DocomomoJoin
  • Explore Modern
    • Explore the register
    • Designers
    • Styles of the Modern Era
    • Resources
  • Latest News
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
    • Modernism in America Awards
    • National Symposium
    • Tour Day
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Theodore Prudon Fund
    • Why become a member
    • Members & Supporters
  • Engage
    • About
    • Regional chapters
    • Start a chapter
    • Submit a site you love
    • Get involved
  • Search
  • Explore Modern
  • Register

Chicago Federal Center Post Office

Chicago Federal Plaza, Kluczynski Federal Building
Excellent
  • Miesian
  • Identity of Building/Site
  • History of Building/Site

Chicago Federal Center Post Office

Site overview

The simple and well-proportioned steel-and-glass design of the Chicago Federal Center epitomizes the minimalist architectural approach favored by its architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The building extends over two blocks; a one-block site, bounded by Jackson, Clark, Adams, and Dearborn streets, contains the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and U.S. Post Office Loop Station, while a parcel on an adjacent block to the east contains the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. A glass-enclosed great hall, 100 feet wide and 25 feet high, spans the center of the courthouse, serving as a visual gateway through the complex. From State Street on the east, one can look west down Quincy Street, through the courthouse, across Dearborn Street to the central plaza and post office beyond. The structural framing of the buildings is formed of high-tensile bolted steel and concrete. The exterior curtain walls are defined by projecting steel I-beam mullions covered with flat black graphite paint, characteristic of Mies's designs. The balance of the curtain walls are of bronze-tinted glass panes, framed in shiny aluminum, and separated by steel spandrels, also covered with flat black graphite paint. This organization emphasizes the impressive height of the sleek towers. In the early 1970s, the U.S. General Services Administration, under its Art in Architecture program, commissioned a steel sculpture for the plaza from the celebrated artist Alexander Calder. His creation, entitled Flamingo, was unveiled on October 25, 1974. The 53-foot-tall steel stabile, with its bright red color and graceful curves, provides a striking contrast to the dark, angular steel and glass curtain walls of the Federal Center buildings. In 1998, the stabile was conserved and lighting was added. (Adapted from the General Services Administration website)

Chicago Federal Center Post Office

Site overview

The simple and well-proportioned steel-and-glass design of the Chicago Federal Center epitomizes the minimalist architectural approach favored by its architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The building extends over two blocks; a one-block site, bounded by Jackson, Clark, Adams, and Dearborn streets, contains the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and U.S. Post Office Loop Station, while a parcel on an adjacent block to the east contains the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. A glass-enclosed great hall, 100 feet wide and 25 feet high, spans the center of the courthouse, serving as a visual gateway through the complex. From State Street on the east, one can look west down Quincy Street, through the courthouse, across Dearborn Street to the central plaza and post office beyond. The structural framing of the buildings is formed of high-tensile bolted steel and concrete. The exterior curtain walls are defined by projecting steel I-beam mullions covered with flat black graphite paint, characteristic of Mies's designs. The balance of the curtain walls are of bronze-tinted glass panes, framed in shiny aluminum, and separated by steel spandrels, also covered with flat black graphite paint. This organization emphasizes the impressive height of the sleek towers. In the early 1970s, the U.S. General Services Administration, under its Art in Architecture program, commissioned a steel sculpture for the plaza from the celebrated artist Alexander Calder. His creation, entitled Flamingo, was unveiled on October 25, 1974. The 53-foot-tall steel stabile, with its bright red color and graceful curves, provides a striking contrast to the dark, angular steel and glass curtain walls of the Federal Center buildings. In 1998, the stabile was conserved and lighting was added. (Adapted from the General Services Administration website)

Chicago Federal Center Post Office

Site overview

The simple and well-proportioned steel-and-glass design of the Chicago Federal Center epitomizes the minimalist architectural approach favored by its architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The building extends over two blocks; a one-block site, bounded by Jackson, Clark, Adams, and Dearborn streets, contains the John C. Kluczynski Federal Building and U.S. Post Office Loop Station, while a parcel on an adjacent block to the east contains the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. A glass-enclosed great hall, 100 feet wide and 25 feet high, spans the center of the courthouse, serving as a visual gateway through the complex. From State Street on the east, one can look west down Quincy Street, through the courthouse, across Dearborn Street to the central plaza and post office beyond. The structural framing of the buildings is formed of high-tensile bolted steel and concrete. The exterior curtain walls are defined by projecting steel I-beam mullions covered with flat black graphite paint, characteristic of Mies's designs. The balance of the curtain walls are of bronze-tinted glass panes, framed in shiny aluminum, and separated by steel spandrels, also covered with flat black graphite paint. This organization emphasizes the impressive height of the sleek towers. In the early 1970s, the U.S. General Services Administration, under its Art in Architecture program, commissioned a steel sculpture for the plaza from the celebrated artist Alexander Calder. His creation, entitled Flamingo, was unveiled on October 25, 1974. The 53-foot-tall steel stabile, with its bright red color and graceful curves, provides a striking contrast to the dark, angular steel and glass curtain walls of the Federal Center buildings. In 1998, the stabile was conserved and lighting was added. (Adapted from the General Services Administration website)

Awards

Design

Award of Excellence

Civic

2021

A Civic/Institutional Design Award of Excellence is given for the restoration of the Chicago Federal Plaza United States Post Office, part of the Chicago Federal Center designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe  and completed in 1974, five years after his death. The complex epitomizes Miesian Modernism and the “less is more” philosophy. Restoring an iconic design for which the defining characteristic is its minimalism can present an array of challenges. The design team took the smart and correct approach to focus on and get right the most important details, specifically the historic paint color (where previous maintenance campaigns had selected shiny black paint, their research and analysis revealed that a “thundercloud gray” matte was a closer match to Mies’ original vision). They also addressed protective coatings and repair and reconstruction of the original steel framing and mullions.

“This project showed care for style, tradition, AND public space. The team is to be applauded for doing the right thing.”

- John T. Reddick, 2021 Jury member

"They used solid forensic research and a humble approach to the restoration and only did what they needed to do to let the significance of the building shine through again.”

 

- Gina Ford, FASLA, 2021 Jury member
Client

General Services Administration

Restoration Team

BRUSH Architects Team: Mary Brush, FAIA (Principal in Charge), Sophie Levy-Kohn (Project Manager), Aura Venckunaite (Project Architect), Michiel De Houwer (Technical Designer) 
 
Consultants: Jan Blok and Fernando Saz, The Structural Group (Structural Engineers); John Castro (Project Manager) and Mike Wnek (Site Superintendent), Accel Construction; Lisa Honaman, Viracon Glass (Glazing Supplier); Sean Meracle, Sherwin Williams (Paint Supplier); Capital Industrial Coating (Painting Contractor) 

Primary classification

Administration (ADM)

Terms of protection


Designations

U.S. National Register of Historic Places, listed on March 24, 2011

How to Visit

Public government building

Location

230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL, 60604

Country

US

Case Study House No. 21

Lorem ipsum dolor

Designer(s)

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Nationality

German, American

Other designers

Mies van Der Rohe

Related News

Bauhaus 100

Newsletter, bauhaus

January 31, 2019

Docomomo US announces date and location of 2020 Symposium

national symposium, Newsletter July 2019, Chicago, save the date

July 16, 2019
Commission

1958

Completion

1974

About
  • Docomomo US
  • US Board of Directors
  • Partner Organizations
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Credits
  • Contact
Membership
  • Membership Overview
  • Why you should become a member
  • Join
  • Members & Supporters

© Copyright 2025 Docomomo US

Donate

Donations keep vital architecture alive and help save threatened sites around the country. Docomomo US relies on your donations to raise awareness of modern design and advocate for threatened sites. Donate today ›