54 West Hubbard Street

A small room reserved for reporters on the fourth floor gained nationwide attention in 1928 when former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur wrote the famous play, "The Front Page," based on their reminiscences of covering trials in the building.  As a tribute to its origins, the original Broadway stage setting of "The Front Page" was designed to duplicate the original pressroom at 54 W. Hubbard.  In addition to Hecht and McArthur, many other notable authors of Chicago's literary renaissance of the 1920s spent time in the fourth floor pressroom including Carl Sandburg, Sherwood Anderson, and Vincent Starrett.

The Criminal Courts vacated the 54 West Hubbard Street building in 1929 for larger quarters, and the building was subsequently occupied by the Chicago Board of Health and various other city agencies.  Battered from years of neglect and insensitive alterations, the building was acquired by Friedman Properties.  in 1985 and painstakingly restored and refurbished as "Courthouse Place," an office development later expanded to include the restoration of many of the historic buildings that surround it.

 Frequently featured in film and television, this extraordinary property is worth a special trip.