The project, which would at that time become the world's second tallest building, was originally conceived of and owned by
Jerry Wolman
in late 1964, the project being financed by John Hancock Mutual Life
Insurance Co. Construction of the tower was interrupted in 1967 due to a
flaw in an innovative engineering method used to pour concrete in
stages that was discovered when the building was 20 stories high.
[15] The engineers were getting the same soil settlements for the 20 stories that had been built as what they had expected for the
entire
99 stories. This forced the owner to stop development until the
engineering problem could be resolved, and resulted in a credit crunch.
This situation is similar to the one faced during the construction of
111 West Wacker, then known as the
Waterview Tower.
Wolman's bankruptcy resulted in John Hancock taking over the project,
which retained the original design, architect, engineer, and main
contractor.
The building's first resident was Ray Heckla, the original building
engineer, responsible for the residential floors from 44 to 92. Heckla
moved his family in April 1969, before the building was completed.
On November 11, 1981,
Veterans Day, high-rise firefighting and rescue advocate
Dan Goodwin,
for the purpose of calling attention to the inability to rescue people
trapped in the upper floors of skyscrapers, successfully climbed the
building's exterior wall. Wearing a wetsuit and using a climbing device
that enabled him to ascend the I-beams on the building's side, Goodwin
battled repeated attempts by the
Chicago Fire Department
to knock him off. Fire Commissioner William Blair ordered Chicago
firemen to stop Goodwin by directing a fully engaged fire hose at him
and by blasting fire axes through nearby glass from the inside. Fearing
for Goodwin's life, Mayor
Jane Byrne intervened and allowed him to continue to the top.
[16][17]
The John Hancock Center was featured in the 1988 movie
Poltergeist III.
On December 18, 1997, comedian
Chris Farley was found dead in his apartment on the 60th floor of the John Hancock Center.
[18][19]
On March 9, 2002, part of a scaffold fell 43 stories after being torn
loose by wind gusts around 60 mph (100 km/h) crushing several cars,
killing three people in two of them. The remaining part of the stage
swung back-and-forth in the gusts repeatedly slamming against the
building, damaging cladding panels, breaking windows, and sending pieces
onto the street below.
On December 10, 2006, the non-residential portion of the building was sold by
San Francisco
based Shorenstein Properties LLC for $385 million and was purchased by a
joint venture of Chicago-based Golub & Company and the Whitehall
Street Real Estate Funds.
[20] Shorenstein had bought the building in 1998 for $220 million.
Golub defaulted on its debt and the building was acquired in 2012 by
Deutsche Bank AG who subsequently carved up the building.
[21]
The venture of Deutsche Bank AG and New York-based NorthStar Realty
Finance Corp. paid an estimated $325 million for debt on the Hancock in
2012 after its previous owners defaulted on $400 million in loans.
[22] The observation deck was sold to Paris-based Montparnasse 56 Group for $35 million and $45 in July 2012.
[23] That same month, Prudential Real Estate Investors acquired the retail and restaurant space for almost $142 million.
[24] In November 2012, Boston-based American Tower Corp affiliate paid $70 million for the antennas.
[25]
In June 2013, a venture of Chicago-based real estate investment firm
Hearn Co., New York-based investment firm Mount Kellett Capital
Management L.P. and San Antonio-based developer Lynd Co. closed on the
expected acquisition of the Hancock's 856,000 square feet of office
space and 710-car parking deck. The Chicago firm did not disclose a
price, but sources said it was about $145 million.
[22] This was the last step in that piecemeal sale process.
[22]
In May 2016, Hearn Co. announced that they were seeking buyers for the
naming rights with possible signage rights for the building.
[26]
An annual stair climb race up the 94 floors from the Michigan Avenue
level to the observation deck called 'Hustle up the Hancock' is held on
the last Sunday of February. The climb benefits the
Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The record time as of 2007 is 9 minutes 30 seconds.
On April 16, 2009 at 6:00AM CDT,
WYCC-TV
transmitting off the John Hancock switched to all-digital broadcasting,
becoming Chicago's first television station to stop broadcasting in an
analog signal.
[27]
WYCC-TV is one of only two Chicago market full-power television
stations which broadcast from the top of the John Hancock Center. The
other is
WGBO-DT, while all of the other area stations broadcast from the top of the
Willis Tower.
On November 21, 2015, a fire broke out in an apartment on the 50th floor of the building. The
Chicago Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire after an hour and a half; five people suffered minor injuries.
[28]
In 2017,
Lego Architecture
did a Chicago Skyline with John Hancock Center featured as one of the
buildings of Chicago. The other Chicago buildings are the Willis Tower,
CNA Plaza, Wrigley Building.
