I say move the court house

If they're worried about security, perhaps they shouldn't make a courthouse that's made of glass.

It's been 21 years since 9/11 and a full 58 years since the Dirksen building was constructed. Why NOW is this suddenly a threat? What's far more likely in Chicago is politicians (and their allies) having a financial interest in seeing these buildings come down.

The two buildings where already there, when the Courthouse was built. And nobody was worried about it. Why now? It is so strange. If they are really worried about security, they should build a new Courthouse with state of the art security-tech in an open area at the edge of the city or somewhere in the surrounding landscape.

It's worth mentioning that Chicago's Federal Plaza was designed by Mies van der Rohe, an architect who also played a significant role in shaping the city's architectural legacy.

The towers are not dangerous. They are not going to be replaced with something that generates more economic value. What's the point knocking them down?

Simple solution? Remove the windows from the judges offices and make it like a prison and bulletproof. The federal government are experts at that anyways.

So... they spent Millions to acquire the building and land. Then... spent Millions for upkeep of the property. And now... they want to spend Millions to demolish the property. Your Tax Dollars hard at work. 🤦

I always wondered about these buildings! Me and a friend managed to get into the Consumers building thanks to a Facebook invite to an "abandoned building party" downtown in the fall of 2009. Showed up with probably at least 80-100 people, someone who set up the party had already broken in the back door and people were setting up speakers and equipment on the 3rd floor. It seemed at the time the first two floors were still occupied. Since the music wasn't going yet we and some other people took the back staircase up to the top of the building and got out onto the roof to look around downtown, definitely a cool experience for a 21 year old that grew up in flat Indiana. Then we looked over the side of the building and saw the CPD squad cars at the bottom... In the end the CPD cleared us all out of the building, got at least one kid arrested for taking the door cover charge and setting up the party, and told the rest of us to get the hell out of downtown and said we were lucky we weren't getting arrested for trespassing on federal property. Now that last bit makes more sense!

52 million dollars to _remove_ a pair of apartment buildings that are a living testament to how the city literally rose again from the ashes... Have they considered like, getting some blinds? Or some curtains maybe? Hell, I think covering the entire side of the courthouse in one-way windows might even be cheaper still. Also: What part of *Housing Crisis* do they not understand? These people are why we have childproof bottles and microwaves come with instructions not to use them to dry your pets.

Imagine the us federal government being worried about embarrassment in 2022.

Thanks for telling this story. I was visiting Chicago last week and stopped to notice these very two towers on State St, wondering why such classic buildings were uninhabited and sealed off. Now I know! Chicago is such a uniquely fantastic place.. America's most underrated city by far.

These buildings are historic and unique; they represent something beautiful that can never be replaced once it is gone. Think about that.

Ah, Melbourne had a few of those 1880s skyscrapers, (tallest in the world outside Chicago and New York). But the last 12 storey one was demolished in 1980. Of course these days everyone wishes we had preserved more buildings from that era.

These beautiful old buildings are each "one of a kind" and can never be replaced. Since they are still in good physically condition, leave them as a trophy to the beautiful city of Chicago. Where I live a beautiful 1800s city hall was demolished and replaced with an ugly 12 story black glass tower. Another historic building was the decorative 1800s train station, which was replaced by a steel "barn-like" warehouse looking structure. Now, city leaders are now exclaiming, "why"? KEEP THESE BUILDINGS!!!

Wouldn't be the first time the government took down two towers

So sad to see that the government's post-9/11, knee-jerk reaction and paranoia continues to result in police state activity even if they literally destroy monuments to American creativity and ingenuity.

Historic buildings are one of the aesthetics of a city.

If the federal government didn't want them to be able to look in THEN THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE BUILT NEXT DOOR TO OTHER SKYSCRAPERS. Seems like a "not our problem" scenario.

*reads title* “well they’re damn good at doing that now aren’t they.”

Replace the windows in the courthouse with black or mirrored glass. Or, you know, close the blinds.

As a local Chicagoan, thank you B1M for shinning a light on these beautiful buildings. Hopefully they are saved. All residents of Illinois should write to Durbin.

I had no idea that I walking past history every time i went up and down state street. I am glad the city wants to preserve its history. Some of the first sky scrapers

If it's a security issue they could just put curtains or blinds up in their windows.

Love your channel, dude. Your content is always great to watch and you cover many topics i've never heard of. Thank you for your hard work!

replacing windows facing the courthouse with solid walls sounds like the solution to me. I'm sure gov't computer servers (for the windowless rooms/areas) plus the consolidation of other government offices into that building is possible, especially if the first few floors can maintain wrap around windows. Even better would be sharing the space with gov't offices from Chicago/Cook/Illinois. If it costs $50M to demolish, i'm sure it's worth $100M to preserve it.

Great video! As usual, informative and well explained 🙂

So instead of moving or modifying the courthouse by installing one-way film on the windows, they insist on destroying two historic buildings. That's extremely petty. Literally all they would need to do to fix the window issue is install reflective film or slats that prevent view from above.

It's absolutely ridiculous that these weren't turned into apartments and the government got in the way of that as usual. If you're so scared, move the courthouse to a much more secure place such as a high end suburb nearby like Highland Park... which happens to prove that any crazy violence can happen anywhere, so to knock down these iconic towers and not repurpose them is just ridiculous and would only happen in Chicago and Illinois with the one party government.

I didn't realize how beautiful the Chicago skyline and its various buildings are. I only knew the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center. Very nice video, I always learn a lot with you. Cheers.

I remember when the Prudential building, at 44 stories, was the highest in Chicago. Many of those downtown buildings are classic and should be preserved. Tough call. Are they suitable for renovation or redevelopment?

Thanks for the great update

From the Chicago area and pissed to learn this. As if it was not enough that they tore down the jaw-dropping Federal Building (a massive domed building) in 1965 to build the current complex, but now they want to continue to destroy architectural heritage again. One of the best features of the current complex is that it is surrounded by a number older buildings that provide a cool architectural contrast to the international style modernism of the complex.

OK, so the Federal government can find $52M to demolish these buildings, turning them into an empty space with no economic value, but can't find money to renovate them and turn them into something that can be sold or rented for a profit. Alternatively, sell them to a developer, with caveats that protect the privacy of the courts and the integrity of the historic buildings - at least that way they have a chance of getting the taxpayers money back. Let's hope that UNESCO works faster than the Federal government.

Honestly the reason I visit towns and cities is for the architecture. I find older buildings to have more character. Especially since most modern buildings are usually just scare and tan.

Hi there, guy from Germany here. I hope Chicago is able to safe and re-use the towers, as they are actually really beautiful for old skyscrapers! 👍👍

Chicago is historically stunning. There is already a movement by Commision of Chicago Landmarks to protect these buildings!

There is zero ways to build anything like the older buildings bc the building materials are unavailable or way to expensive. We have to save as many as we can

LOVE THE B1M. ALWAYS HAVE GREAT IMPORTANT VIDEOS.

3.14 both the English -English and he American English talk is SOUND SO DELIGHTFUL for me to listen to.

Chicago has the most beautiful architecture in the United Stated of America. Chicago has many Billion Dollar Mega Developments on its way such as Lincoln Yards, The 78, Bronzeville Lakefront, Tribune East Tower (1,422 FT Tall,) One Central development, The River District, the current construction boom in West Loop, the ambitious Lake Shore Drive transformation. Did I miss any other projects? B1M should definitely take a look because Chicago’s Skyline is going to look even more massive in the next 5 -10 years!!

This got big local press when the plan was announced but its since been pushed to wayside of local news here. I'm glad you brought this back up.

I loved watching this. I learned so much and it was fascinating.

The fact that this was slipped into a bill in Congress is enough to convince me that there's people in Congress with a personal financial stake in this, simply because that's the only reason Congress ever does anything.

Please make a video on The Renovation of Cook County Hospital. I hadn't heard of it before, but I heard you mentioning it in this video. So I looked it up and it is absolutely gorgeous and a grand masterpiece!

History should be preserved when possible.

wouldn't be the first time they destoryed 2 towers in a dramatic fashoin, in a big city. Only this time they're taking responsibility

I miss the good parts of Chicago, hopefully projects like this will make changes in the area for the better.

As a native of Chicago, I would like to know how one of our U.S. senators, Dick Durbin came up with this idea. If you want to surround your courthouse with vacant land, go put it on a farm (we have a lot of them) downstate somewhere, not in the middle of Chicago! There are other solutions to this problem, Senator Durbin.

The idea that historic preservation can slow down economic growth in certain areas, is really not founded on anything except world view. The whole of Europe has millions of history sites, scattered across the continent and it hasn't exactly slowed down economic growth. It has probably increased it, as we're visited by billions of tourists yearly, who both come from other parts of Europe, but many come from either the US or Asia, making a pretty solid case for how beneficial historic preservation is for the economy. So I'll change that quote to: Building new is great, except when it isn't.

I feel like the issue is that the building is vacant. Normally the buildings near federal court house would have occupants which might help with security in a sense.

Love your videos! :)

Transforming these historic structures into archives facilities makes sense to me. Chicago Federal Center has its own architectural history as a classic mid-century Miles van set Rohe creation. If the feds are really not interested in that solution why couldn’t they build a modern replacement elsewhere downtown? Perhaps on one of those undeveloped lots along the river south of the Loop? I know you couldn’t do all that with the $52M earmark, but Chicago Federal Center itself would be worth something even in this market.

So spend on moving the courthouse. Design will be able to incorporate new security options that have become necessary for protecting people and appropriate vehicular access and parking. The old one will become available for alternative use, while the new courthouse will be developed in a site without any overseeing buildings. The old buildings can be renovated and reoccupied, instead of remaining empty or getting demolished.

Thanks!

Millions of dollars a year to maintain a vacant block. Where can I get a job like that?

5:55 Lol crooked judges are afraid they might get sniped from the buildings near by

The judge who made the decision that towers that have stood peacefully next to the courthouse now for 58 years had to be torn down is a nasty piece of work. He thought he was god's gift to the judiciary, but he's been stuck as a district court judge for a good 30 years now. Never got that promotion to the Seventh Circuit. Never even mentioned as a Supreme Court nominee. And he's pissed. Bitter. And he takes it out on the lawyers. Nasty piece of work.

The last time a building was demolished in a large city it didn't end so well

Hey B1M thank you for this video, I loved it. I really enjoy the architecture history aspect, and would love to see more videos that touch on how much the present is informed and reflected by the past. Cheers!

Remember last episode when we learned towers will last forever. Didn't see this twist coming.

An empty lot is always worse than a building, old or new. And the only thing worse than an empty lot is a parking lot!

The buildings aren’t even all that old, barely even able to hit “listed” status over here. I don’t see why tearing them down is such a problem.

Hey @B1M ,can you please do a video about the tallest building in the world made from hemp? It's being built in Cape Town, South Africa🇿🇦 It's a very eco friendly, strong and temperature regulating material. AfriMat and Hemporium are constructing the building at 84 Harrington Street.

The national archive idea sounds good, but I think leaving the windows and installing false walls behind them would be better than bricking them up. Could also use some of the lower floors as retail/office space, since most of the judges office's are towards the top floors of the courthouse.

Thankyou

Please keep me updated 👍

What about all of the other towers around that courthouse? Don't they also present a "security risk"? Why are only these towers targeted for demolition?

Great video! I say keep em both, not for their striking good looks but for there historical significance. National Archives repurpose is pretty brilliant

Hello, can you talk please about the colon tower in madrid, it is having a remodeling from an old design to a modern design. Thanks!!!

A problem with buildings of this age is they do not support the needs of the modern era. These were built with plumbing and electrical needs of a building of that era. The buildings have no simple way to support the infrastructure needed in a modern cubicle: desk lamp, desktop computer, monitor, sometimes two monitors, ethernet and phone, cell phone charger. Modern buildings support all of these things; they have double pane windows to reduce the load on the HVAC, They have a closet for telephony and an ethernet switch and so on. Another things that happens to these old buildings is the heat of the summer and cold of the winter places thermal expansion and contraction on the exterior. IIRC New York City had more than one building collapse after severe heat waves around 1999. I worked for years at 60 Spear St in San Francisco and many of us needed a power strip to keep all of the hardware in our cube operational

Nice to see a video on my home town. Chicago is rich in architecture.

“…The Sears Tower, now the Will-“ *zoom call drops*

Excellent content as usual! And, off the topic, what is the name of the track used from 6:11?

Close up the rear windows of both buildings using materials that mimic the current look. Use the rear half for archives or other storage. Convert the front areas to low-income housing and for the homeless.

You stayed they the city can't afford to maintain the vacant lot. Why would that be the city's burden if it is federal property? The federal government is currently maintaining the structures.

Thank you for sharing this story about Chicago. I have loved our skyline here since the late 1960s. I have gone to live in New York in the early 1970s but I came back to Chicago because of family here. Our buildings downtown here are the center piece to our beautiful city. Taking down these two buildings in question is very strange and would take away our bid for UNESCO Heritage status. Our skyline along Lake Michigan is so beautiful but what are we risking by taking down these buildings and then leaving that site vacate? I hope we are awarded UNESCO status before the taking down of those two beautiful buildings.

absolutely this is a wonderful video. thumbs up !.,,.,.

I live in a city in Massachusetts with 1 of 2 rotating bridges left in the US- ours being the only one still fictionally turning. As of 2 months ago the state stepped in and said it’s going forward with plans to demolish it and replace it with a modern bridge. Some locals have started a groups to save the bridge. For clarification- the Bridge is a 125 years old steel structure over salt water. The bridge has been removed from its footing and repaired off site for millions of dollars 20 years ago. 6 months ago it got stuck in rotation. And on both side of the bridge is the largest fishing port on the north east coast of the USA were almost all fish caught is brought to be processed and packaged. If the bridge fails again it could cripple the entire industry and easily put 10,000 people out of work next day. And that’s just the fishing industry not being able to pass in port. The other problem is the bridge is 125 steel structure over salt water. In the early 2000s a group of teens lost control on the steel deck of the bridge hitting the railing and then the water, all 4 died trapped in the car. The state stepped in and requires the railings to be replaced and enforcers since the bridge was built when Model Ts were the thing, not 4000lb cars. People will risk their own financial security and even their own safety to save a structure that has no historical value other than it was built a long time ago and has always been there.

Doesn't removing the buildings just move the line of sight for a sniper to whatever building is behind it?

The bottom line is how much will it cost to fix the buildings and what they could be used for.Just “preserving “ them and letting them rot is pointless.

Nobody needs Chicago without such buildings.

Considering the affordable housing shortage all over the country , to spend $52 MILLION to tear down 2 huge buildings that could house 1000's just to leave an empty lot is not only criminal but insane . smdh

What I like about Chicago is its variety of unique and historic buildings. It would be boring if these historic skyscrapers are replaced by more glass boxes. Well, to me, anyways.

Put up curtains in the courthouse??

Governments waste so much money. It's beyond astonishing.

Ah, there's that word again. 'Security'. Like that one single word strengthens the reason to demolish these buildings. Here in the UK we regularly get the phrase 'health and safety' thrown at us. And when that phrase is mentioned, it trumps all arguments.

Makes my Wednesday. Cheers.

Great video as always

Look up " the maltings " in Shrewsbury, UK.. That was the first steel framed multi-story building..its way older..

Uhhh, does the DoJ seriously not know that 3M makes privacy film for windows? As well as ballistic window films??

That building at 8:19 is an AT&T communications center in Manhattan. I know, because long ago AT&T was one of my customers when I was a systems analyst for a major computer company, and I was able to be inside that building where it was stacked full of communications gear.

I wonder if, given advances in the likes of 3D printing, such beautiful turn of the 20th Century architecture could ultimately make a comeback; as opposed to the mid-20th century “international” half-assed minimalism cubes already making a comeback… just elaborate ornamental design patterns on the sides of incredibly simple steel frames… the early high rises were something else…

A vacant lot can be turned into. a green zone, park, botanical garden or arboretum, eco friendly

Have you done a vid on Detroit old Train Station preservation?

I hope not! They're pretty!

If you want the option of bricking up the windows for and archive why not just keep the windows and brick it up behind it.. also easier to restore when there is no need for it anymore.

Seems like government does not want its work to be overseen.

I just want to know what the music is at the end of the video - lovely jazz...

Seems to me that the issue is rather overblown in it's importance. If the first skyscraper ever was demolished because it was far too expensive to be maintained than be just destroyed than these old buildings don't stand a chance.