "IS"), so too does this building. i think any love for what made the WTC great could just as easily apply to this design. but here i thought the antenna that got tacked on several years back was a big enough sin...

[Skyguy_7]

^That antenna pisses me off too. I’ve always day dreamed of an ESB-esque spire/crown atop the Aon. Maybe someday, when I’m president.

[lu9]

Lots of good stuff from the plan commission yesterday including the controversial (at least on here) Aon observation deck.

https://twitter.com/ChicagoDPD

[Skyguy_7]

This is gonna be wild. It looks like when the elevators are not in use, it'll be difficult to see the rails/new glass. I'm not a fan of the facade revisions but at least it activates another unused part of our wonderful cityscape.

[IMG][/IMG]
Screen grab Via Chicago DPD Twitter Feed

[gebs]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

This is gonna be wild. I'm not a fan of the facade revisions but at least it activates another unused part of our wonderful cityscape.


Screen grab Via Chicago DPD Twitter Feed

For a hot second I thought "what the hell is that weird structure they added to the -- oh that's the Sears Tower, nevermind, move along, nothing to see here."

[photoLith]

Ewwww, that looks like utter poop, hope that doesn't go through.

[The North One]

This is so disgusting. This building gets to be raped because some New Yorker wants to siphon money with a tacky observation deck. Utterly disappointing.

[AMWChicago]

As ugly as it might be, I'm so desperately excited to be able to gawk up there. The views will likely be the best in the city. Better than Hancock. So while I wish the elevator were in the core, and that the verticality was maintained on the pillars at the roof, I almost want to give that up just so I can have that view.

[Aqua_Chicago]

I believe that it is an excellent news that a public observatory will be up there and about the panoramic elevators , I believe, will be the highest in America, even more fabulous news. Nor should we dramatize about the project and see only negative things; I do not think that by placing two panoramic elevators, the façade will change much, actually the elevators will go through the back, so the view of the building from the park, which is what is usually photographed, does not will be altered. so the project seems great to me. I can't wait to go up there¡¡
the terraces look fabulous. If I'm not mistaken, it will be the only observatory in Chicago with access to the outdoors. It would be even more fabulous, if they could do as in the twin towers, an automatic staircase, to go to the roof, and make a terrace for public ,completely outdoors, as at the south tower in Manhattan, then it would be unsurpassed, a success¡¡¡ There would be lines to go up there. I'm sure.

[Zapatan]

Is this overhaul still happening?

When would it begin if so? I like the idea of the observatory but it looks like the tower is gonna end up looking terribly botched.

I'm not a fan of this at all. Aon center is beautiful. Reminds me a lot of the original WTC tower 2, just smaller.

It's part of the reason I love this building so much too, can't say I'm a fan of this revision.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

Is this overhaul still happening?

When would it begin if so? I like the idea of the observatory but it looks like the tower is gonna end up looking terribly botched.

yes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/colum...wbe-story.html

A little later than expected, Chicago’s third observatory is coming into view as the owner of the Aon Center prepares to start building the long-discussed $185 million addition.

The skyscraper’s owner, 601W Cos., expects to begin construction on the yet-to-be-named observation deck overlooking Millennium Park in the third quarter of this year, said Aon Center general manager Matthew Amato.

That opening date is about a year and a half later than the one 601W cited in December 2018, as the project neared zoning approval from the city.

Legends operates facilities and provides concessions and other services to many well-known sports venues and tourist attractions, including the One World Trade Center’s observatory, Yankee Stadium and the Rose Bowl.

The two-level space will include a restaurant, bar, event space and virtual reality experiences. The main attraction will be a thrill ride called the Sky Summit, which will lift enclosed cabs filled with visitors over the building’s edge for 30 to 40 seconds.

Work is expected to occur simultaneously on several aspects of the project, including adding a glass elevator tower to the exterior of the building at 200 E. Randolph St., Amato said.

There also will be a 9,000-square-foot pavilion built on the southeast side of the property for guests to enter, and a walkway built underneath the office tower leading to observatory elevators on the northwest side.

Atop the Aon Center, space formerly used for mechanical systems on the 82nd floor will be converted into an observatory with views of the park, Lake Michigan and the skyline. A partial 83rd floor will provide an area for visitors to enter the thrill ride.

The Aon Center, completed in 1973 and previously known as the Standard Oil Building and the Amoco Building, is Chicago’s third-tallest skyscraper.

At 1,136 feet tall, it trails only Willis Tower (1,451 feet) and Trump International Hotel & Tower (1,389 feet). When it’s completed nearby this fall, 1,191-foot-tall Vista Tower will knock the Aon Center down to No. 4 on Chicago’s tallest buildings list.

When the Aon Center addition is complete, Chicago will join New York as the only American city with three observatories. Chicago’s others are Skydeck Chicago in Willis Tower and 360 Chicago in the former John Hancock Center on North Michigan Avenue.

The Aon Center’s owner, whose other Chicago projects include the Old Post Office redevelopment, estimates its new observatory will generate $30 million to $40 million in annual revenue. 601W bought the Aon Center for $712 million in 2015.

The Tribune in February 2018 first reported that 601W was looking into adding the glassy exterior elevator tower to help create an observatory, and in May 2018 the landlord publicly disclosed its plans.

Soon, the area just north of Millennium Park will be a construction zone. Across the street from the Aon Center, an affiliate of Chicago-based CA Ventures is about to begin construction of a 46-story apartment tower on a vacant lot at 222 N. Stetson Ave.

and yeah this looks like garbage IMO

[Steely Dan]

^ ugh.......


i was hoping that this shit-acular plan would quietly die on the vine and go away forever.