325 North LaSalle Street/320 North Clark
Reid Murdoch was built in accord with Daniel Burnham's dreams for the city. Burnham was a famous architect and the mastermind behind Chicago's lakefront park system. His dream was to develop the Chicago River as an invaluable commercial and aesthetic resource. The enormous, 325,000 plus-square-foot Reid Murdoch Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both for its architecture and its riverfront location. It is visually anchored by a distinctive, four-sided clock tower. When river traffic was commercially significant, the structure's design permitted original developers- Reid Murdoch & Co (food processors) - to maximize the riverfront site utilizing docks and chutes for moving goods.
Reid Murdoch was acquired by the city of Chicago in the mid 1950's, serving as the municipal traffic court until 1998, when Friedman Properties was chosen to redevelop this queen of the Chicago River's north bank.
Today, the restoration of the Reid Murdoch Center serves as a testament to adaptive re-use. Friedman Properties reconstructed the entire structure, replacing missing historic elements such as the large storefront windows with transoms, the original pier-and-bay spacing, pedimented terra-cotta panels in the end bays, and the transom windows above the banks of double-hung windows. The multiple entrances to the building on this elevation were established with a hierarchy in architectural character between the main entrance to the building and secondary entrances. The original brick masonry was replaced. The river's edge has become accessible to the public with a riverwalk for public use and a landscaped seclusion for ‘rivergazers,' a unique outdoor dining experience, a point of departure for seasonal cruise boats, and a stop for water taxi service. Clark Street and LaSalle Street streetscapes enhance the entire project and the internally illuminated four (4) faced tower clock graces the river once again.
Today, the Reid Murdoch is home to Encyclopaedia Brittanica, the Golden Triangle, Fulton's on the River, and Friedman Properties' corporate offices.