Come Tuesday, Chicago’s fourth-tallest skyscraper will have a new name, according to a report published Monday evening.
The iconic John Hancock Center will be known by its address, 875 N. Michigan Ave., until the building’s owner secures a long-term naming rights deal, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Owners of the 1,128-foot-tall building asked that the building’s name and insignia be removed effective immediately, the Tribune reported.
The nearly 50-year-old building, one of the most recognizable in the city’s skyline, was named after the developer, the John Hancock Insurance Company, which was acquired by Manulife Financial in 2004.
It was not known if there were any frontrunners for the new naming rights.
“This property deserves a more important identity than simply the address,” Stephen Hearn, one of a group of real estate investors who co-own parts of the property, told the Tribune.
Hearn could not be reached Monday evening.
In 2009, the Sears Tower was renamed as the Willis Tower. A lingering case of civic stubbornness took hold, with some residents — nine years later — still refusing to call the building by its proper name.
