FEATURE image: Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower building, 300 E. Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois. Day and Night. It was designed by Goettsch Partners (GP) an architecture firm based in Chicago, with additional offices in Denver and Shanghai. November 2017. Author’s photographs.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower embodies a forward-thinking approach to urban architecture, demonstrating how a major corporate skyscraper can be designed for future growth while remaining integrated into Chicago’s evolving skyline. Its significance lies not only in its appearance but in its innovative two-stage construction, which allowed the tower to expand vertically without relocating its occupant.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower sits on the northeast corner of East Randolph Street and Columbus Drive in Chicago, Illinois. It is on the north side of Millennium Park. The tower is the headquarters of Health Care Services Corporation, a company founded in 1936 and based in Chicago, Illinois. HCSC is the licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association that provides health insurance to more than 115 million people in the U.S. as of 2022.

Views are from inside Millennium Park. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower was built in two stages. The first stage was the original 32-story building completed by Lohan Associates (today Goettsch Partners) in 1997. It was built with the potential for a vertical expansion so that the client could grow in the same location. An expansion occurred in 2007 with a 24-story addition completed in 2010. It became the first building project in downtown Chicago that built upon an existing tower. Author’s photograph. All rights reserved. November 2017 7.38 mb 3417 (1)

Originally built as a 33-story structure (with three floors underground) in 1997, a 24-story vertical addition was constructed between 2007 and 2010, bringing the tower to its current height. It became the first downtown Chicago building project to expand upward on top of an existing tower.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower (second from right) in its setting on the north side of Millennium Park which was established in 1998. From left: One Prudential Plaza (1955), Two Prudential Plaza (1990), Aon Center (1973/1994). The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower is next to the Aon Center with original plans to connect the two buildings via an underground pedway but did not come to fruition. Author’s photograph. All rights reserved. November 2017 5.76mb 3397 (1)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower was designed by Jim Goettsch, chairman of Goettsch Partners. Author’s photograph. All rights reserved. November 2017 99% 7.41mb 3480

Occupying a prominent location along the north edge of Millennium Park, it serves as the headquarters of Health Care Service Corporation, linking corporate growth to one of Chicago’s most visionary modern architectural designs.

SOURCES:

Website / PDF Fact Sheet

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. “Blue Facts Sheet-2022.” 2022. PDF. https://www.bcbs.com/sites/default/files/file-attachments/page/Blue_Facts_Sheet-2022.pdf (accessed August 7, 2024).

Newspaper Article

Japsen, Bruce. “24 More Stories Coming to Blue Cross Building.” Chicago Tribune, July 26, 2006.

Book

Sinkevitch, Alice, ed. AIA Guide to Chicago. 2nd ed. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2004.

Website Homepages

Goettsch Partners. Home page. https://www.gpchicago.com/ (accessed August 7, 2024).

Millennium Park Foundation. “The Foundation.” https://millenniumparkfoundation.org/the-foundation/ (accessed August 7, 2024).