The 31-story Chicago Civic Center (also known as the Daley Center) houses over 120 court and hearing rooms, a law library, and office space inside an award-winning glass and steel structure. In collaboration with local firms C.F. Murphy & Associates and Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett, SOM designed flexible rooms that anticipated the need for future space requirements and could be converted into either courtrooms or offices with minimal structural alterations. Constructed from Cor-Ten steel, a durable self-weathering alloy, the building has developed a bronzed patina over time and requires very little exterior maintenance.

Project Facts

Completion Year: 1965
Site Area: 123,110 ft²
Project Area: 1,465,723 ft²
Building Height: 648 ft
Number of Stories: 31

Project Awards

1966 • AIA - Chicago Chapter and Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry • Design Excellence Award: Honor Award
1966 • American Institute of Steel Construction • Architectural Award of Excellence
1968 • AIA • National Honor Award
1991 • AIA - Chicago Chapter • 25 Year Award

Designed as a mixed-use structure that combines courtrooms with office spaces, the Chicago Civic Center (also known as the Daley Center) stands on a granite plaza across from two corresponding high-rise buildings also designed by SOM: the concrete and glass Brunswick Building and the steel and glass Connecticut Mutual Building. Rising 31 stories, the Civic Center contains over 120 court and hearing rooms, a law library, and office space.

The 648-foot high-rise was constructed from Cor-Ten steel, a low-maintenance alloy. Since its completion in 1965, the steel skeleton has developed a permanent russet-colored oxide coating that resists long-term wear. Inside the tower, courtrooms are double-height, while offices maintain standard 12-foot ceiling heights. To accommodate future programming needs, the offices were designed to be easily converted into courtroom spaces and vice-versa.

The Chicago Civic Center project was a joint effort between SOM and local firms C.F. Murphy & Associates and Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett. SOM partners William Hartmann and Bruce Graham—whose collaborations produced many other famed Chicago high-rises including the Inland Steel Building and Sears Tower—played key roles in the Civic Center’s design. Hartmann personally solicited Pablo Picasso to create a monumental sculpture that would anchor the plaza in front of the building. Since the Picasso sculpture’s unveiling in 1967, the continuous granite plaza has become a forum for public concerts, farmers’ markets, and political rallies.