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The Chicago Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois was constructed between 1898 and 1905 for the purpose of housing the midwest's federal courts, main post office, and other government bureaus. It stood in The Loop neighborhood on a block bounded by Dearborn, Adams and Clark Streets and Jackson Boulevard. The site held an 1880 post office, courthouse and customhouse which was cleared to make way for the new building.〔 The building was demolished in 1965 and replaced with the Kluczynski Federal Building. The push for a new building was spearheaded by postmaster Washington Hesing with backing by civic leaders and the Illinois' members of Congress. The explosion of Chicago's population, especially after the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, strained the earlier facility beyond capacity. When the Exposition began, the Post Office Department in Chicago employed 998 clerks and 935 carriers. By the time Congress approved funding for a new building, the post office had expanded to 1,319 clerks and 1,096 carriers. Other agencies housed in the building complained of poor planning and shoddy construction which resulted in crumbling plaster, broken plumbing and flooding.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher=US Court of Appeals-Seventh Circuit )〕 The building was designed in the Beaux-Arts〔 style by architect Henry Ives Cobb. The floorplan was a six-story Greek cross atop a two-story base with a raised basement.〔 The building was capped by a dome at the crossing that held an additional eight floors of office space in its drum for a total of 16 floors.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Chicago Federal Building )〕 The gilt dome extended above the drum. ==Construction== Congress passed a bill in late 1894 that President Grover Cleveland signed on February 13, 1895, appropriating $4 million to demolish the existing structure on the site and erect a new one. The 1880 building was considered dangerous and it was inadequate to house all the federal agencies in the city whose offices consequently were spread among several buildings.〔 On January 20, 1896, Congress approved an additional $25,000 to employ a special architect. The Chicago Federal Building was the first government structure constructed with the purpose of housing the post office.〔 Demolition began on the old building in June 1896 after the post office relocated to a temporary building on the site now occupied by the 333 North Michigan Avenue Building. Foundation work began in August 1897 and was completed in September 1898 at a cost of $208,000.〔 The foundation was supported by wooden piles driven below street level. The basement and first two floors covered the entire site and measured by . On April 30, 1898, work for the superstructure was awarded to John Pierce, a New York contractor, who submitted a bid of $1,897,000. The building took seven years to construct because government policy at the time was to appropriate only enough funds for each contract as it was awarded. There was no general contractor and over 100 separate contracts were awarded during construction. The completed building reached a height of and was dedicated by President William McKinley October 9, 1899, the twenty-eighth anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. The areas for the post office were completed in 1904 and other agencies occupied their spaces in 1905.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chicago Federal Building」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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