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.  Friedman Properties acquired the property in 1985 and painstakingly restored and refurbished the battered building which is now known as the "Courthouse Place", a substantial office development that is surrounded by the restoration of many other historic buildings.

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