Eye-to-eye as the tower crane comes down at 151 North Franklin.

An email from Alderman Reilly’s office confirmed what we already knew; the tower crane at 151 North Franklin is coming down this weekend. Randolph Street between Lake and Franklin is closed as crews from Central Contractor Services use the roadway to load up red tower crane parts and haul them off to their next assignment.

Initial confusion over what kind of crane would be utilized at 151 North Franklin soon turned into joy, as Lendlease engineered a spectacular steel frame over the Randolph Street sidewalk, in effect floating the tower crane above pedestrians’ heads.  A luffer rather than a fighter, it made the Best Of 2016 list, served its purpose, and now moves on. Chances are good we see that same crane pop up downtown soon, on another site.

There’s an embarrassment of riches of new glass around Chicago these days. The latest to show up for the party? 151 North Franklin. But you have to look carefully. There are a few panels visible from the corner of Franklin and Randolph, and then a couple rows along Couch Place (aka the alley between Randolph and Lake.)

Have a look:

The tower crane that isn’t a tower crane at 151 North Franklin still soars high above Randolph Street.

I missed the memo that said 151 North Franklin would be growing like a weed in spring, despite Chicago heading into winter. On the lot that only yesterday still seemed to anchor that worn-out old Walgreen’s store, the future CNA Center already appears to be about 18 stories into the sky. You can credit Lendlease for that miracle growth, for even in Thursday’s inhuman temperatures, there was still a construction crew on site. That’s not just a core shooting up through the center of The John Buck Company’s 820,000-square-foot office tower, that’s hard-core.

Here are a few shots on 151 North Franklin, which has outgrown all the adjacent parking garages, and their prime vantage points.

Kudos to Lendlease; they #FlyTheW while they #FlyTheIron.

The CNA Center, 151 North Franklin Street in the Loop. A 35-story office tower with 820,000 rentable square feet.

Enough words. More pictures.

The core of the CNA Center has reached the top of the 7-story garage next door. So I’m gonna say it’s about 7 stories high right now.

Admittedly, I became so infatuated with that funky tower crane at the new CNA Center, at 151 North Franklin Street in The Loop, that I forgot to notice how much of the core had risen from the earth. Then, all of a sudden, there it was, right in front of me.

General contractor Lendlease looks to be having a wonderful time pouring concrete and hammering lumber and such. I went ahead and took some pictures, figuring you wouldn’t mind seeing them…