Out of the Ashes
Robert R. McCormick, a prominent member of the McCormick family, and publisher of the Chicago Tribune, championed a purpose-built lakeside convention center for Chicago as far back as 1927. In 1958, ground was broken for a $35 million facility that opened in November 1960, and was named after McCormick, who died in 1955.
On a bitterly cold January night in 1967, McCormick Place was ablaze, engulfed in raging flames. The building that was supposed to be fireproof and “outlast Rome’s glories” was consumed frighteningly fast. Smoke was reported by janitors at 2:05 a.m. and by 2:30 a.m., when Fire Commissioner Robert Quinn arrived, he upgraded it to a five-alarm fire. Eighteen minutes later, he ordered the first special alarm.
It took just 45 minutes for two-thirds of the building to be engulfed. Before the fire was struck at 9:48 a.m., the roof had collapsed, though the Arie Crown Theater was damaged but not destroyed. One person died in the fire, a 31-year-old security guard. For Chicago, this was not only a civic disaster but an even worse economic one. McCormick Place had quickly become a money-maker. McCormick Place accounted for $100 million of convention business and employed more than 10,000 people, according to state statistics. The huge housewares show, which was supposed to open that day, lay in ashes. Millions of dollars in booths, not to mention one-of-a-kind samples, were lost. Most conventioneers booked early flights home, but some stayed for a hastily reconstructed show at a downtown hotel. Dozens of other shows scrambled to find new homes. The National Sporting Goods Show, which was just over two weeks away, moved to Navy Pier. The Chicago Auto Show, three weeks out, landed at the International Amphitheater.
An investigation report was released July 31, 1967, and assigned plenty of blame: poorly trained convention personnel and security guards, building construction unable to withstand the severity of the fire, serious deficiencies in temporary wiring, lack of automatic sprinklers, disabled hydrants, and no limits to the amount of combustible material allowed in the hall. What fire probers couldn’t determine was the cause. Though janitors said the initial smoke came from the vicinity of a booth’s electrical wiring, the report said a search for the origin was inconclusive. The disaster, however, helped to bring about numerous changes to the Chicago Municipal Code, as ordinances on exhibition halls, electrical facilities, emergency exits, fire walls, and smoke and heat vents were soon revised.
On January 3, 1971, the replacement building, later called the East Building and now called the Lakeside Center, opened with a 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) main exhibition hall. The Arie Crown Theatre sustained only minor damage and so was incorporated into the interior of the new building. The theater, with the largest seating capacity of any active theater in Chicago underwent major modifications in 1997 which improved its acoustics.
Today, McCormick Place attracts close to 3 million visitors each year, and is comprised of four state-of-the-art buildings: the North and South Buildings, the West Building and Lakeside Center. Trade show exhibitors know it today as the facility with the most stringent fire regulations in the industry.
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M&S welcomes the American Optometric Association’s OPTOMETRY’S MEETING 2012 to Chicago’s McCormick Place, June 28-July 1. Please stop by Booth 2243 to demo our Smart System® and learn about our special show discount!
Excerpted from “The Night McCormick Place Burned” by Stephan Benzkofer, and Wikipedia. Photo courtesy Oscar & Associates Inc., Chicago
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