Richard J. Daley Center

The Richard J. Daley Center rises as a sheer wall of rusted Cor-Ten steel, distinct among the stone and glass of the Loop. Completed in nineteen sixty-five, this courthouse and office tower broke from the neoclassical tradition of Chicago's civic buildings to embrace stark minimalism. When the steel first arrived, residents complained the building looked unfinished or damaged by fire. Architects Jacques Brownson and his team insisted the metal would oxidize into a protective, permanent brown patina, a process they watched unfold over years.