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  "path": "/architecture/2026/04/21/whats-that-building-mural-from-the-old-daily-news-building",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-21T10:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.wbez.org",
  "tags": [
    "@true_chicago"
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  "textContent": "<p>One of Chicago’s finest Art Deco buildings changed owners last summer for the first time in half a century and is now going through more transitions, as the new owners begin a multimillion-dollar refresh and the city declares it an official landmark. It’s an important protection the previous owner never pursued.</p><p>But a longtime preservation leader was worried there was something significant getting lost in the shuffle, and he worked diligently to fix that.</p><p>All intact at the former Chicago Daily News Building at 2 N. Riverside are the exterior, an imposing cliff wall of stone with two low “cat’s paw” arms framing a plaza whose walls are <a class=\"Link\" href=\"http://chicagopatterns.com/art-deco-treasure-chest-daily-news-building/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>carved with</u></a>, among other things, the names of major newspaper journalists known in the 1920s, when it was built, and characters representing the arts (drama, comedy, epic poetry). Inside are brass doorframes and vent covers ornamented with floral and geometric patterns popular in the Art Deco era and sleek stone walls.</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-d10000\" name=\"image-d10000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cba4e41/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F33%2Ffd%2F123a0b9a45c7a8e80b91b111e357%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding008.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/43b81e7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F33%2Ffd%2F123a0b9a45c7a8e80b91b111e357%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding008.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8c079f7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F33%2Ffd%2F123a0b9a45c7a8e80b91b111e357%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding008.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"20260420-WBEZ_TheChicagoDaliyNewsBuilding008.jpg\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8c079f7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F33%2Ffd%2F123a0b9a45c7a8e80b91b111e357%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding008.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3c62167/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F33%2Ffd%2F123a0b9a45c7a8e80b91b111e357%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding008.jpg 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8c079f7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F33%2Ffd%2F123a0b9a45c7a8e80b91b111e357%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding008.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>Some of the original brass vent coverings in the building.</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>K’Von Jackson for WBEZ</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-380000\" name=\"image-380000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/819a11c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fdd%2F95%2F6934b4c54efc8922ee5396bf9cae%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding005.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b32e99e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fdd%2F95%2F6934b4c54efc8922ee5396bf9cae%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding005.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4b2ce09/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fdd%2F95%2F6934b4c54efc8922ee5396bf9cae%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding005.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"20260420-WBEZ_TheChicagoDaliyNewsBuilding005.jpg\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4b2ce09/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fdd%2F95%2F6934b4c54efc8922ee5396bf9cae%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding005.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2a09fb0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fdd%2F95%2F6934b4c54efc8922ee5396bf9cae%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding005.jpg 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4b2ce09/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fdd%2F95%2F6934b4c54efc8922ee5396bf9cae%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding005.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>Carvings inside the building.</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>K’Von Jackson for WBEZ</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-a30000\" name=\"image-a30000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f775d79/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F54%2F6a%2F6fa6e77b4f579217659832c12ea6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding006.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e0cf82e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F54%2F6a%2F6fa6e77b4f579217659832c12ea6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding006.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8014fb4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F54%2F6a%2F6fa6e77b4f579217659832c12ea6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding006.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"20260420-WBEZ_TheChicagoDaliyNewsBuilding006.jpg\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8014fb4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F54%2F6a%2F6fa6e77b4f579217659832c12ea6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding006.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0c115ef/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F54%2F6a%2F6fa6e77b4f579217659832c12ea6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding006.jpg 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8014fb4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F54%2F6a%2F6fa6e77b4f579217659832c12ea6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding006.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>The building’s plaza.</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>K’Von Jackson for WBEZ</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>What’s been missing from the building for three decades is a remarkable mural that filled the round-topped ceiling of a pedestrian concourse from the plaza to the old Chicago and North Western train station on the next block west.</p><p>First unveiled above that concourse in 1929, the mural heralded “a new kind of mural painting,” Daily News reporter Marguerite Williams <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicagoreader.com/news/fables-of-the-reconstruction/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>wrote</u></a>, “born of the symbols of modern life and the magnitude of modern building” and conveyed “the romance of the modern newspaper.”</p><p>Replete with angular patterns, human figures both working at printing machines and in crowds and what appears to be a street grid like Chicago’s running through it, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.illinoisart.org/essays/john-warner-norton\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>John Warner Norton’s mural</u></a> was called “Gathering the News, Printing the News, Transporting the News.”</p><p><b>Scroll to the bottom of </b><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.illinoisart.org/essays/john-warner-norton\" target=\"_blank\" ><b>this page</b></a><b> to see photos of the mural.</b></p><p>Norton was a significant mural artist, not to mention a veteran of <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.nationalguard.mil/Resources/Image-Gallery/Historical-Paintings/Heritage-Series/The-Rough-Riders/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders</u></a> in the Spanish American War (though he served only in Florida, didn’t get to Cuba). He was a painter and book and magazine illustrator before becoming one of the preeminent mural painters for Chicago architects and their works here and in other cities. He created murals in schools, banks, private clubs and museums. One that is still extant and easy to visit in the Loop is a giant map of the U.S. in the lobby of 68 E. Wacker Place, done in 1929 for the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/chicago-motor-club/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Motor Club</u></a>. (The building is now a Hampton Inn.)</p><p>Norton’s spectacular work of art hung above the Daily News concourse for 64 years. That’s 34 years longer than the once-mighty newspaper, which commissioned the mural and whose name was all over it, stayed in the building.</p><p>Real estate investor Sam Zell’s firm bought the 26-story Daily News Building in the 1970s and in October 1993 removed the mural for restoration — and, Zell <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.newspapers.com/image/179521077/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>told the Chicago Tribune</u></a>, reinstallation above the concourse. Three decades later, it still hasn’t been brought back.</p><p>That’s where Ward Miller enters the story. Miller, the executive director of Preservation Chicago, realized that if the building was sold, the old mural might become an orphan.</p><p>“We wanted to make sure that whoever is paying for the storage continues to pay,” Miller said, “so it’s not discarded accidentally. It’s a wonderful work, a treasure for Chicago, but it’s not your typical 8 by 10 mural; it’s 180 feet long and 18 feet wide.”</p><p>First, Miller had to make sure the mural still exists, then find it. Given the magnitude of the artwork, it may be surprising its existence and location were uncertain, but that’s part of the tragedy.</p><p>Sometime after the Daily News Building was purchased by the company run by Sam Zell, the real estate billionaire who died in 2023, a piece of the mural reportedly came loose.</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-5b0000\" name=\"image-5b0000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c22abd8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fc5%2F8eaf0e0244f18e0c6bf144b00bd6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding001.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/969784b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fc5%2F8eaf0e0244f18e0c6bf144b00bd6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding001.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1a56b6c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fc5%2F8eaf0e0244f18e0c6bf144b00bd6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding001.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"20260420-WBEZ_TheChicagoDaliyNewsBuilding001.jpg\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1a56b6c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fc5%2F8eaf0e0244f18e0c6bf144b00bd6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding001.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/32cd617/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fc5%2F8eaf0e0244f18e0c6bf144b00bd6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding001.jpg 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1a56b6c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1684+0+159/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F68%2Fc5%2F8eaf0e0244f18e0c6bf144b00bd6%2F20260420-wbez-thechicagodaliynewsbuilding001.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>The exterior of the former Chicago Daily News Building.</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>K’Von Jackson for WBEZ</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>According to a 1994 <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.newspapers.com/image/179521113/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>article</u></a> in the Chicago Tribune, the company planned a restoration of the entire mural but made a critical choice in having the whole artwork removed and put it in the hands of a Milwaukee firm. People in the art restoration field told the Tribune’s William Mullen this was a bad choice for two reasons: Mural restoration is most often and best done on-site without taking the mural down, and the Milwaukee firm, Conrad Schmitt Studios, wasn’t experienced enough to take on such a monumental task.</p><p>Zell defended his choice — “angrily,” the Tribune reported. “We were told they were the best in the business,” he said. “We hired them to restore it and we want them to put it back up into the building. We think it’s a treasure and a very valuable part of the building.”</p><p>But Schmitt didn’t do the job and the mural went into storage, apparently changing to different storage locations over the years. This is part of why Miller was worried when the building was changing hands: Did anyone know where it was, and if so would the new owners of the Daily News Building receive it in the sale?</p><p>Miller’s worry was akin to the fear an art restorer expressed to the Tribune in 1994: “God help us that this one doesn’t end up in a dumpster somewhere.”</p><p>Miller started sleuthing, which he says began with doggedly asking every storage company he could think of that might have space for it. He also checked in with the new owners.</p><p>In July 2025, Blue Star Properties bought the building for an undisclosed price that Danny Ecker at Crain’s <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/blue-star-buys-riverfront-office-cheap-plans-revamp/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>reported</u></a> was about $25 million, with plans for a $50 million rehab. Blue Star is known as a good steward of historic properties in the city, notable among them <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/architecture/2024/08/05/whats-that-building-thalia-hall\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Thalia Hall</u></a> and the <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/architecture/2024/06/24/whats-that-building-the-salt-shed\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Salt Shed</u></a>.</p><p>Eventually, Miller came up with two answers, both positive.</p><p>The mural is now in storage at <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.manacontemporary.com/?location=&argument=&careerDevelopment=&timing=\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Mana Contemporary</u></a>, he told WBEZ’s “In the Loop.” An art exhibition and performance space in a former warehouse in Bridgeport, Mana is likely more attentive to the requirements of storing a precious mural than your average storage space.</p><p>And the mural did transfer to Blue Star in the sale of the Daily News Building. Blue Star didn’t respond to our request for comment, but Miller said they’re aware of the mural and its value. What they’ll do with it is not yet known, but at least for the moment, this important, long-unseen work is in the hands of people who appear to care about its future.</p><p><i>Dennis Rodkin is the residential real estate reporter for Crain’s Chicago Business and In the Loop’s “What’s That Building?” contributor.</i></p><p><i>K’Von Jackson is the freelance photojournalist for In the Loop’s “What’s That Building?” Follow him</i> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/true_chicago/\" target=\"_blank\" ><i>@true_chicago</i></a><i>.</i></p>",
  "title": "Mural from the old Daily News Building: What's That Building?",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-21T10:12:18.853Z"
}