June 14, 1969 – The Chicago Tribune gives a shout-out in an editorial “to the many open
spaces which building owners and architects have provided to make downtown
Chicago a more civilized place.” [Chicago
Tribune, June 14, 1969] Today this
editorial reminds us of something that we take for granted, something that was
a rarity as the 1960’s began – open space in the heart of a city in which every
square foot of property is a valuable commodity. It could have been a lot different. Think of it – within the space of nine short
years the city received four great plazas in conspicuous places: the Civic Plaza in front of the 1965 Chicago
Civic Center, now the Daley Center; the plaza, now being filled with an Apple
Store, in front of the 1965 Equitable building at 401 North Michigan Avenue;
the First National Bank plaza with its Ferris Bueller fountain of 1969; and the
great federal plaza north of the Kluczynski Federal building, completed in
1974. We are today the recipients of the
foresight of those planners of the 1960’s.
The Tribune was right on the
money when it stated, “We commend the building owners for sharing some of their
expensive land with the public.”
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