333 South Wabash

Description

333 South Wabash is a simple, rectangular International Style building, but it is unique in that the entire building was painted bright red by Eagle Painting & Maintenance Company, Inc., turning an otherwise ordinary-looking structure into one of the most eye-catching buildings in the city. It was designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and was completed in 1972.

Occupants

As of 2014, CNA occupied 65 percent of the tower. Other occupants included The Chicago Housing Authority, United Way and Akuna Capital.

In August 2017, Buck and Northern Trust announced an agreement for the bank to lease 465,000 sqft of the building. The lease, which includes signage and naming rights, was to consolidate approximately 2,500 to 3,000 Northern Trust workers from several sites around Chicago and take place in 2020.

History

Originally known as Continental Center III, in reference to the original moniker of CNA Financial Corporation, Continental National American Group, both CNA Center (formerly CNA Plaza) and the neighboring CNA Center North (Continental Center II, built in 1962 at 55 East Jackson Blvd.) adjoined and were painted red. The shorter red building was later restored to its original gray tone in 1999. The two buildings remain joined at the second floor: CNA's Conference Center uses space on that floor, but all entrance and egress to it is through CNA Center. The company's previous headquarters from 1943 to 1962 had been Metropolitan Tower (310 South Michigan Avenue, aka Continental Center I).

In 1999, a large fragment of a window fell from the building and killed Ana Bertha Flores who was walking by with her three-year-old child, Viridiana. Windows had been cracking at the building ever since it had been built in 1975 due to thermal stress of uneven heating caused by the building's inset windows. CNA Financial, a property insurance company, later paid $18 million to settle the resultant lawsuit. All of the building's windows were replaced in an expensive retrofit.

333 South Wabash became a Chicago Landmark in 2012. CNA decided to sell the building in 2015 after relocating to 151 North Franklin, and the John Buck Company acquired the building in March 2016 for $108 million. Buck planned to redevelop the building.

In January 2020, a joint venture between Michael Shvo's firm SHVO, Deutsche Finance, and BLG Capital agreed to buy the building for $370 million. Hayden Hall, a food court in the building, opened the same month but closed shortly afterward due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sale of the building was finalized that August for $376 million. Hayden Hall reopened in 2024. Following a renovation the next year, designed by HOK, 333 South Wabash was rebranded as The Red.

Lighted window messages

Utilizing a combination of lights on/off and 1,600 window blinds open/closed (and sometimes foamboard cutouts), the windows on 333 South Wabash are often used to display lighted window messages, typically denoting holidays, remembrances, and other events denoting Chicago civic pride, such as when the Blackhawks played in and won the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals and when the Cubs made their 2016 World Series run. Building engineers use a computer program to plot which windows need to be lighted to create the proper message.

Position in Chicago's skyline

|File:Cancer_display_3_1114.jpg|Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October 2005 |File:Holiday_display.jpg|December 2005, "gift" of a wrapped present design reflecting the winter holidays. |File:Cna gobears.jpg|333 South Wabash cheers the Chicago Bears |File:Cna happy2007.jpg|Lighted window message for New Year's Eve 2007 |File:Go_cubs.jpg|CNA's building with wording formed by office lights through windows "Go Cubs Go".

References

References

1. {{usurped
2. Daniels, Steve. (March 24, 2014). "Why jobs and revenue are going opposite directions at CNA". [[Crain's Chicago Business]].
3. Tekippe, Abraham. (December 14, 2012). "United Way moving to CNA Center". Crain's Chicago Business.
4. (May 23, 2017). "Akuna Capital signed tax break deal with state of Illinois estimated to be worth $4.5M".
5. Ori, Robert. (August 9, 2017). "CNA building gets new tenant — and maybe a new name — as Northern Trust signs deal". Chicago Tribune.
6. "Archived copy".
7. "CNA Plaza North".
8. (July 7, 2011). "Landmark Designation Report". Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
9. Chicago Architecture Info [http://www.chicagoarchitecture.info/Building/1083/CNA-Center.php CNA Center] {{Webarchive. link. (July 15, 2014 Accessed July 13, 2014)
10. Kiernan, Louise. (February 14, 2002). "CNA window death settled for $18 million". Chicago Tribune.
11. Bey, Lee. (April 4, 2025). "Downtown's Big Red gets new flavor".
12. (November 30, 2023). "CNA to Sell 1M-SF "Big Red" Office Building".
13. Yerak, Becky. (March 25, 2016). "CNA sells Loop headquarters for $108 million".
14. "The John Buck Company completes $108M acquisition of CNA building".
15. Ori, Ryan. (December 16, 2015). "CNA selling 'Big Red,' moving HQ to new office tower". Crain's Chicago Business.
16. Rogal, Brian. (January 22, 2020). "333 South Wabash Sells For $370M, Raising Hopes The Investment Office Market Is Back".
17. Ecker, Danny. (January 22, 2020). "Revamped 'Big Red' selling for $370 million".
18. Selvam, Ashok. (January 30, 2020). "Explore the New Loop Food Hall Inspired by the 1893 World's Fair".
19. Nelson, Sam. (June 26, 2024). "Hayden Hall, Closed Since COVID's Start, Reopens With New Vendors and Owners".
20. Ecker, Danny. (August 13, 2020). "$376 million deal for downtown's 'Big Red' closes".
21. Miller, Ben. (August 13, 2020). "$376 million sale of Chicago's 333 South Wabash building is closed".
22. Bey, Lee. (April 4, 2025). "Downtown's Big Red gets new flavor".
23. GlobeNewswire. (March 20, 2025). "Iconic '333 South Wabash' Building Reborn as 'The Red'". [[SHVO]].
24. Ecker, Danny. (June 12, 2013). "Chicago buildings showing Blackhawks pride during Final". Crain'S Chicago Business.
25. (October 27, 2016). "How Chicago's iconic buildings light up for the Cubs". Chicago Tribune.