McGuire Igleski & Associates
McGuire Igleski & Associates

Old Post Office

  • Featured
  • Preservation Architecture
  • Commercial
  • Adaptive Reuse

Vacant for nearly two decades, Chicago’s Old Main Post Office has been brought back to life as a downtown hub for business. McGuire Igleski led the main lobby restoration as a consulting architect for Gensler. McGuire Igleski paired modern architectural practices with classic preservation techniques by carefully documenting the space and creating detailed drawings and technical specifications to restore the original lobby configuration and monumental bronze windows and doors and repair marble, glass mosaic, bronze, and gilded features while sensitively integrating new mechanical systems.

Photos: Tom Rossiter

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Client

The 601W Companies

Size

15,000 SF

Project Partners

Gensler

Awards

Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Adaptive Reuse

Society of Architectural Historians Award for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation

Designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and built in phases from 1921 to 1932, the 2.3-million-square-foot Post Office was known for its critical role as the nexus of the U.S. mail system until 1996. The Art Deco structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and designated a City of Chicago Landmark in 2018.

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