State v. Jahn: the Thompson Center is dead, long live the Thompson Center
“What more can be said about the Thompson Center that has not already been said by the legions of its champions and its detractors? That it is a masterpiece, a tour de force of postmodernism? That it is an eyesore out of character with its urban context? That it is monumental in a city resplendent with monuments? That it is a monstrosity? That tearing it down robs Chicago of an internationally renowned landmark? That tearing it down rids Chicago—and the patient taxpayers of Illinois—of a leaking liability? That it is a pioneering experiment in multi-use development? That it squanders a prime development opportunity? That it is sublimely beautiful? That it is sublimely ugly?”
Newcity magazine, May 2011, with my story about Helmut Jahn’s Thompson Center on the cover. Cover art by Jimenez Lai.
The Thompson Center holds the distinction of being Chicago’s most beloved building and its most reviled. Taking up an entire city block, it is a riveting pageant of postmodern architecture designed by the late iconoclast Helmut Jahn. The Thompson Center propelled Jahn to international fame, but its future is uncertain. Earlier in 2021, the State of Illinois shuttered its offices and listed the building for sale. In response, a preservation movement coalesced.
My cover feature in Newcity magazine attempts to untangle the emotional, economic, and aesthetic threads from which the fate of the Thompson Center is suspended. It examines the case for preservation of postmodern architecture, referencing examples in Boston and Portland, OR. It also delves into Chicago’s ambivalence about its built legacy: both a source of civic pride and a perpetual development engine.
The feature benefitted from a wealth of experts in architecture and historic preservation. I’m grateful to Elizabeth Blasius and Jonathon Solomon, Heroic author Mark Pasnik, old friend and provocateur Iker Gil, and of course Helmut Jahn. The supremely talented Jimenez Lai drew the cover; photographer Bill Zbaren contributed a breathtaking image of the Thompson Center.
The story became a flashpoint in building preservation advocacy and was widely shared by press outlets and critics. I spoke about it in more detail in a radio broadcast with Mike Stephen.
Unexpectedly, my story became an elegy for Jahn, who died in an accident just days after it went to print. Because our conversation was Jahn’s final interview on record — and because we had developed a friendship over the years — I felt compelled to write a piece in memoriam, which served as a melancholy coda to the Thompson Center feature.