John Hancock Way designated outside Chicago skyscraper that once bore name
One of America's founding fathers is getting some recognition on Chicago's Magnificent Mile, right alongside the building that used to bear his name.
A group of community leaders gathered for the unveiling of the honorary street name signs at Delaware Place and Michigan Avenue on Saturday.
Delaware Place from Michigan Avenue east to Mies Van der Rohe Way now carries the honorary street name John Hancock Way.
Among those in attendance was Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), who introduced successful legislation in the Chicago City Council to make the honorary designation.
John Hancock (1737-1793) was a patriot leader in the American Revolution who served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the fist to sign the Declaration of Independence. After the Revolutionary War, he served as the first governor of Massachusetts.
Hancock's name ended up on the famous Chicago skyscraper because of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, which had already been financing construction of the skyscraper when it took ownership after the original owner filed for bankruptcy.
When "Big John" was finished in 1969, it was the tallest building in Chicago, and the second tallest in the world, after the Empire State Building in New York.
In 2018, the John Hancock Company, having already left the building, requested its name be taken off the skyscraper. But while officially now known by its address of 875 N. Michigan Ave., the building is still commonly known by its old name, or referred to as the former John Hancock Center.
