Chicago’s Jailhouse Skyscraper

99% Invisible

SiriusXM Podcasts and Roman Mars

Design, Arts

4.8 • 27.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2011

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Metropolitan Correctional Center, or MCC, is a federal jail right in the middle of downtown Chicago. It’s a triangle-shaped skyscraper, 27 stories, with tall, super-narrow, irregularly-spaced windows up and down each wall.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We get support from UC Davis, a globally ranked university working to solve the world's most pressing problems in food, energy, health, education, and the environment.
0:10.0	UC Davis researchers collaborate and innovate in California and around the globe to find
0:14.2	transformational solutions.
0:16.1	It's all part of the university's mission to promote quality of life for all living things.
0:20.1	Find out more at 21st century.
0:21.9	UC Davis. edu. edu. edu. find out more at 21st century dot ucdd ucd u.c. dot e d u.
0:27.0	This is 99% invisible I'm Roman Mars. Chicago is next.
0:33.0	If you want to stand out as a skyscraper in Chicago,
0:36.0	you've got your work cut out for you.
0:38.0	I've stood at this corner a zillion billion times
0:42.0	and never looked up at this building.
0:44.3	There's the Hancock building, there's the Sears Tower.
0:46.5	Yeah, you're supposed to call it the Willis Tower now.
0:48.7	Yeah, I'm not going to call it this.
0:50.5	And then there's my friend Dan Weisman's new favorite building in the South Loop.
0:55.0	A couple days ago I was at the Cultural Center and there's like a map of Chicago
0:58.6	architectural landmarks. I mean it's got zillions of buildings on it houses everything and this building's not on it
1:05.7	even if a building is designed by a prominent architect it's by this guy Harry
1:09.7	Weese who made the DC metro he's a big deal.
1:13.0	And even if that building has only three sides,
1:16.0	it's like a triangle from above.
1:18.0	Like a grilled cheese sandwich, cut in half, diagonally.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from SiriusXM Podcasts and Roman Mars, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of SiriusXM Podcasts and Roman Mars and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.