The Tribune Tower is putting up one of those big window night signs for the Chicago Cubs being in the National League Playoffs. The Tribune Company owns the Cubs, so it’s about time that they finally do this. I work on the 14th floor of the Tribune Tower, and today at 11:30am, they came around to install the window blockers.
They are doing this high class. It’s just not window shades being pulled. These are full hard-core foam core boards called gatorboard. They are about a half-inch thick, and are exactly custom cut to fit our windows, even down the little notches. They said the cost of this is to the tune of $5000. Special lights are being set up too. As one of the installers said, “Nothing is left to chance.” (I wish the games were that way too)
I even got to help them install the boards. The first lighting of the windows will occur tonight. And it should look awesome, given the Tribune Tower’s location by the plaza, river, and Michigan Avenue.
I did have to sacrifice the three foot by three foot Cubs logo I had in the window. But it’s for the sake of the larger good, and i’m happy to take it down for a super huge Cubs sign.
Here’s a photo gallery of them installing the boards. And the %%2003tribunetowerwindows.jpg]official map the installers used to design and setup the windows. It will say, “GO CUBS.” I sit right inside the “U”. (The people on my floor put the “U” in “Cubs”).
They even used tape that was in the color of Cubbie Blue to seal the boards to the windows. Of course, it’s just painting tape, but it IS Cubbie Blue.
People are asking me if it sucks that I have no light from my window being blocked out. It’s not bad, because I get light from both of the prongs of the “U”.
do you have photos of the outside of the building, with the whole sign showing? i went by the Tribune Tower on the bus tonight, and forgot to look…
I saw the building lit-up last night. It’s not as impressive as some of the other buildings, but that’s probably because the Tower is so narrow and the message reads vertically. It’s still legible though and pretty cool.
Brilliant! Did Tribune have an outside company figure out the logistics, or was it one of you guys?
Tribune figured out the logistics back in 1989 when they did the sign before. I’m not sure who in the company actually mapped out which windows get the lights. But if you look on the right-hand side of the map, around the middle you’ll see a date when the map was drew: 8-9-80. The map was originally drawn to do a replacement window study.
How ironic that the map was originally for a study on Window Replacement. Now they can use it for that again.
Holy Kazongas! That is just totally freaky!
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