Weekend demolition removes a piece of history
Historic sign became safety hazard
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Carrie Bergagna/The Chronicle
Crews working on Sunday July 18, dismantled the historic Torco sign that rested on the top of the 624 S. Michigan Ave building. |
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By Andrew Greiner
Editor-in-Chief
The building at 624 S. Michigan Ave. looks a little less recognizable today. Demolition crews took the historic Torco sign off the building in the wee hours of the morning , Sunday July 18.
According to Mike Debish, vice president of facilities and operations at Columbia, the sign had to be removed because four years of disrepair made it a safety hazard. The yellow and white sign has not been lit in years
"It's a safety concern not only for Michigan Ave ., ... but it would be big exposure for Columbia if it fell off," Debish said.
The removal of the sign was difficult, simply because of the timing. Although the job went smoothly, scheduling the removal was a headache. U.S. Dismantlement, the company who took down the sign, required a crane in order to lower the sign from its perch on the 14th floor. Using the crane meant closing two lanes of South Michigan Ave.
City statutes allow cranes in the loop only on Sundays, and choosing the right Sunday was problematic. The removal was originally slated for early June, but Debish said that city officials weren't too keen on closing a section of Michigan Ave. during festival season.
"We had to contend with Bluesfest, Gospelfest and Taste of Chicago," Debish said.
The July 18 date saw its share of problems as well. Crews originally had a window between 8 a.m. And 9 p.m., but a last minute change moved the window to between 4:30 a.m and noon.
"I guess the city forgot they had all this stuff planned for Millennium Park," said U.S. Dismantlement project manager Scott Mortenson.
The Torco Oil Company had a contract that allowed them to keep the sign up as long as they maintained it but Debish said they reneged on their end of the bargain. Torco had occupied the building in the early part of the twentieth century when the oil company was a Chicago icon; Columbia purchased the building in 1991. Now the Torco Oil Co. is officially out of business and the sign has not received attention from them in four years Debish said, leaving Columbia in charge of its maintenance.
"It's bad enough to maintain the bricks and mortar, but the sign is an added liability," Debish said.
In lieu of maintaining the sign, Columbia officials opted for its removal, at the school's expense. The removal job cost the school around $60,000 and the tuck pointing work to restore the integrity of the building where the sign rested will run around $60,000 as well, Debish said.
"It's one less liability to worry about," Debish said. "All things considered, having paid the expense of a crane, which is not cheap, and having to close down Michigan Ave. I think it was a pretty good bargain for the money."
Now that the sign is down, maintaining the 624 S. Michigan Ave. building, which is included in the National Registry of Historic Places, will be easier and less expensive, Debish said. Tuck pointing crews will not have to work around the sign, reducing the cost of the procedure.
But the removal of the Torco sign was not a joyous occasion for all; some of the handful of on-lookers understood that Michigan Ave. was losing an icon of sorts.
"We are watching some serious history here," said U.S. Dismantlement Project Manager Bruce Hanson, who was not working but came out Sunday to watch the sign come off. "Since I heard about this job a year ago, I am always seeing this sign in movies set in Chicago. I think it's even in Blues Brothers."
The sign is historic, but not significant enough to be included with the landmark status of the 624 S Michigan Ave. Building. Debish said that the Commission on Chicago Landmarks gave unanimous approval for the sign to come down.
"It is not a recognizable Chicago, icon it's not like Wrigley Field, it's not like Chicago Hot Dogs, It's not like cheese popcorn, but it was never the less part of the skyline and people will notice that it is gone," said Russell Lewis, Andrew W. Melon director for collections and research, at the Chicago Historical Society.
Gregory Neul, a teacher in the Science Institute, who had an office on the 14th floor for 15 years, will notice that the sign is gone because a piece of the sign blocked his view of the lake. But for him the removal is a bit too late.
"Now that I am retiring I finally get visibility from my office," Nuel said.
Click here to view the photo slide show of the Torco sign removal.
Click below to view the video of the Torco sign removal, by Andrew J. Scott and Carrie Bergagna.
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