It’s been nearly three weeks since I’ve given you an update on 400 Lake Shore North Tower construction progress, and for that, I apologize. The concrete core has gotten a little taller, and there isn’t a single shred of evidence remaining of the Chicago Spire Hole. What I’d call the “sub-basement floor” or whatever the proper term is for the lowest floor of the tower, is poured, and there’s rebar sticking up and lying down everywhere. And I don’t know what that embankment is all about at the north end of the site (parallel to Ogden Slip) but even that’s cool as heck.

Let’s get to the photos. This is progress as of 09/10/2024 by general contractors LR Contracting and BOWA Construction, and concrete contractor Goebel Forming:

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Never forget the Chicago Spire Hole. Don’t miss it, but don’t forget it, either. If you had vacation plans for late this summer to check out the infamous chasm but wanted to wait for the DNC chaos to subside, you’re too late. Other than a few tiny remnants, the cofferdam is history.

A whole bunch of photos of construction activity and progress at 400 Lake Shore from August 22, 2024:

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Sure, that headline might seem fake. But stand up on Lake Shore Drive (the safe level, where there’s a sidewalk. Don’t stand in the roadway) and have a look at all the passersby stopping to check out construction at 400 Lake Shore, and you’ll insist this was their destination.

You’ll think all those people were in town just to see the famous Chicago Spire Hole for one last time, bringing their children along to explain to them what might have been. Sure, they took the requisite photos at The Bean and Navy Pier, and watched a lap or two of the NASCAR street race, since that coincided with their visit. But the ultimate purpose of their being here was obvious: See the Spire.

LR Contracting and BOWA Construction have darn near brought the concrete core clean up out of the old cofferdam; it helps considerably that they’ve been shaving layers of steel and concrete off for the past few weeks. You don’t need a drone anymore to see what’s going on inside, and soon they’ll be no sign of the cofferdam at all, as excavation around it continues. What you see at the “surface” of the cofferdam now is the lowest sub-basement concrete floor, above which the rest of the 72-story tower will rise.

Fare thee well, Chicago Spire Hole. Like Howard Cosell and SCTV before you, we’ll find ourselves ashamed for not appreciating you more when you were still with us.

Related Midwest hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at 400 Lake Shore on Monday. Because I care deeply about you, the viewer, I braved the stifling heat and accepted an invitation to attend. Three words: Totally. Worth. It.

Not only did I get to sign a beam that will be placed inside the cofferdam, our hosts also allowed us to walk over to the edge and peer down into it. And if you follow me on Twitter (you should) you know how badly I’ve been aching to see down into that thing. It also gave me the opportunity to talk to a few members of the construction crews, and I learned some things.

Remember when I watched them start cutting the top “ring” of that cofferdam? Well, they aren’t even close to being done. There are three more rings to go. They’re removing four of those sections in total. The top of the concrete core you see in the photo above marks the underside of the lowest floor level. That means there’s a lot of excavation work to be done, but not nearly as much backfilling of the abyss as I thought. Because so much of it won’t be an abyss anymore, once those four sections are cut away.

A huge thank you to Related Midwest and Taylor Johnson for allowing me to join in the celebration Monday, and to everyone involved in prepping the site for us to wander around a little. (They paved a little concrete path for us!) And the tent! Thank you for the tent!)
As I told Nosa Ehimwenman of BOWA Construction and Curt Bailey of Related, I’m the one up there on the Lake Shore Drive sidewalk once a week, watching, and I’ll be back soon.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.