WINDOW WORK
Cook County Hospital boasted unique windows. On the first two floors, the arched monumental windows spanned the building’s tall floor-to-ceiling height. The rough opening for each window was approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. These arched wood windows were prime candidates for restoration because of the aesthetic. “Those lower windows were just so unique that restoring them was something that ownership was absolutely interested in doing,” Johnston says. “And thank goodness we did because they look really cool.”
The crew pulled the oak frames, stripped and repaired them. Because the existing windows were single pane, 1/4-inch insulating glass units were placed in the restored windows. That addition, along with the fact that the wood frames are oak, ensures less thermal transfer. “The mullions had to be slightly modified to do that, but the new windows match the historic profiles,” Johnston says.
Above the second floor, the windows were a typical rectangular shape, double-hung with transoms; many of these windows were significantly deteriorated, covered or inoperable. Aluminum replacement windows with historic-looking frames were manufactured to match the appearance of the original windows. “The profiles were fabricated to match the original wood-window-frame profiles,” Will explains. “It was a process for the tax credits. There were multiple revisions back and forth, making sure that the sightlines looked accurate per the original.”
The roof was another major part of WJE’s scope that Will says was in really rough shape. “The whole top floor of the building, which was essentially acting as a roof, was wet,” she says. Today, the single- ply main roof of the building features R-30 insulation. And the balcony roofs were covered with a PMMA liquid-applied product with a modified underlayment, ensuring years of watertight performance.
LABOR OF LOVE
Despite completing the project in March 2020, just as pandemic lockdowns began, the former Cook County Hospital opened to a wonderful reception from the preservation community and Chicagoans. Johnston anticipates as travel continues to increase, the 210-room dual-branded hotel and food hall will be very popular.
“It was a little bittersweet as we were finishing up,” Johnston recalls. “There’s a lot of pride in bringing back an old historic building that has touched so many lives. To be a part of ensuring that the stories of people who were born there, worked there or visited there can continue to be told for another 100 or maybe 200 years is just really something I take a lot of pride in.”
“For me, it literally was a labor of love,” Will adds. “I will always remember this job not only because the visible transformation was really incredible, but also because I had twin daughters during this project. I can always point the building out to them and say, ‘This is the job I was working on when I was pregnant with you.’”
For a hospital that touched so many, saving lives and delivering others into the world, it is fitting that Cook County Hospital would be rescued by a diverse array of professionals reflective of the people it so long served. The descendants of immigrants, an expectant mother and many others collaborated to preserve this special place and maintain its legacy for future generations.
Retrofit Team
DEVELOPER: Civic Health Development Group, a joint venture led by Murphy Development Group, along with MB Real Estate, Walsh Investors and Granite Cos.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Walsh Construction
EXTERIOR RESTORATION CONSULTANT: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc.
ARCHITECT: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
TAX-CREDIT ADVISOR: MacRostie Historic Advisors LLC
MASONRY RESTORATION CONTRACTORS: Mark 1 Restoration and MBB
WINDOW REPLACEMENT: Reflection Window + Wall
WINDOW RESTORATION: Ward Contracting & Building Restoration with Restoration Works Inc.
ROOFING CONTRACTORS: M Cannon Roofing and Knickerbocker Roofing & Paving Co. Inc.
Materials
TERRA COTTA: Gladding, McBean
HISTORIC-REPLICA REPLACEMENT WINDOWS: Graham Architectural Products
SINGLE-PLY ROOF AND PMMA: Sika
FIVE FAST FACTS about COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL
Cook County Hospital was known as a teaching hospital. It again earned that reputation during the renovation when Walsh Construction sponsored two eight-week pre-apprenticeship programs, which allowed candidates to gain construction exposure and experience by participating in the project. After completion of the program, the pre-apprentice candidates were hired directly into local trades.
The food hall was named for Dr. John Benjamin Murphy, a renowned surgeon who interned and practiced briefly at Cook County Hospital. Murphy was a leader in abdominal surgery and the source of several eponyms still used by the medical community.
Cook County Hospital is renowned for creating the nation’s first blood bank and discovering sickle cell anemia.
The refurbished building includes a museum that chronicles the hospital’s noteworthy contributions to the region and medical field.
Cook County Hospital was the basis for the popular television medical drama, “ER,” which aired from 1994 to 2009.
PHOTOS: Walsh Construction