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'{{Short description|Modern supertall skyscraper in web|url=http://skyscrapercenter.com/chicago/aon-center/ |title=The Skyscraper Center: Aon Center |website=Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052100/http://skyscrapercenter.com/chicago/aon-center/ |archive-date=2014-08-08}}</ref><br />5 below ground | references = <ref name=skyscraperCenter/> | map_type = Chicago#Illinois#USA | building_type = Office | architectural = |first1=Nathalie |last1=Tadena |first2=Jason |last2=Dean |first3=Leslie |last3=Scism |date=January 14, 2012 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204542404577158633936346056 |access-date=2020-01-20 |title=Aon Shifts Headquarters to London |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831134316/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204542404577158633936346056 |archive-date=2017-08-31 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19980212072931/http://www.amoco.com/contacts/index.html Contacts]". [[Amoco]]. February 12, 1998. Retrieved on March 31, 2010.</ref> The building is also the co-headquarters of [[Kraft Heinz]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Kraft Heinz eliminated another 1,000 jobs in 2016| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-kraft-heinz-job-cuts-20170223-story.html| first=Lisa| last=Du| date=February 23, 2017| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| agency=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Kraft Heinz preps HQ move into Chicago|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2015/07/16/kraft-heinz-preps-hq-move-into-chicago.html| date=July 15, 2015| newspaper=[[American City Business Journals|Chicago Business Journal]]| access-date=January 20, 2020}}</ref> ==History== ===Construction=== The Standard Oil Building was constructed as the headquarters of the [[Amoco|Standard Oil Company of Indiana]], which had previously been housed at South Michigan Avenue and East 9th Street. When it was completed in 1973, it was the tallest building in Chicago and the fourth-tallest in the world, earning it the nickname "Big Stan".<ref name="gss">{{cite web| website=Glass Steel and Stone| title=Aon Center| url=http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/625.php| access-date=2007-09-25| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826091210/http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/625.php| archive-date=26 August 2007| url-status=live}}</ref> (A year later, the [[Willis Tower|Sears Tower]] took the title as Chicago's and world's tallest.) The building employs a tubular steel-framed structural system with V-shaped perimeter columns to resist [[earthquakes]], reduce sway, minimize column bending, and maximize column-free space. This construction method was also used for the former [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] towers in [[New York City]]. ===Refacing=== When completed, it was the world's tallest [[marble]]-clad building, sheathed entirely with 43,000 slabs of Italian [[Carrara marble]]. The marble used was thinner than previously attempted in cladding a building, which soon proved to be a mistake. On December 25, 1973, during construction a 350-pound marble slab detached from the façade and penetrated the roof of the nearby [[One Prudential Plaza|Prudential Center]].<ref>Chicago Tribune, December 26, 1973</ref> In 1985, inspection found numerous cracks and bowing in the marble cladding of the building. To alleviate the problem, stainless steel straps were added to hold the marble in place.<ref name="gss" /> Later, from 1990 to 1992, the entire building was refaced with [[Mount Airy, North Carolina|Mount Airy]] white [[granite]] at an estimated cost of over $80 million.<ref name="emporis" /><ref name="globe">{{cite news |last=McMillan |first=Greg |publication-date=2007-06-12 |title=Two buildings, two cities, one problem |periodical=[[The Globe and Mail]] |publication-place=Toronto |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/two-buildings-two-cities-one-problem/article17996906/ |access-date=2007-09-25}}</ref> Amoco was reluctant to divulge the actual amount, but it was well over half the original price of the building, without adjustment for inflation. Two-thirds of the discarded marble was crushed and used as landscaping decoration at Amoco's refinery in [[Whiting, Indiana]], one-sixth was donated to [[Governors State University]], in [[University Park, Illinois|University Park]], and one-sixth donated to Regalo, a division of Lashcon Inc. Under a grant from the Illinois Department of Rehabilitative Services, Regalo's 25 handicapped workers carved the discarded marble into a variety of specialty items such as corporate gifts and mementos including desk clocks and pen holders.<ref name="emporis" /><ref name="UIC OSWM">{{cite web |url=http://www.p2pays.org/ref/24/23685.pdf |title=Construction and Demolition Waste: Generation, Regulation, Practices, Processing, and Policies |first1=Stephen D. |last1=Cosper |author2=William H. Hallenbeck |author3=Gary R. Brenniman |date=January 1993 |publisher=University of Illinois at Chicago, Office of Solid Waste Management |access-date=26 March 2010 | page=31}}</ref> The building's facade somewhat resembles that of the North and South tower of the former [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] Complex due to the upward flow of the columns. ===Designation=== The Standard Oil Building was renamed the Amoco Building when the company changed names in 1985. In 1998, Amoco sold the building to [[The Blackstone Group]] for an undisclosed amount, estimated to be between $430 and $440 million.<ref name="emporis" /><ref name="gss" /> It was renamed as the Aon Center on December 30, 1999, although the [[Aon Corporation]] would not become the building's primary tenant until September 2001.<ref>{{cite web| title=AON Center Chicago: Skyscraper Architecture| url=https://www.e-architect.co.uk/chicago/aon-center| first=David| last=McManus| date=July 12, 2018| website=e-Architect| access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref> In May 2003, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. acquired the building for between $465 and $475 million.<ref name="emporis" /><ref>{{cite web |website=Miller Cicero, LLC |title=Trophy Building Sale Sets New Record |date=2003-10-07 |url=http://www.millercicero.com/press/files-view.php?ViewNode=1066154585cVxrI |access-date=2007-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518025208/http://www.millercicero.com/press/files-view.php?ViewNode=1066154585cVxrI |archive-date=2007-05-18 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On August 10, 2007, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. changed its name to Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.)<ref>{{cite web |website=Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. |title=Wells REIT Changes Name to Piedmont Office Realty Trust |url=http://www.piedmontreit.com/cms/content/view/139/63 |access-date=2007-08-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610020230/http://www.piedmontreit.com/cms/content/view/139/63 |archive-date=2008-06-10}}</ref> Real estate investors Mark Karasick and Victor Gerstein acquired the building from Piedmont in 2015 for $713 million.<ref name="Owners"/> ===Planned observation deck=== On May 14, 2018, the building's owners unveiled $185 million proposal for an observatory featuring a thrill ride on the roof called the Sky Summit, the world's tallest exterior elevator, and new entrance pavilion. The observatory was supposed to be completed in 2022, but the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] has delayed construction plans by about a year.<ref>{{cite news| title=Aon Center's planned observation deck, Chicago's third, could create competition for tourist dollars| url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-chicago-observation-decks-20180511-story.html| first1=Ally| last1=Marotti| first2=Blair| last2=Kamin| date=May 15, 2018| newspaper=Chicago Tribune| access-date=January 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Construction halted for Aon Center observatory in Chicago due to coronavirus pandemic|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/06/29/coronavirus-construction-halted-aon-center-observatory-chicago/3277266001/|access-date=2020-11-28|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}</ref> ==Exterior lighting== In recent years, the top floors of the building have been lit at night with colors to reflect a particular season or holiday. Orange is used for [[Thanksgiving]], green or red for Christmas, and pink during [[Breast Cancer Awareness Month]]. The lighting commonly matches the nighttime lighting on the [[Antenna (radio)|antenna]] of Willis Tower, the [[John Hancock Center]] and the upper floors of the [[Merchandise Mart]]. ==Plaza== In the plaza, there is a sounding sculpture by [[Harry Bertoia]]. ==Position in Chicago's skyline== {{Chicago skyline}} ==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="200"> File:Aon Center in Chicago May 2016.jpg|From the south File:Aon center.JPG|From the southwest File:2004-07-14 1880x2820 chicago aon looking up.jpg|Looking up the building from the ground File:Skyscrapers in Chicago, including the AON Center, Chicago, IL 11-22-15.jpg|Looking from the North, with [[Aqua (skyscraper)|Aqua]] visible </gallery> ==See also== {{Portal|Chicago|Illinois}} * [[Aon Center (Los Angeles)]] * [[First Canadian Place]] – a similar building from the same architect * [[List of buildings]] * [[List of skyscrapers]] * [[List of tallest buildings and structures in the world]] * [[List of tallest buildings in Chicago]] * [[List of tallest buildings in the United States]] * [[List of tallest freestanding structures in the world]] * [[List of tallest freestanding steel structures]] == References == {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category|Aon Center}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052100/http://skyscrapercenter.com/chicago/aon-center/ Aon Center] on [[CTBUH]] Skyscraper Center * [http://www.buzzfile.com/Lists/Companies-located-at-200-E-Randolph-St,-Chicago,-IL,-60601 List of tenants at the Aon Center] - Companies located at 200 East Randolph Street, Chicago IL {{s-start}} {{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[John Hancock Center]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of tallest buildings in Chicago|Tallest building in Chicago]]|years=1972–1973<br /><small>1,136&nbsp;ft</small>}} {{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Willis Tower]]}} {{s-break}} {{s-ttl|title=Tallest building in the United States outside of New York City|years=1972–1973<br /><small>1,136&nbsp;ft</small>}} {{s-end}} {{Chicago Loop}} {{Supertall skyscrapers | current}} {{Chicago Skyscrapers}} {{Chicago}} {{BP}} {{Buildings in Chicago timeline}} [[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago]] [[Category:Insurance company headquarters in the United States]] [[Category:Amoco]] [[Category:BP buildings and structures]] [[Category:Office buildings completed in 1973]] [[Category:Edward Durell Stone buildings]] [[Category:JLL (company)]] [[Category:International style architecture in Illinois]] [[Category:Modernist architecture in Illinois]] [[Category:1973 establishments in Illinois]]'