4 days ago
Former Signature Room will be Chicago's largest observation deck
Chicago's first multi-floor observation deck will soon open in the building formerly known as The Hancock. It will be one of only a few in the world.
Why it matters: The current 94th-floor observation deck of the building, which includes The Tilt and Cloud Bar, remains a major tourist attraction but also a magnet for architecture buffs who come to marvel at the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill-designed tower.
Driving the news: 360 Chicago, owners of the top three accessible floors of the building, announced Wednesday that the vacant 94th and 95th floors will be a more than 30,000-square-foot observation deck and the 96th floor will be a private event space.
Fun fact: The John Hancock Center, now called 875 North Michigan Avenue, was the first mixed-use tower in the world.
Flashback: The Signature Room, which occupied the 95th and 96th floors, abruptly closed in September 2023, citing financial hardship.
By the numbers: 360 Chicago purchased the top two floors last year for $18.5 million, and the renovation into a three-story observation deck will cost "tens of millions of dollars," 360 Chicago's Nichole Benolken tells Axios.
The 94th floor currently welcomes a little less than a million visitors a year, Benolken said.
Between the lines: The nostalgic kitschy-ness of the Signature Room as a prime spot for special occasions and moments will not be lost, Benolken promises, as 360 hosts yoga and free days for nonprofits and other locals.
"We see hundreds of engagements up here every year as well, and a lot of those are residents from the city of Chicago," she says, and they expect those will continue.
