What kind of public records are available about a landmark building like the Hancock Tower in Chicago and how can I get a hold of them?

April 20, 2007 9:43 AM

I have recently seen a map of Congress that listed the number of Representatives that had been indicted, seen war, had been divorced, etc. What kind of public records are available about a landmark building like the Hancock Tower in Chicago and how can I get a hold of them?

my goal is to assemble a map of the tower: these are businesses, offices, apartments, this is where celebrities live, these are the places that have declared bankruptcy in a certain period of time, these are places people have died in (I think chris farley died here), here is where people making more than 250k/year live...

I am looking to amass around 50 or 60 different statistics about this building, the more obscure the better, but I am not sure how to go about this. any recommendation as to researchers, publications and offices to contact would be highly appreciated.

for the record: I am considering hiring someone for this task. if you know a kick-ass researcher who could really go to town on this, please feel free to recommend this person.

posted by krautland to media & arts (5 comments total)

I don't have an answer for you, but could you link to the map of Congress in question? It sounds cool.
posted by schroedinger at 10:23 AM on April 20, 2007 [2 favorites]

I wished I had it on my hard drive but it's been a while. it was one of those seat maps you see at every election, only that the legend read 'divorced, indicted, war service, caucasian' ... all those things. I think it was an ad.
posted by krautland at 11:09 AM on April 20, 2007

Check historical society records, the city should have plans on file maybe in Building Inspection but some info might not be readily available due to security reasons. I use Wright directories for lots of historical research and this might help you find out who occupied what room. These can be found at the local library.

Online, Emporis has some info but the majority of info is going to be offline. I also found this site which has some sample floor plans.
posted by JJ86 at 11:13 AM on April 20, 2007

I know Jerry Springer has a condo there.
posted by lee at 4:56 PM on April 20, 2007

I think the easiest way to get some of what you're looking for is to look for books about the building. I recently finished "Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center" and for the next two weeks I bored my friends with Rockefeller Center trivia. I imagine that there has been a book or two about the Hancock Tower, or some tourist materials handed out for the observation deck, etc. I bet there's a gift shop there that sells books?

I think one of the problems you'll run into using public records to do this kind of thing is that often the wealthy do not acquire property in their own name, they can use elaborate means, aliases, holding companies, trusts, etc, to avoid taxes or whatever it is they do.
posted by Brian James at 6:34 PM on April 20, 2007